Chapter 17

In chapter 17 of The Giver, Jonas and everyone in the community are scheduled with an unscheduled holiday. A unscheduled holiday in this community meant that it was a day off for everyone in the community. It happened so rarely. Jonas was really happy and so he rode his bicycle down to the park and saw his friends playing a game of "good guys v.s bad guys". The imagined fake weapons and shot at each other and faked being killed. He used to play this game with them, but with all of his training, and about The Giver's memory of warfare he found that playing this game meant that you were imitating the concept of warfare and Jonas didn't find warfare amusing. When Jonas walked into the playing field of the game of warfare, Asher, one of Jonas's friends got up and "shot" Jonas.

"You're hit, Jonas!" Asher yelled from behind the tree. "Pow! You're hit again!"

When Jonas heard his friend say that, he just stood in the center of the field, not going along with the game. Asher yelled at Jonas and said that he ruined the game and while Jonas and Asher were sort of fighting, everyone that was playing the game left, including Asher. When Jonas went home to his dwelling, his family talked about their holiday. Then they talked about the knew twins that are coming in, and that one is going to go to elsewhere, and one is going to stay in this community. Also Jonas's father said that he has to do the release tomorrow.