The Giver by Lois Lowry. Cover art by Cliff Nielsen. Newbery Award Winner. Genre: Fantasy Book. 179 Pages. Copyright 1993.
Can you imagine a life where there was only sameness and predictability? A life where everything was predetermined, from your family to what age you would be when you would ride a bike, to what job you would have when you were the proper age. A life where everyone shared a common birth date, regardless of when you were actually born? A life in which there was no color, pain, or memories of the past? To some, this was the ideal, a utopian society. Jonas, a child gifted with sight, suddenly discovers that things weren’t quite as they appear to be. To discover what Jonas learns about this so called Utopia and what he chooses to do about it, read The Giver by Lois Lowry.
Summary:
This is the story of Jonas who lives in a Community where everything has been predetermined for their citizens, from conception to death. In an attempt to create a Utopian Society, everything in this Community is blanketed with sameness. From the age when milestones occur to what your role in society will be. For young Jonas, everything is just the same for him as everyone else, that is, until he reaches the ceremony of Twelve. Upon a child turning Twelve, and mind you everyone advances one year forward on the exact same day, regardless of when they were born, their fate is decided as to which role they would be trained for within their community. Much to not only Jonas’ surprise, but also EVERYONE’s surprise, he is selected to become the next Receiver of Memories. It is not only a job of the utmost importance but also a terribly lonesome burden. But like all unquestioning members of this Community, Jonas accepts this job with grace.
Everything goes well for Jonas and his new best friend and mentor, The Giver until one fateful day. You see, it is the job of The Giver to give all of his memories away to The Receiver (Jonas). It is them alone that possess memories of the past, not only including those of joy and love, but also of pain and sorrow. In order to keep the Community blanketed in this sameness, only the Receiver of Memories can possess any recollection of what these emotions entailed. On this fateful day that changed everything, Jonas inquired about a ritual practice known as the “release”. What he (and everyone) had been told was that if a Community member could no longer fulfill their role, they were to be released to a place outside the community to live happily ever after. Jonas ended up viewing a “release” of a newborn twin boy whom his father had told him about. Much to his shock he discovered that a “release” was in fact, a disposal of, or death to, that certain doomed individual. If this wasn’t bad enough, in a society where lying was forbidden, he suddenly discovered that his father, the one doing the euthanizing had been lying to him his whole life. This not surprisingly shattered all of Jonas ideals.
Upon this discovery, he and The Giver decide that it is time for the entire Community to become accountable for what they have done and to discover the truth. They decide that it is time for everyone to regain their memories, to live a life that is true. In order to do this however, Jonas must leave and be thought dead and The Giver must remain to maintain peace and order until the time is right to release all of the memories back to the Community. They come up with a foolproof plan that would prepare Jonas for a safe journey. Unfortunately for them, Jonas comes home to discover that while he was away the night before, his foster brother Gabriel, who was barely a year old, had been voted to be “released” the following morning. Knowing the truth of his father’s words, Jonas hastily stole off into the night, taking Gabriel with him. This meant that he was unfortunately not well prepared and things don’t go according to plan.
As he and Gabriel escape, a series of misfortunes occur and Jonas and Gabriel find themselves freezing, hurt, and starving. With few memories to hold on too, Jonas does his very best to ensure both of their survivals. What happens next is open to a plethora of interpretations. Suddenly, when all seemed lost, Jonas begins to have memories flood back, so powerful that he knows them to be true. That he is certain that they are his. He is filled with hope and charges down the hill, with a dying Gabriel in tow. And the story ends, leaving you wondering, if these memories were true, as Jonas believed, or were they merely “echoes”.
My Assessment/Critique:
This is a wonderful book and I can see why it won so many awards. Lois Lowry is a master writer and this book is no different. She has this wonderful way with vocabulary. She uses big words but never to big to loose understanding, but rather to paint the words on the pages. As I came to the conclusion of the book I felt frustrated by the way it ended. I wanted closure. A pretty little bow tied around it. That is not what I received. In fact, I went back and re read the last few pages just to make sure I hadn’t missed something. But alas, no. We are left wondering and at first, that left me feeling frustrated. That is until I spent some time stewing over it. Lois Lowry left us with words that possessed a powerful literary gift. In what I am sure was a very intentional manner; she ended The Giver leaving us with the gift of continued imagination. And reading this with teacher eyes, I can see the beauty of a world of writing assignments that she left us with. So although as a reader I wanted things answered, as a teacher I humbly bow my head and thank her.
Teachable Moments:
As I mentioned above, this book has opened the door to so many teaching scenarios. The book to begin with is filled with hundreds of teachable moments, both of language and of character. The way that the families gather and share their feelings opens the door to so many conversations one could have with your students. She does a beautiful job of weaving sadness into the beauty of being able to possess memories of things that no one else can. The idea of this Utopian Community where everything is predetermined and everyone has a job is a great introduction to not only local community but also global community. And of course finally, I could picture 10 year old me having a field day, writing my version of what happened next. And it would be a story that every student in my class could have written and not a single one would have been the same
What I like most about this book:
There are so many things that I liked about this story. One of my favorite things was the way that Lois Lowry uses her words. She not only throws new vocabulary out there, but she also gives definitions within the context of the story. I also really liked the way that while demonstrating a society that is “ideal”, she also illustrates the ugliness to it. She highlights the importance of uniqueness in such a nonchalant way that at first you don’t realize she has done that. I think that it is absolutely masterful.
