Book Report on The Giver
Lois Lowry's "The Giver" takes hardened young-adult reviewers by surprise" (Campbell 179). The novel explores everything, from what the residents professions are to who their life partners will be. The plot of The Giver "is particularly surprising because it is a major departure from the style and type of book we have come to expect from Lois Lowry" (Campbell 179). Up until the point at which Lowry wrote The Giver, her work consisted mostly of "contemporary novels with engaging characters that explore something very rare- a functional family" (Campbell 179). The dynamic character, Jonas, goes from blindly excepting his world to becoming a rebel who must escape from his utopian society.
Jonas's utopia is secluded from the neighboring communities, which are referred to as "Elsewhere". Jonas thought of "what lay in the far distance where he had never gone. The land didn't end beyond those nearby communities. Were there hills Elsewhere" (106-107)? At the start, the community seems similar to our current world, even though the novel presumably takes place hundreds of years in the future ( Chaston 115-116). In an excerpt Lowry explains "that when she began writing The Giver, she wanted to create a world to make Jonas feel comfortable, familiar and safe" (Lowry 177). She "structured the intriguing details of this planned community with meticulous care, focusing particularly, through Jonas's eyes, on the education system that produces a society which functions by internalized values" (Campbell 180).
The residents of the community abide by rules stated in The Book of Rules. Everyone in the community is limited to certain activities depending on their ages. There is a speaker that constantly reminds the residents of the rules and remains permanently turned on. Only The Giver has the power to turn the speaker off. The residents language "which must be very precise is a means of controlling inappropriate ideas" (Chaston 116). This system keeps the community very predictable. The resident's lives are described as "Sameness" (95). The Giver states that "our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness" (95). Everything involving the community stays the same, including the weather. Jonas accepts his community because he does not yet hold the memories of how life was before "Sameness".
The family units are carefully put together and are chosen by the Elders. Each family consist of a mother, father, son, and daughter. Every family unit has a rite of telling their dreams at breakfast. One reason dream telling is done is to be aware of "stirrings", which are the first signs of sexual desires. When Jonas dreams once of Fiona and himself in a bathing room he describes the feeling as a "wanting" (36). Jonas states that he "could feel the wanting all through me" (36). Jonas's mother explains that the wanting is his first stirrings and that it must be suppressed by taking The Pill.
When a child reaches the age of twelve they receive an Assignment that must be followed the rest of their lives. They receive the Assignment at The Ceremonies in December.
Before the Ceremony of the Twelve, Jonas lives a normal life as do the rest of the elevens. Although, others have an idea of what their assignments will be based on their volunteer work, Jonas does not have the "slightest idea what Assignment the Elders would be selecting for his future, or how he might feel about it when the day came"(19). He is very "apprehensive about the approaching December" (Telgen and Hile 165).
During The Ceremony the Chief Elder skips over Jonas. After all the other names have been called, The Chief Elder informs everyone that Jonas has not been assigned, but selected.
He is surprised to hear that he has been allotted to the highest position in the community. The "selection is very, very rare," (60) the Chief Elder explained to the audience.
When Jonas is selected to be the new Receiver of Memory, he finds himself bearing specific training with the old Receiver of Memory, The Giver. Jonas is stunned to find out that The Giver is relatively skeptical about the society. The Giver transmits "the memories of experiences and emotions that the people have chosen to banish from their minds so that they might sustain the illusion of social order and success" ( Campbell 180). The memories that The Giver first transmits to Jonas, gives him knowledge of cold and snow. These memories give him "ideas that are new to him" (Campbell 180). After a while, Jonas "learns that The Giver lives an isolated life and that his function has been to provide with help when decisions need to be made" (Chaston 117).
As the training continues, "Jonas experiences war and pain and love, and begins to understand how his society has given up choice and freedom for control and predictability" (Campbell 180). When Jonas finds out that he can access the video tapes of "release" he ask to see the mornings release of an infant that the community did not desire. Sadly, Jonas "learns to his horror that the euphemism covers engineered death- for the old, for rule breakers, and for surplus and difficult infants" (Campbell 179). Jonas reacts to his discovery by developing "the insights he needs to channel his anger into constructive actions" (Lord 174). The actions of him mimicking "in a cruel, sarcastic voice. "I will do whatever you like, sir. I will kill people, sir. Old people? Small newborn people? I'd be happy to kill them, sir. Thank you for your instructions, sir. How may I help you" (152-153).
