What does it mean, to leave your family? I mean, what does leaving what you have come to know as right really mean? does it mean that you are betraying the part of your life that lived with your family, betraying your family as well, or does it simply mean moving on. at 18, all children are considered, officially, adults. They get voting rights, considered as individuals (pay taxes) etc. However, what is the difference between this, and running away. You are not an adult - the only difference. Legally, you are still under your parent's custody. to shift positions from child to adult, can that happen before 18? legally, no, however I believe that you can. If you have to take responsibilities on for yourself, fend, in any way, for yourself, I feel you have reached adulthood. Perhaps not willingly, however I am of the opinion that you are.
If you have suffered abuse in the past, does this warrant leaving family behind? If someone abuses you in your family, are they still family. Is family, family through blood, or through love, can you be unloved and still have family. My opinion is that family is only family so long as they care for you, respect you, and most importantly love you. You cannot have family without love. Jonah's parents don't know the meaning of love, does this mean that they are not family. They have cared for him, doesn't that warrant respect? My opinion is respect is warranted only if they positives of your life outweigh the negatives of it. Jonas watched his father kill a child, and knows he killed many others, however he still helps the community. To me, murder = outweighs any positive that may come up about the person in question. To forcibly take a defenseless life sickens me. If I were in the position of Jonas, his father deserves no respect, he murders, and does not feel. But - is it his fault really - after all, he is completely INCAPABLE of feeling. Should that be pitied and not thought of as wrong. Though the actions taken by his father are wrong, is he himself guilty - ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it, but what about inability to understand it, inability to follow it? I feel his actions were wrong, and jonas should not have to live with this man, however, he should be pitied not punished.
In many ways, the giver is more family to Jonas than his father. The Giver loved him, taught, and respected him. He let him go when he was ready, but prepared him for the world. I He openly helped Jonas, taught him, and helped him understand the world. the meaning of family is not blood
It is love.
Het Eli- Nice blog, I agree with your comprehension of family, it has to do with love, not blood. Yet the father can not be balmed for killing the young child. In this future dystopian society, people do as they are told, even if that is the ending of an innocent life. Jonah can't get mad at his father for this, simply pity him as you mentioned, and find love elsewhere, like in the Giver, real family love.
ReplyDelete