The Giver
written by Lois Lowry
Bibliography
Lowry, L. (1993). The giver.
Brief Summary
At twelve years of age, Jonas is given a tremendous responsibility. The Elders of his community give him the life-long assignment of being the Receiver of all memories, both new/old, pleasant/painful. Jonas studies with the Giver for more than a year, absorbing memories so that he will be able to advise the Elders wisely. However, Jonas discovers that the community and all which it represents is not what it appears to be. Life of the community members is not as valued as Jonas once thought. Eventually, he is faced with the decision to choose between the comfort of home and familiarity, and being a caregiver. In making the difficult choice to leave home and familiarity, Jonas saves the life of a young boy.
My Impressions
I enjoyed this book. The storyline has multiple planes and therefore, appeals to me on several different levels. The content is thought provoking to say the least. I’d like to read it again, this time as part of a book club. It would be quite interesting to have discussions about the preservation of memory, sameness, government control, etc.
Reviews
“Lowry's simple, powerful prose creates an anti-utopian world where the lack of hardship, war, and poverty only covers the citizens' deeper lack of freedom. A Booklist Editors' Choice and Newbery Medal Winner…Gr. 7-9.”
-- Booklist (September 15, 1998)
“Winner of the 1994 Newbery Medal, this thought-provoking novel centers on a 12-year-old boy's gradual disillusionment with an outwardly utopian futuristic society; in a starred review, PW said, ‘Lowry is once again in top form... unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers.’ Ages 10-up.”
-- Publishers Weekly (August 8, 1994)
“In a complete departure from her other novels, Lowry has written an intriguing story set in a society that is uniformly run by a Committee of Elders. Twelve-year-old Jonas's confidence in his comfortable ‘normal’ existence as a member of this well-ordered community is shaken when he is assigned his life's work as the Receiver. The Giver, who passes on to Jonas the burden of being the holder for the community of all memory ‘back and back and back,’ teaches him the cost of living in an environment that is ‘without color, pain, or past.’ The tension leading up to the Ceremony, in which children are promoted not to another grade but to another stage in their life, and the drama and responsibility of the sessions with The Giver are gripping. The final flight for survival is as riveting as it is inevitable. The author makes real abstract concepts, such as the meaning of a life in which there are virtually no choices to be made and no experiences with deep feelings. This tightly plotted story and its believable characters will stay with readers for a long time…Gr 6-9”
-- School Library Journal (May 1, 1993)
Amy Kellman, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Suggestions for Library Use
The book might be an interesting story for younger children. However, I can see many applications for older students as well as adults. Ethics instructors should find many ways to utilize the content, political science teachers as well.
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