The Giver

 

30 January 2025

Dear Readers,

 

The Giver by Lois Lowry, is based in a precisely choreographed idyllic world, where designated birthmothers produce new children, who are assigned to appropriate family units. Citizens are assigned their partners and jobs. No one thinks to ask questions. There is no fear, war or pain. Everyone obeys. Everyone's the same, except for Jonas. At the Ceremony of Twelve, twelve year olds get assigned jobs based on interests from their childhood, however Jonas is selected to take the position of Receiver of Memory, the person who stores all the memories of the time before Sameness. Sameness is the world that the people chose in which everyone is the same and equal, however sameness doesn’t allow color, sadness, love, pain or choice. Jonas learns that his perfect, colorless world is a lie as he experiences color, happiness, sadness, love, and family through memories that “The Giver” gives him, before sameness. Jonas struggles with concepts of new emotions and things introduced to him and whether they are inherently good, evil or in between and whether it's possible to have one without the other. Jonas' character develops over the year of training with the Giver. In the beginning he is naive and overconfident as he believes he has experienced more pain than anyone else in the community by experiencing a sunburn. 

 

The scariest part of the book is when Jonas realizes what “releasing” means in the community. Releasing in the community can be very sad or very happy. If a newborn is being released it was very sad because they couldn’t enjoy life in the community. If it is an elder, getting released was very happy and joyful as they already were able to enjoy life in the community. Jonas then realizes what “releasing” means and it horrifies him. Since people don't have emotions Jonas considers his father a killer after “releasing” the smaller of one of the twins, because identical twins are prohibited in the community. Jonas is heartbroken and angry but The Giver reminds him that there is no concept of killing as it is masked by the word releasing so they couldn’t know, “His mind reeled. Now, empowered to ask questions of utmost rudeness–and promised answers-he could, conceivably (though it was almost unimaginable), ask someone, some adult, his father perhaps: ‘Do you lie?’ But he would have no way of knowing if the answer he received was true.” (pg.106) 

 

Lowry has written over 3 dozen young adult books . The most popular and successful being The Giver and Number the Stars. In 1994 Lowry was awarded the Regina medal. The Regina medal recognizes a living person for their significant and enduring contributions to children’s literature. Lowry is known to write about difficult subject matters, dystopias and complex themes in the work of young adult audiences.

           

Jonas comes up with a plan to “release” the memories so that every individual can have them. As Jonas has experienced the joy of individuality and being human from these memories “He was free to enjoy the breathless glee that overwhelmed him: the speed, the clear cold air, the total silence, the feeling of balance and excitement and peace.” (pg.122) The theme of this book is the relationship between pleasure and pain, the importance of individuality over conformity and the value and limitations of memories. 

 

The Giver by Lois Lowry challenges readers to reflect on a world without pain, emotion or choice. Is it really worth it? Do you want to live in this world? The Giver makes us question if we are willing to go through this pain for a “perfect” world. Is it worth sacrificing what life is worth living for, joy, love, happiness, family, and color? In life there has to be a balance between pleasure and pain, it’s what makes us strong. Prioritize individuality over conformity, security over freedom and truth over ignorance. 

 

Enjoy Reading,

Natalie O’Brien