An Analysis of Lois Lowry's the Giver
John Michael A. Espino
Asst. Prof. Nerisa Del Carmen Guevara
LIT 201 - Young Adult Literature
17 August 2012
Cutting The Strings Set in a world where everything is plain and pre-determined, the Giver puts its readers in a series of unlikely events that we don’t encounter in our everyday lives. A society that is perfect, yet disturbing where everything follows its own cycle so as to the lives of every individual. Everything is monitored; everything has its respective rules and must be obeyed. The novel can be read in a matter of hours but as to how the author, Lois Lowry, had managed to weave wonderful words to create a short but direct novel. The message can be interpreted by the in several ways based from how the reader perceives the plot of the story. The characters that can be easily attached to the readers because of the protagonist’s wonder in his own world and will keep the reader’s mind asking the same questions as the characters in the story.
THE HERO
Our protagonist is a kind of hero who had developed immensely in a short amount of time by committing a spiritual deed – in which, according to Joseph Campbell from the book The Power of Myth – where “…a child is compelled to give up its adulthood and become an adult” (Campbell, 152) by accepting the task that was given to him as “The Receiver of Memory” of the Community. As the story progresses, Jonas reached a point of illumination in which where the Giver has been transferring memories of the world to him. He did experienced things that the people of Community never did; happiness, sorrow, death, and love. The memories had served as a revelation to Jonas for him to see the bigger picture of his society and because of this, Jonas started to emerge out of the society’s ways. When Jonas had learned about the existence of colors, he began to realize that everyone in the Community is prevented to make their own choices. They are restricted to do and choose “what they think is right”—that could be
Asst. Prof. Nerisa Del Carmen Guevara
LIT 201 - Young Adult Literature
17 August 2012
Cutting The Strings Set in a world where everything is plain and pre-determined, the Giver puts its readers in a series of unlikely events that we don’t encounter in our everyday lives. A society that is perfect, yet disturbing where everything follows its own cycle so as to the lives of every individual. Everything is monitored; everything has its respective rules and must be obeyed. The novel can be read in a matter of hours but as to how the author, Lois Lowry, had managed to weave wonderful words to create a short but direct novel. The message can be interpreted by the in several ways based from how the reader perceives the plot of the story. The characters that can be easily attached to the readers because of the protagonist’s wonder in his own world and will keep the reader’s mind asking the same questions as the characters in the story.
THE HERO
Our protagonist is a kind of hero who had developed immensely in a short amount of time by committing a spiritual deed – in which, according to Joseph Campbell from the book The Power of Myth – where “…a child is compelled to give up its adulthood and become an adult” (Campbell, 152) by accepting the task that was given to him as “The Receiver of Memory” of the Community. As the story progresses, Jonas reached a point of illumination in which where the Giver has been transferring memories of the world to him. He did experienced things that the people of Community never did; happiness, sorrow, death, and love. The memories had served as a revelation to Jonas for him to see the bigger picture of his society and because of this, Jonas started to emerge out of the society’s ways. When Jonas had learned about the existence of colors, he began to realize that everyone in the Community is prevented to make their own choices. They are restricted to do and choose “what they think is right”—that could be
Cited: Campbell, Jospeh and Bill Moyers. “The Hero’s Adventure” The Power of Myth. ed. Betty Sue Flowers, New York: Doubleday, 1988. Print. Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf, 1993. Print.