The Giver Response Essay

In her book ‘The Giver’, Lois Lowry has created a futuristic utopian community where there are no feelings, no choices and Sameness prevails. Sameness, as the name suggests, is the idea that all aspects of life are almost invariably the same for all community members and life itself has no choices; everything is dictated, from what to wear and who to marry, to how one is required to act and the number of offspring. There exist no colours; the community sees in black and white and hues of grey. Because everything is controlled and regulated and nobody has a say in matters except the Committee of Elders who decide all, the community has no problems that would be reminiscent of the world today: prejudice, competition, rivalry, social stigmas,
et cetera.
"How could someone not fit in? The community was so meticulously ordered, the choices so carefully made."
(Ch. 6)
The story is told through Jonas’ point of view throughout, and gives us an insight to his feelings and thoughts as the plot progresses.
Jonas comes from a family of four: his father is a Nurturer who takes care of infants, his mother a member of the Department of Justice and his sister, who is seven.
In the community, families too, like all other things, are assigned and the child is separated from the Birthmother at birth.
The plot develops when Jonas, at age twelve is assigned the esteemed role of the Receiver of Memory. Memory is one of the chief themes of the book; it talks about the change in perception Jonas develops towards his seemingly perfect society once he receives memories from the Giver.
The Giver is the sole owner of all the memories of the past, so as to rid the community itself of all the emotional baggage associated with emotions, and Jonas has been chosen as the next in line to bear the burden. Jonas receives memories from the Giver when the Giver places his hands on his back. The first memory Jonas receives is of a thrilling sled ride and this is the first time Jonas feels pleasure. As more and more memories are transferred, of pain and pleasure, warmth of the sun and cold breezes, Jonas realises that his community is deprived of all the feelings and emotions that make life worth living. Jonas soon learns that the Giver is of the same view that the community, although very peaceful, has never experienced true joy or love and that the trade-off is not
justified.
"Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness. Before my time, before the previous time, back and back and back. We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with difference. We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others."
-The Giver (Ch. 12)
Jonas continues to receive more memories and through them realises the relationship between pain and pleasure, another idea the book focuses on. Jonas experiences pain with memories of war and famine and love through memories of grandparents. An individual can not fully understand one without having been subjected to the other. It is because of this that the community is devoid of any emotion and is unable to appreciate the value of what they have, or feel the absence of what they do not.
During this time, Jonas’ father has been placed in charge of a Newchild (a newborn), Gabriel, who he has brought home to look after, because Gabriel is not completely healthy and as a Nurturer, that is what he must do. Jonas develops a close bond with Gabriel over time as he spends his nights getting Gabriel to sleep by transferring pleasant memories. Jonas hears from his father that Gabriel would soon be ‘released’ and learns from the Giver that release is the equivalent of death. Utterly overwhelmed and shocked by this revelation, Jonas expresses repugnance for his community and their ways; he shares with the Giver a desire to set free all the memories, so as to bring an end to the apathetic lives the community leads.
The Giver and Jonas plan on Jonas’ escape to Elsewhere, another community believed to see what the community can not, feel what the community does not. There, Jonas would release all memories and when they gradually make their way to Jonas’ community, the Giver would help them understand and handle them.
Before Gabriel is set to be released, Jonas sets on his journey to Elsewhere, taking Gabriel with him to save his life; Gabriel, to Jonas, is a sign of hope, of starting fresh, starting anew. They travel for miles and experience changing weather, colours of the sky and environment around them, feelings of hunger and fear. They carry on and come across a village at Chrismastime where they hear music. Jonas is delighted to have completed his journey and finally being able to start a normal, more exciting life with no restrictions.
The book is a brilliantly written piece of literature that provokes thought. It considers the importance of the individual, one’s personality that can only be seen if differences are accepted and welcomed. It makes you question what is more important, the needs of the society or the needs of the individual? The community Jonas belongs to has given up sensation and emotion for security and stability, but is this necessary? The book motivates the reader to think of a balance between the two needs.
The book highlights the need for courage, the audacity to be able to accept change and want to implement it, and Jonas’ character displays this courage in the book.
The ending has been left open to interpretation, with Jonas overlooking the village in Elsewhere. The book abruptly ends there, without further details of what Jonas does next and what his life is like after that. This leaves the reader being able to come up with their own creation of subsequent events, something not many authors allow.