One event in the book,The Giver,that compares from a scene in the film was when Jonas is escaping the community. In the book, The Giver, Jonas makes a plan with The Giver to escape his community because Jonas realizes that Gabriel was decided to be released, Gabriel did not pass his maturity test. When Jonas is ready to make his escape, it says," First, he had left the dwelling at night. A major transgression."(165). This quote shows how important Gabriel is to Jonas, if this action of him breaking the rules is a way to save Gabriel, it shows his love towards him. The book and the film relate because he is willing to sacrifice himself for Gabriel even though Jonas is aware of the consequences he can get into especially with the Chief Elder. In the movie, Jonas leaves his dwelling in the middle of the night to go talk to The Giver about the plan. As Jonas talks to the Giver, The Giver shows him the map of the community and explains what steps is needed to follow in order to succeed. The outcome should be that Jonas will have to release the memories throughout the community. However, the Chief Elder appears in a hologram asking where The Receiver is. The Giver responds that he does not know where Jonas is, as well as the book. Although technology is more futuristic in the movie, the story is in a chronological order where the climax is beginning to develop. One event in the book,The Giver, that contrasts from a scene in the film was when Jonas's friends, Asher and Fiona, are not aware of his plan of escaping. The rules for the Receiver of Memory specifically states that no discussion of Jonas's training can be made with anyone. Jonas manages to make a plan without his friends knowing, he says," It will take everyone a while to realize that I'm not there at all."(160) This quote shows that Jonas and The Giver are helping each other with the plan of him escaping. The Giver will order a vehicle and help Jonas hide in the storage area. Then, The Giver would announce that Jonas was lost in the river, while Jonas is on his way to Elsewhere. On the other hand, the movie includes that Fiona and Asher are aware of his escape plan. First, Jonas leaves his dwelling and sees Asher standing in his way. Asher tells him to go back to his family unit but Jonas resists and punches him in the face. Jonas is on his bike, still riding, and he goes to the Nurturing Center to find Gabriel. He finds Fiona there and tells her of what he is going to do to help the community. She decides that she cannot go and creates a distraction for the agents
chasing Jonas.
I think that the director'c choice of Brenton Thwaites to play Jonas was in incorrect way to describe him to the viewers because in, The Giver, Jonas was portrayed as a 12 year old boy with pale, blue, and lighted eyes. Brenton Thwaites does not look the way I imagined him because the fact that he is portrayed as a 16 year old made it difficult for me to process throughout the movie. I think that age affects the way Jonas is seen throughout the story because since The Giver is older, it is important for him to be seen younger and showing the bravery he has within him by only being 12. A 12 year old has the capacity to see beyond, have intelligence, integrity, and courage. An adult mastered all these things, they have been through their maturity years. I would have chosen Asa Butterfield to play the role of Jonas in The Giver. Asa Butterfield not only has the special physical traits that Jonas was described in The Giver, but he looks like a determined, young boy willing to receive memories and learn from the old. Asa Butterfield is also the main character for many movies. I can imagine Asa as the Receiver of Memory. I can see him transferring memories to Gabriel and definitely sacrificing his young self for the sake of others. His pale, blue eyes stand out and is important as an individual to mark a difference in an affectless society like Jonas's. In, The Giver, Jonas notices that Gabriel has the same eyes as him, it says,"Almost every citizen in the community had dark eyes. ...Jonas himself, and a female Five who he had noticed had the different, lighter eyes." (20). This quote shows that Jonas has to be unique from others. Jonas is Receiver of Memory, and this trait can help him be known as someone different in the community in a positive way. Receiver of Memory is the most honored job in the community. Asa Butterfield also looks like he is intelligent, a creative mind, others don't have. A boy who comes up with ideas of how to change his community, a boy who can step over boundaries, and who respects the rules. All in all, I believe that the character that should have been chosen to play Jonas in The Giver, would be Asa Butterfield because of his traits seen in other movies that would contribute well in The Giver film.
The medium that most impacted my understanding of The Giver was the film. The film most impacted my understanding of The Giver because all of the background knowledge and visualizations I had from the book, got transferred into a film. The film helped me make connections. For example, when Jonas is starting to notice the color red, I could see in the film, Jonas looking at Fiona's hair turning red. It was an " aha moment" for me as a reader because I realized what his reaction to seeing the color red was. Throughout the film, I believe that the climax, when Jonas escapes the community to help release the memories back into the community, helped me summarize the theme of the whole book. The theme was sacrificing yourself for a change. A positive one. In the book, The Giver, Jonas realizes that his family, isn't really a true family. A family are people who love you, support you, and stand by your side no matter what. Jonas does not experience that with his family. Jonas is given the memory of Christmas, where he sees family enjoying each other like how they are supposed to. Jonas asks his parents if they love him, their response, does not fulfill his question. However, Gabriel and Jonas have an inseparable bond of love. Jonas feels love towards Gabriel and tells him," Things could change, Gabe," Jonas went on. " Things could be different. I don't know how, but there must be some way for things to be different. There could be colors. "And grandparents. ...There could be love," Jonas whispered."(128,129). This quote shows that Jonas in the movie changed. Jonas started feeling love, war, cold, hot, etc. In the film, Jonas takes Gabriel with him t escape the community. At last, Jonas crosses the edge of the community. Jonas has so much love for Gabriel, he risks himself and Gabriel for the change in the community. The movie impacted my understanding of The Giver in a fantastic way because the plot of the movie followed the book's conclusion or theme. The book helped me visualize what was going on but the film helped me even more by showing me the characters, the community, and the problem. A reminder of the main points of the film. In conclusion, the medium that most impacted my understanding of The Giver was the film.
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