The Giver by Lois Lowry Provokes Thought
A Young Adult Novel Provides Insight for All Ages
Aug 31, 2009
In The Giver, Lois Lowry writes of a perfect society. A society free of the troubles faced today. A community free of war, starvation, and weather extremes. Every day is the same and carefully controlled.
In the community, the families are the same as well with each family unit consisting of one mother and one father. If children are desired, each family will have one son and one daughter.
The society in The Giver follows a strict code of rules. Community members are trained to apologize for any action that does not follow the confines of the community. Individuals who do not follow the rules or fit within the predefined constraints of the community are released.
Very obedient and polite, the society seems perfect on the surface. But as readers dive further into the novel, they discover and begin to question a society void of feeling and freedom.
Lois Lowry in The Giver Describes Society With Assigned Roles
With each age, a child reaches new rites of passage and new responsibilities. Unlike the freedom individuals have in current society, in The Giver, a child receives their assigned role within the community at the age of twelve. It is at this stage that the main character of the book, Jonas, he has been assigned the role as the receiver.
Memory is only experienced by the individual selected as the receiver in the community. As the new receiver in training, Jonas is entrusted with memories, good and bad. The current receiver, the Giver, passes all of his memories onto Jonas. Through his training, Jonas experiences many new feelings for the first time.
Jonas discovers color, feels happiness, watches war and sees the beauty of freshly fallen snow. For the first time, he hears music and knows pain. With each new memory passed onto him, Jonas gains knowledge and begins to question the perfect society his community has created.
The Giver Relevant to Adults and Adolescents
The Giver outlines the dangers of a controlled society. On the surface, a controlled society free of the burdens of war, weather and consequences of bad decisions appears to be perfect. But as revealed through Jonas, the book encourages readers remain independent in thought and true to their own values. The Giver encourages readers to not blindly accept the norm of society, but to constantly question things.
Although, The Giver is intended as a book for young adults, it remains a thought-provoking read for adults as well. Powerful and provocative, The Giver reveals the dangers of a perfectly-controlled society.
The Giver by Lois Lowry, 1993, Dell Laurel-Leaf-Random House, ISBN 0-440-23768-8
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