Theme Of Love In The Giver

It is embedded in human nature to love; in fact, many scientific studies have proven that mankind can’t live without love. However, in the critically-acclaimed, dystopian novel The Giver, love, along with any true emotions, is ostracized. All inhabitants of the Community are identical, with no one truly loving each other, just “enjoying one another’s presence”. The protagonist, Jonas, must learn for himself what the true meaning of love is, how it affects humans, and whether expressing it is worth the trouble that follows. By developing character relationships, author Lois Lowry expresses the theme of love being a double-sided blade that can both aid and maim the wielder. The benefits and downfalls of love are shown in the Giver, a man whose vocation is to hold all the pain, happiness, and secrets
Part of being a Receiver of Memory is to understand the past, both its joys and pains. The memories, while seeming an honor, are a burden to the bearer, so when Jonas went to training in the Annex one day, the Giver willingly transferred some of his burden: the memory of warfare. Afterwards, the Giver was ashamed for days for what he did and only gave Jonas memories containing joyful experiences. In one instance, Jonas is given the memory of a birthday,” He had seen a birthday party, with one child singled out and celebrated on his day, so that now he understand the joy of being an individual, specials and unique and proud” (121). Jonas benefits from the joyful memories, like the birthday, because he develops an understanding of the delights of the past and recovers his emotional strength, but it also weakens Jonas because he isn’t prepared for future pain. The Giver and Jonas’s relationship proves the attributes and flaws of love; because of the Giver’s love for Jonas, he only gives him happy memories which both strengthens and weakens