The Giver
By Lois Lowry
The Giver was certainly full of surprises. Having worked in a public library throughout high school and college, I had heard countless patrons and co-workers talk about what a wonderful story it was. I had always meant to read it in past years, but did not get the chance to do so until it appeared on this class's choice reading list.
Although I had heard praises for this Lois Lowry text and had also read her Number the Stars book, I was a bit confused and and disappointed after I read the first chapter of The Giver. I was not at all expecting the story to be science fiction-related and do not generally enjoy books of that genre. I was confused as to whether Jonas and his family were humans, wondered about the book's time period setting and, overall, just did not understand the story's first ten pages. Because of time constraints, I put the book down after reading those first pages and read a few other books for class before again picking it up a few days later. I attempted to approach the remaining 170 pages positively, thinking that it may take reading more than just the first chapter to begin to understand the story. I definitely was glad I gave The Giver that chance because I now consider it one of my favorite books and have already recommended it to friends.
While reading, I experienced just about as many emotions as the number of memories that were given to Jonas. I was curious while learning about, and trying to comprehend, living in a society like Jonas, Lily, Asher, Fiona and the Giver lived in: one in which privileges were given to children strictly based on age, adults could not choose mates or jobs and, starting as teenagers, people were required to take medication to suppress “stirrings.” As the book spoke of these ways in which citizens of Jonas's community were limited in their freedom, it became more and more difficult to imagine being happy living such a life, but reading on and realizing the community's people did not know of things such as color or sunshine, Christmas, or even hunger, I began to feel sorry for them. I was sorry that not everyone could know of these things through everyday life, but was relieved that Jonas got to experience them through the Giver. Jonas was able to set his life apart from the harsh societal constraints and become his own, more complete person (at least by today's standards). His receiving allowed him to see how, by prohibiting the experience of such things such as color, “stirrings” and Christmas, the community authorities were stifling peoples' ability to live a real life. Jonas grew from his receiving to realize he could stand up against the lies and the constraints to create a better life for himself and Gabriel. During the final pages of the book, I felt scared for and proud of Jonas and his courage – one of his distinguishing Receiver traits – to begin his new life, completely on his own, at such a young age. Although Lowry surely did not intend to inspire young readers to go to the extreme of leaving home in order to take a stance against something they believe in, she undoubtedly intended for children and teens to evaluate their lives and develop their own ideas about the world rather than just to automatically accept what they see and hear. This intention was clearly communicated through The Giver.
Although Lowry's story of Jonas and his Giver mentor certainly was far fetched and could be considered a science fiction novel, I was very pleased with my choice to pick it up for a second time after being disappointed by my first impression. The book was inspiring and thought-provoking and would be an excellent addition to any literary realm – whether that be children's or young adult. The Giver turned out to be a pleasant surprise and I am very interested in reading the books that follow it in its series.
Group Discussion Response
Talking with my group about The Giver did not change my feelings about the book – I still think very highly of the story and its literary merit, as did the other group members. Listening to and reading about their reactions to the story did, however, look at it differently.
One of most prominent changes in my perspective of The Giver was the realizations of connections between it and other aspects of pop culture. When considering the concept of “sameness” one can easily compare it to themes of movies such as The Village and Pleasantville. Like the book, both of these movies focus on the seclusion and protection from the real world. People of each of the communities forced citizens to accept the life and the customs as they were taught and to never challenge them. To make a further connection between Pleasantville and The Giver is the two's treatment of color. Color was a sign of disorder and the antithesis of “sameness.”
One of the other group members discussed symbolism that had not occurred to me before the discussion. He thought of the sled in the snow as a symbol of the journey that Jonas had to take to separate himself from the community. At first, the journey to Elsewhere was easy, he quickly traveled away from the community, but then planes began to travel over and he fell and injured his ankle and it began to rain and snow. The other group member pointed out that, as the journey progressed literal and figurative snow began to build up in front of the runners helping Jonas travel, making the downhill journey to Elsewhere nearly impossible.
Thursday's small group discussion helped me to realize certain connections to pop culture outside of the book and also to realize symbolism within the book itself. I was glad that each of my group members enjoyed the book just as I did and also grateful for the new perspective I gained on the story.