Ladder of Inference

  The ladder of inference is a thinking process that goes through our minds, most of the time without realizing it. It could be called stairs of inference because it would work the same way. The bottom rung, or step, is the data we see. We see things every single day, which the next rung, selecting the data, is where we take the stuff we see and focus on a few things.  Next is where you infer stuff about the data you chose. The fourth rung is the assumptions we make about the data we found. The fifth is the conclusions we draw from the assumption. The sixth is us using our beliefs to, which goes back to the selected data because we choose certain data by our beliefs. The last one is the actions we take, so it's the emotions we feel and acting on those emotions.

Character Analysis

Jonas Character Traits

  'The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.' This quote is a good one to help describe Jonas from The Giver by Lois Lowry. No one has memories, except for those few special people. There is no color and everyone is the same, so there will be no wars. The people able to get memories all have these special eyes that no one else has, something that makes them different. Jonas, in this story, is one of those people, and he gets unsure and curious about himself and memories, but he can get determined to show them to other people.

  One of the times Jonas showed he was unsure was when he got the 'Stirrings.' The Stirrings is him growing older and beginning to like girls. He got them first in a dream. In the morning, when the family was all sharing their dreams, he was unsure of if he should speak about it. 'He paused. He knew he had to tell it all, that it was not only all right, but necessary to tell all of the dream'. Perhaps if had not had it drilled into him that he can not lie, then he wouldn't have told them his dream. Another time was when the Chief Elder skipped over his number during the Ceremony of Twelve. 'He hunched his shoulders and tried to make himself smaller in the seat'. He clearly had no clue what was happening and was unsure of what to do.

  Jonas is curious and shows it a few times, but sometimes it is considered rude to ask questions in that world and he has been raised never to be rude. When Jonas was first told by the Giver he could ask questions the book states, 'Jonas had questions. A thousand. A million questions.' Another minor one was one he was trying to call back the memory of snow. 'But how can I call it back?' He asked, after a few other questions, showing he is curious and wants to learn. He shows more curiosity with the Giver because it is not rude to ask questions with him, the Giver even encourages him to ask questions. Perhaps, if he'd been raised differently, he would have been more curious about things and asked his questions.

  The last of his emotions that stood out was his determination. For example, when he was holding Asher's shoulders, even though it's not allowed to touch one another outside of the family units. 'Trying to transmit the awareness of red to his friend,' that's why he was touching Asher. He later tries to transmit a memory to his family. It shows he's determined to get others to see the wonder in color and memories. Another time, he had Gabe and was making his way towards Elsewhere, that way other people would have memories and be able to make their own decisions. 'He would have lived a life hungry for feelings, for color, for love.' He thought this when he was starving and so was Gabe. He was trying to convince himself that taking Gabe and running away was a good thing, that it would've been worse to stay and have Gabe be killed and have no one else know about color.

 Jonas was more determined than he was anything else. He shows curiosity a lot, but doesn't ask questions because sometimes he's unsure if it would be rude or he'll actually get an answer. Sometimes, he doesn't get an exact answer and it sort of frustrates him. I can relate to that because I don't like not knowing stuff if everyone of my friends do, so it frustrates me when they keep secrets for apparently no reason.

Jonas Character Traits

Addiction

  The health care system should cover all addiction treatments.


  I strongly agree with this statement because sometimes people get addicted without meaning to. Like, a friend is pressuring them and they give in saying they'll only do it once, but they get addicted.  Or they're having trouble with stress and having problems at home, so they don't know how to deal, so they get addicted to something, like alcohol and become dependent on it.

  Also, sometimes people may not have enough money to get the treatment, but if they want to, they should be able to. No one would be able to force people to get treatment, but for the ones who want the treatment should be able to get it. People have different ways of dealing with things and sometimes people get addicted, but if they don't want to be addicted, then they should be able to get treatment, even if they don't have money.