Wednesday, July 28, 2010 . 9:23 AM
A POEM
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost
This poem depicts the journey of a man on a horse during a snowy evening. It describes how he is weary and tired, and is taking a brief rest next to the woods. He knows that he must be on his way soon, as he has "promises to keep" and that there are "miles to go before [he sleeps]".
I chose this poem, as I could easily picture Jonas as the persona of the poem when he was trying to escape from the society.
The setting of this poem was on the road next to the woods, during a snowy evening. Just like in the poem, Jonas' journey took place on a road, and it was snowing towards the end of his journey.
In the first stanza of the poem, Robert Frost writes:
"Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow."
This reminds me of how Jonas' destination was the village/community at "Elsewhere", and how he stopped to "[rest] his own muscles and [prepare] himself for more hours on the bicycle".
In second stanza,
"My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year."
I can imagine Gabe in place of the little horse wondering why Jonas refused to play the "wrestling game" with him like they often did back in the dwelling. They were nowhere near civilization and Jonas did this as he knew that they both needed to get some rest before continuing on their arduous journey that lay ahead. The phrase "The darkness evening of the year" struck me as an equivalent to this day in the book as it was "the first dangerous day" that Jonas as well as Gabe had been through.
The third stanza reads:
"He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake."
Apart from the noise that came from the engines of the search planes and the occasional speech of the two characters, all was silent as they were isolated on the road, except for the sound of the wind and the snowflakes which "[fell] down from the sky, and [are] very beautiful".
The last stanza of the poem,
"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.",
is the most outstanding stanza in my opinion. It is so accurate by coincidence that it seems like it was taken directly from The Giver.
The first line, "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep," is similar to when Jonas "got off [the bicycle] and let it drop sideways into the snow", and how he was so tempted to let Gabe and himself "slide into the softness of snow, the darkness of night, the warm comfort of sleep", just like how the persona in Robert Frost's poem was enticed by the lovely, dark, and deep woods.
Just like the second line of the last stanza, "But I have promises to keep," , Jonas had promises to keep. He made a commitment to go as far away as possible, to "Elsewhere" so that the people of the community would have "to bear the burden themselves, of the memories [he] had been holding for them". He also felt that he had a personal obligation to keep Gabe safe and alive.
The last two lines of the poem describe the long, grueling trip that both Jonas and Gabe had to face. Jonas "rode hard, steadily, willing himself not to tire as the minutes and miles passed".
Photo Montage for The GiverWhen Jonas starts to see the colour red, he first sees it in the apple, then in fiona's hair and again on the sled in a memory the giver gave him.
The apple that Jonas was tossing around with Asher marks the first time he saw the colour red. It also marks the first time Jonas broke a rule on purpose, as he was curious as to why the apple seemed different for a split second.
Jonas saw the colour red a second time when Fiona walked away from him. Her red hair is an indication of the unsuccessfulness of total genetic modification to make everyone’s physical characteristics similar. This event marked the point when Jonas started to distance himself from the rest of his friends as he could not share about his work experience with Fiona.
When the giver tried to explain the colour red to Jonas, he asked Jonas to recall the memory of the sled. When Jonas looked carefully, he could see that the colour of the sled was the same as the colour of the apple and of Fiona’s hair.
The giver, Jonas and Gabe all have pale eyes. Pale eyes are very uncommon in Jonas’ society and represents that that person is very different from the others. Pale eyes might also indicate that that person has certain traits that are useful for the position of the giver/receiver.
When the children in Jonas’ society become Nines, they are permitted to ride bicycles. Although there is a rule that prohibits children younger than Nine from riding bicycles, it is often broken. The bicycles are a sign of independence and maturity.
In the book, the people in Jonas’ society are required to take pills to prevent “stirrings”.In this way, the council of elders try to prevent the desire to procreate, thus eliminating babies that have different features from the rest of the society.
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