" Gabriel's breathing was even and deep. Jonas liked having him there, though he felt guilty about the secret. Each night he gave memories to Gabriel: memories of boat rides and picnics in the sun; memories of soft rainfall against windowpanes; memories of dancing bare-footed on a damp lawn.
"Gabe?"
The new child stirred slightly in his sleep, Jonas looked over at him.
"There could be love" Jonas whispered.
The next morning, for the first time, Jonas did not take his pill. Something within him, something that had grown there through the memories, told him to throw the pill away"
I think these particular paragraphs explain a lot about the choice and freedom in Jonas' society though they are brief. First of all I want to point out that choice is a freedom. The act of decision making is what sets you apart from others and what lets you speak without hindrance or restraint.
When Jonas threw away his pill, he did it for one reason and one reason only, because he was selected as the receiver. If he had not been presented with all the knowledge that came with the memories, he would have not known that throwing away the pill was the right thing to do. He was able to use his free will to make the right choice. The power of knowledge can set you free. All his life Jonas had been presented with knowledge that came to a limit, the constraint of their society, the ignorance of the citizens around him. Elsewhere and the things in it where never spoken of, not even the color, or the items elsewhere were presented to the citizens of this society.
Another example of when Jonas made diffucult choice, was when he passed on the memories to Gabriel. He knew it was against the society's rules, he knew it was against even the instructions from the Giver. Yet using his knowledge from emotions and memories and his new found freedom he decided to. This is what I think sets Jonas apart from everyone else, the way Jonas decides, hte way he thinks the freedom he has.
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