Student name: Halle  -  Year 9

What can you tell us about this piece of work?
This piece of work was part of our assignment for the novel ‘The Giver’. We were asked to write a TEEL paragraph on a chosen topic from the novel. I chose duality, as there were many ways it could be interpreted. For example, when Jonas’s father used the syringe to “release” the new child, he is in the position of nurturer in the community, portraying care, while simultaneously ending lives.

What is your favourite thing about English?
My favourite thing about English is the variety of topics we cover as well as the freedom in how we complete assignments.

What are you working on at the moment in English?
In English we are working on persuasive texts, where we have learnt different techniques and strategies to strengthen our arguments. We are currently writing an essay on the topic “should performance enhancing drugs be legalised in elite sport?”

What are you reading at the moment?
I’m currently reading the Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas.

What is your favourite book and why?
My favourite book would be Jazz Thornton's autobiography “Stop Surviving Start Fighting.” It has many strong messages and it is written in a relatable way by such an inspiring person.

What are some books that you would really like to read?
I would like to read ‘Empire of Storms’ and ‘Crescent City’ by Sarah J. Maas and ‘You’d Be Home Now’ by Kathleen Glasgow.

THE CARER

In “The Carer”, Louis Lowry explores duality by showing how people and their roles can hold opposing qualities at once.  For instance, Jonas’s father is portrayed as caring and gentle when tending to Gabriel, yet he also calmly releases infants without remorse.  When releasing the smaller than “he pushed the plunger very slowly, injecting the liquid into the scalp vein until the syringe was empty.”

(Chapter 19) This reveals the disturbing quality in his personality as he is both compassionate and lethal at once.  As a Nurturer, his role is supposed to protect life, yet it also involves taking it away.  The community normalises this be removing his awareness of right and wrong, allowing him to kill without guilt but is also able to appear kind.  Therefore, through the father’s personality as well as his role as Nurturer, it is emphasised that in this society, roles designed to care and look after, can also destroy; hence supporting the theme of duality.