If you could, would you choose to live in a world where all of your decision were made for you? Would you welcome this world where every aspect of society was planned and organized so that everything was convenient and nothing was allowed to disturb the peace? At times, it may seem like it would be better to not have to make so many hard decisions, but would it be worth it?
In this Newbery Award winning science fiction novel, The Giver, written by Lois Lowry, the main character Jonas grapples with similar questions. Jonas has always lived in a society where everything was decided for him, a society devoid of all pain, fear, war, and emotions. As is customary, at the Ceremony of Twelve, all children turning 12 are assigned their community jobs and begin the training for their new role. Everyone is assigned the job that the Elders believe they are best suited for and Jonas though interested in many can’t decide what his job may be. As the ceremony progresses and the names are read out loud, Jonas is skipped. He is filled with fear and shame at the thought that he had done something wrong, until a special announcement is made. Jonas will be the next Receiver of Memory and the society he knows now will be forever changed. All of the strict community rules he’s learned and followed don’t apply to him anymore. How would you feel if you were told you could do the opposite of every rule you’d ever followed? Would you be excited, worried, or scared?
As Jonas undergoes his training with the current Giver by receiving the society’s memories, he starts to understand how shallow life in his community really is. The people may be living a peaceful existence with little to worry about, however how can they truly live without knowing both great joy and great sorrow? Unfortunately, Jonas doesn’t have long to grapple with these new ideas and must make a drastic decision. Flee the only society he’s ever known and leave his family unit behind for a life of color, emotion and danger, or stay locked away in the protective cage of his community knowing all the while that he’s not actually experiencing life in all its glory.
In this story, Lois Lowry paints a world so like and unlike ours that you get sucked right into it. Every aspect of their lives has been modified or controlled, even their genetics. For the purpose of sameness, everyone is colorblind to facilitate their inability to see differences, however Jonas gains the ability to see beyond, i.e. he can see color. Everyone in the community serves a needed role and all emotions, including love referred to as ‘Stirrings’, are subdued through a daily pill. All of these ideas are, as unsettling as they may be, plausible in our society. What sets this story apart from our world and enters it into the science fiction category is the ability of The Giver to hold and transfer all of society’s memories to another selected Receiver of Memories. Because of this realness Lowry creates as Jonas struggles with his new found knowledge, the reader also struggles with a similar question wondering if in their darkest times of sadness if a world of bland peacefulness would be worth the sacrifice.
With the turn of every page you go from a lighthearted world of harmony to a stressful and action filled story as the pretty veils of the society are lifted to reveal its dark side. So, which world would you choose?
It should be noted that this book does address some pretty heavy topics, and parents and teachers should be prepared for some potentially complicated questions. Because of this, I suggest this book for upper elementary students and above.
In my research of this book, I found that Lois Lowry had actually gained inspiration for this book from her aging parents. When visiting them in a nursing home, she would sit with her mother, who was blind at the time, and listen to her recount the stories of her life both very happy and very sad (the death of Lowry’s sister). She would also sit with her father who could see, but was losing his memory. With him she would go through photo albums and retell him who or what was in the picture. When she reached pictures of herself and her late sister, she had to explain to him that her sister had died and watch him grapple with the fact anew. This sad occurrence led her to think about the importance of memories and wonder about manipulating memories to only leave the happy ones. This inspired her to create the world of The Giver and introduce us to Jonas and his struggle.
To end on a lighter note and referenced in my previous Number the Stars blog post, Lois Lowry does offer some writing advice on her website and will even sign copies of her books if you contact her as suggested on the site.