Can you imagine a life where there was only sameness and predictability? A life where everything was predetermined, from your family to what age you would be when you would ride a bike, to what job you would have when you were the proper age. A life where everyone shared a common birth date, regardless of when you were actually born? A life in which there was no color, pain, or memories of the past? To some, this was the ideal, a utopian society. Jonas, a child gifted with sight, suddenly discovers that things weren’t quite as they appear to be. To discover what Jonas learns about this so called Utopia and what he chooses to do about it, read The Giver by Lois Lowry.
Summary:
This is the story of Jonas who lives in a Community where everything has been predetermined for their citizens, from conception to death. In an attempt to create a Utopian Society, everything in this Community is blanketed with sameness. From the age when milestones occur to what your role in society will be. For young Jonas, everything is just the same for him as everyone else, that is, until he reaches the ceremony of Twelve. Upon a child turning Twelve, and mind you everyone advances one year forward on the exact same day, regardless of when they were born, their fate is decided as to which role they would be trained for within their community. Much to not only Jonas’ surprise, but also EVERYONE’s surprise, he is selected to become the next Receiver of Memories. It is not only a job of the utmost importance but also a terribly lonesome burden. But like all unquestioning members of this Community, Jonas accepts this job with grace.
Everything goes well for Jonas and his new best friend and mentor, The Giver until one fateful day. You see, it is the job of The Giver to give all of his memories away to The Receiver (Jonas). It is them alone that possess memories of the past, not only including those of joy and love, but also of pain and sorrow. In order to keep the Community blanketed in this sameness, only the Receiver of Memories can possess any recollection of what these emotions entailed. On this fateful day that changed everything, Jonas inquired about a ritual practice known as the “release”. What he (and everyone) had been told was that if a Community member could no longer fulfill their role, they were to be released to a place outside the community to live happily ever after. Jonas ended up viewing a “release” of a newborn twin boy whom his father had told him about. Much to his shock he discovered that a “release” was in fact, a disposal of, or death to, that certain doomed individual. If this wasn’t bad enough, in a society where lying was forbidden, he suddenly discovered that his father, the one doing the euthanizing had been lying to him his whole life. This not surprisingly shattered all of Jonas ideals.
Upon this discovery, he and The Giver decide that it is time for the entire Community to become accountable for what they have done and to discover the truth. They decide that it is time for everyone to regain their memories, to live a life that is true. In order to do this however, Jonas must leave and be thought dead and The Giver must remain to maintain peace and order until the time is right to release all of the memories back to the Community. They come up with a foolproof plan that would prepare Jonas for a safe journey. Unfortunately for them, Jonas comes home to discover that while he was away the night before, his foster brother Gabriel, who was barely a year old, had been voted to be “released” the following morning. Knowing the truth of his father’s words, Jonas hastily stole off into the night, taking Gabriel with him. This meant that he was unfortunately not well prepared and things don’t go according to plan.
As he and Gabriel escape, a series of misfortunes occur and Jonas and Gabriel find themselves freezing, hurt, and starving. With few memories to hold on too, Jonas does his very best to ensure both of their survivals. What happens next is open to a plethora of interpretations. Suddenly, when all seemed lost, Jonas begins to have memories flood back, so powerful that he knows them to be true. That he is certain that they are his. He is filled with hope and charges down the hill, with a dying Gabriel in tow. And the story ends, leaving you wondering, if these memories were true, as Jonas believed, or were they merely “echoes”.
My Assessment/Critique:
This is a wonderful book and I can see why it won so many awards. Lois Lowry is a master writer and this book is no different. She has this wonderful way with vocabulary. She uses big words but never to big to loose understanding, but rather to paint the words on the pages. As I came to the conclusion of the book I felt frustrated by the way it ended. I wanted closure. A pretty little bow tied around it. That is not what I received. In fact, I went back and re read the last few pages just to make sure I hadn’t missed something. But alas, no. We are left wondering and at first, that left me feeling frustrated. That is until I spent some time stewing over it. Lois Lowry left us with words that possessed a powerful literary gift. In what I am sure was a very intentional manner; she ended The Giver leaving us with the gift of continued imagination. And reading this with teacher eyes, I can see the beauty of a world of writing assignments that she left us with. So although as a reader I wanted things answered, as a teacher I humbly bow my head and thank her.
Teachable Moments:
As I mentioned above, this book has opened the door to so many teaching scenarios. The book to begin with is filled with hundreds of teachable moments, both of language and of character. The way that the families gather and share their feelings opens the door to so many conversations one could have with your students. She does a beautiful job of weaving sadness into the beauty of being able to possess memories of things that no one else can. The idea of this Utopian Community where everything is predetermined and everyone has a job is a great introduction to not only local community but also global community. And of course finally, I could picture 10 year old me having a field day, writing my version of what happened next. And it would be a story that every student in my class could have written and not a single one would have been the same
What I like most about this book:
There are so many things that I liked about this story. One of my favorite things was the way that Lois Lowry uses her words. She not only throws new vocabulary out there, but she also gives definitions within the context of the story. I also really liked the way that while demonstrating a society that is “ideal”, she also illustrates the ugliness to it. She highlights the importance of uniqueness in such a nonchalant way that at first you don’t realize she has done that. I think that it is absolutely masterful.