Monday, January 10, 2011

What are some examples in The Giver about the five senses?

In the story “The Giver” the senses begin to emerge slowly.  The first sense that Jonas receives is the sense of touch or feeling.  On his first day in training as a receiver he feels the cold in his body and he shivers. He feels energized and begins to feel frigid air.  He sticks out his tongue and snowflakes put cold on it and he feels and senses the taste of the cold.  On page 86 Jonas is introduced to the feeling of pain (touch) by the Giver.  He is in the sunshine, a memory, and he begins to get sunburned.



Jonas’ sense of sight becomes more accurate when he sees an apple become red and Fiona’s hair also changes to red. (91) It is his first distinction of color.  Jonas also sees the flowers wilting on page 99. 



The Giver talks with Jonas about music in the story and shares with him that it is a happy memory.  He offers to give Jonas the music but Jonas tells him to keep the memory.  In the end of the story the sense of sound occurs when Jonas hears music in a distance, but this time it is not a sound passed to him but a new memory that he himself will make by what he has heard.  On page 119 Jonas hears moans and groans of wounded soldiers and he becomes aware of sounds of anguish and grief and pain.



On page 118 Jonas goes to a foul smelling place and the sense of smell arrives.  He sees and smells air thick with smoke. 

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