The Giver

The Giver. ISBN 978-0-440-23768-6. Lois Lowry. 1993. Newberry Medal. Young Adult. Middle-Class American.

The Giver, by Lois Lowry, takes place in a world unlike the the world we live in today. The people are similar to you and me, but their way of life is highly controlled and organized, so that freedom of choice simply does not exist. In this world, or community, this lack of autonomy is referred to as Sameness, and was implemented as a means to protect people from making undesirable choices and the pain and suffering that often comes along with that. Unfortunately, deep felt emotions, all together, have been eliminated in the process. This includes love. This world is introduced through the character of Jonas, an eleven-year-old boy, and his family which consists of his mother, father, and sister Lily. This is the standard make-up of each family in this Community. As Jonas reaches his twelfth birthday, he is given his Assignment, or what is meant to be his career. He is given the highly regarded position of Receiver, which entitles him to be given memories by the Giver. For example, he can see colors, whereas the rest of the Community has no idea what colors are. He is given memories by the Giver that cause him to feel emotions on a level that he never knew existed, which opens his eyes to the way that the world can be, and should be. With this knowledge, he leaves his Community to seek more truths.

This book should be used in a classroom of young adults. The theme of living in a highly controlled world, void of certain emotions, is shown in a way that is a bit shocking. People are killed that are not productive, regardless of their age. This is something that a mature reader would understand as supporting the idea that this world is cold and callous, whereas this could be extremely disturbing to a younger person. As a teacher, I would use this book to discuss the importance of personal choice. I could have the students write an essay about a time that they had to make a decision and the outcome of that decision. I'd like to know how it made them feel to be allowed to excercise their freedom.