The Giver #5

" The word had been "starving." You have never been starving, he had been told. You will never be starving. Now he was. If he had stayed in the community, he would not be. It was as simple as that. Once he had yearned for choices. Then, when he had had a choice, he had made the wrong one: the choice to leave. And now he was starving. But if he had stayed. His thoughts continued. If he had stayed he would have starved in other ways. He would have lived a life hungry for feelings, for color, for love. And Gabriel? For Gabriel there would have been no life at all. So there had not really been a choice (173)."

In this passage from “The Giver” by Lois Lowry Jonas is reflecting back on his past actions. He wonders if it was the right thing to do, should he have left in hopes for a better life or should he have stayed in his town which is characterized by a dystopian society. He is reflecting back on the past because he questions his decision of leaving, he thinks that by leaving he has made things worse because he is not with the Giver anymore and he feels like he is starving. He made the right decision though of leaving because if he had stayed then he would be dealing with the same old problems that he dealt with before and his previous town is heading towards a disaster. I think he made the right decision because he didn't stay with his past life, because he found out all the errors of that society. Generally the world humans means to be alive, and live your own life, and if we are thinking in that sense then the community in the Giver is not alive.