The Giver by Lois Lowry

It is hard to know where to start with a novel like The Giver. Students have the opportunity to read it at many different levels. There are Philosophy professors that have it as part of their curriculum or at least an option read for extra credit, and English Teacher’s also love teaching the book because it was one that students love, and teachers love to teach. The Giver is a book that it is hard not to fall in love with.
Everything about the novel was intriguing to me. At the beginning of the novel Lowry does a great job painting a picture of what the world is like. A perfect ‘Utopian’ society in which everybody does what they are best suited for, and nobody has to feel pain or sorrow because they do not know what it is. Jonas does not see a perfect Utopian society though, he has questions. He doesn’t understand everything, and by seeing the world through his eyes we the reader can see that the community is missing vital elements of what we as humans have come to love about being human. By living in a society where everything is the same, it has eliminated the ability for humans to make their own choices. As the story continues Jonas’ eyes are opened to the way life should was and should be again by the Giver
I think what really drew me in first was the character of the Giver. What I loved so much about him was the way that he was able to teach Jonas. The Giver was the wise old man that seems to have all of the answers that Jonas needs to hear. The Receiver of Memories has the weight of the past solely on his shoulders; he had to carry all of the pain and sorrow of the past. However, he also carried all of the beauty and wonder of the past. In order to teach Jonas he started by giving him the good memories, leaving him with less and less joy, making the weight of the sorrow more and more. The Giver knew that in order for Jonas to make it, he had to see the beautiful things from the past before he could deal with the pain. He seemed was so peaceful and kind and loved Jonas so much, it was hard not to love the man.
Jonas is a character that I feel many students are able to connect with. I believe that when people are put in a tough situation they hope that they will do the noble thing, whatever that may be. In the character of Jonas they are able to be that noble person. Jonas risks his own life so that everyone can have the memories of the past. He sees the world for what it is, a grey place with no beauty, no love, nothing that can bring true happiness. In order to show the citizens the memories of the past he also needs to carry the memories of pain. I think that it is easy to forget Jonas is only 12 years old the novel, because as a child he is able to see the world for what it is and make the conscious effort to change that. It is because he is so young that I feel that students will be able to make that connection with him.
I feel that the society was another character in and of itself. The way that Jonas sees the community and the way he interacts with it bring it alive. Lowry did such a great job describing the society that it actually gave me a visceral response. I hated the society. I wanted to scream at the book and tell all of the citizens that they were fools. They had given up all of the beauty simply so they could stop feeling pain. I think what made it so real for me was that it did not seem so far fetched. At times it is so easy to see all of the pain in our world and wish that things were easier. Sometimes we have those sections in our life where it seems bad things pile up. We think to ourselves, what would I give to have this pain stop? In this novel Lowry asks instead what would you give to have joy? I think what she is saying that with all of the bad things that are out there we can always find hope in the joy that exists.
Overall I think that this was great book. While it is a book that I never thought of as a science fiction book, I look back now and see that it is just that. The Giver takes place in the future, in a society that has changed the way they live their lives so as to create a community that everybody will be the same. This future society I think will draw students in and make them want to keep reading; I know that it did for me. The Giver may not be a rousing action story but it still has characters that the reader can relate to and cheer for, and a story that give the reader hope in the end. I hope that this novel continues to be taught in high schools because I think that it has a great deal to teach the students of the importance of going through life, both the good and the bad.