That's One Courageous Kid

The Giver: A book that I didn't love the first time I read, but have increasingly grown fond of the more I read it. The exposition of the book, although long and full of details, provides the reader with a clear setting and understanding of our hero, Jonas. The quick and dirty version is as follows ...

Our hero, Jonas.

Jonas lives in a futuristic world where everyone rides a bike, but only after age nine, of course. His world is full of rules and governed by the endless fear of RELEASE. Jonas lives with his adopted mother, father, and sister [Lily] of whom he has no actual blood relation to. Throughout the beginning of the book we learn about baby Gabe, the rareness of pale blue eyes, and the smart and sweet girl named Fiona for whom Jonas has dreams about. Jonas is about to be twelve years old, which means he will receive his adult job assignment and begin his training. While this is a very exciting time for most kids, Jonas finds himself incredibly APPREHENSIVE about the events to come. The committee of Elders will decide his fate, just as they decide all things in this dystopian society. After a long and grueling ceremony, Jonas is selected as the new RECEIVER OF MEMORY, a job he knows nothing about, except that it requires his ability to see beyond. As the crowd chants his name into acceptance, he is overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude, pride, and most importantly - fear. What will become of Jonas?

While reading the exposition of The Giver, I began to think about the idea of bravery - a quality required for Jonas' new assignment. When the Chief Elder is presenting Jonas with his new responsibility, she gently informs him ... 

"But you will be faced, now, with pain of a magnitude that none of us here can comprehend because it is beyond our experience. The receiver himself was not able to describe it, only to remind us that you will be faced with it, that you would need immense courage. We cannot prepare you for that. But we feel certain that you are brave."

This quote makes me wonder ... what qualifies as brave? What makes someone more brave than someone else? And is everyone capable of being brave at some point in their life? I think about the people in my life that I consider brave. My mom, my best friend Alyssa. I consider these people strong because no matter how scared they might be, they are never too scared to keep going. But I think that anyone can be brave if they want to be, which makes me think that maybe bravery is a choice and not something you are born with. Most people find themselves at some point in their life faced with a situation beyond their experience, and it's up to them in that moment as to how they respond.

So in the words of Sarah Bareilles, "Show me how big your brave is."

Just like the dancers in the video above, we will see just how brave Jonas is throughout the remainder of the book. The Chief Elder warns Jonas that he will be faced with a great magnitude of pain and I think Jonas will have to use all of the courage he has to get through this experience. Is he capable of it? Absolutely - because we all are.