After Jonas finds out the horrible news of what release actually entails, he "struggles to understand his community" (Lord 174). Jonas realizes that his people cannot distinguish difference or become accustomed to change. Elyse Lord described the residents best when she stated they were "simple, shallow, and murderous" (Lord 174). The Giver and Jonas both come up with the conclusion "that the community should not have given up control of things such as color and music" (Chaston 117). The memories Jonas keeps receiving, makes him realize what all his world has given up. Birthdays and Christmas are experiences our world looks forward to and also become some of Jonas's and The Giver's favorite memories. Jonas does not like the "Sameness", he wants to "wake up in the morning and decide things!" (97).
When Jonas and The Giver notice all of the communities limitations they devise a plan to force the society to transform. Jonas will run away, therefore, all the memories that The Giver has transmitted to him will be released to the residents (Campbell 180). This will cause the society to experience happiness and pain. Rosemary, The Giver's daughter, who was also selected as Receiver of Memory ten years before Jonas's time, applied for an early release because she could not bear the pain. Because of the release her "five weeks" worth of memories had come back to the people, causing them much anguish. The outcome is remembered as a terrible failure" (Telgen and Hile 166).
It comes to Jonas's attention that Gabriel, an infant his family has been nurturing, has been scheduled for release, due to not sleeping soundly through the nights. Hearing this news makes Jonas realize that he "must make his escape immediately and, without even talking to The Giver, rides out of the community on a bicycle, carrying Gabriel with him in an attempt to save himself and the baby and to find answers "Elsewhere" (Chaston 118-119). Jonas takes on a rebel character towards the end of the novel. Whereas "Jonas does initially feel content for his community" (Lord 174) in the beginning.
Jonas's escape turns out to be a journey that "is cold, dark, painful, and hungry" (Telgen and Hile 163). His comfort is the knowledge that all of his memories will be brought back to the society, "the memories of how life used to be, kept for safekeeping by The Giver, will be released and life will never be the same again" (Telgen and Hile 170). His own memories of sunlight and warmth, which he is capable of sharing it with Gabriel are their hope for survival.. The novel's ending is deliberately vague, which leaves the reader in suspense of whether of not the lights he sees are even real or just part of his memory and imagination (Chaston 109).
The most unexpected review "of all is the leap forward Lowry has made in mastering the creation of subtext by innuendo, foreshadowing, and resonance" (Campbell 179).
Lowry's very contemporary novel and engaging character, Jonas, explored the functional family and utopian society that he went from accepting to escaping from his twisted utopian society.
The Giver is "driven by plot and philosophy- not by character and dialogue," and the picture of the functional family turns disturbingly awry as the story proceeds" (Campbell 179). Lowry's ability to create joyful, regular actuality "that makes the revelation of the sinister difference in this alternate reality so chilling" (Campbell 179).
Jonas's utopia is secluded from the neighboring communities, which are referred to as "Elsewhere". Jonas thought of "what lay in the far distance where he had never gone. The land didn't end beyond those nearby communities. Were there hills Elsewhere" (106-107)? At the start, the community seems similar to our current world, even though the novel presumably takes place hundreds of years in the future ( Chaston 115-116). In an excerpt Lowry explains "that when she began writing The Giver, she wanted to create a world to make Jonas feel comfortable, familiar and safe" (Lowry 177). She "structured the intriguing details of this planned community with meticulous care, focusing particularly, through Jonas's eyes, on the education system that produces a society which functions by internalized values" (Campbell 180).
The residents of the community abide by rules stated in The Book of Rules. Everyone in the community is limited to certain activities depending on their ages. There is a speaker that constantly reminds the residents of the rules and remains permanently turned on. Only The Giver has the power to turn the speaker off. The residents language "which must be very precise is a means of controlling inappropriate ideas" (Chaston 116). This system keeps the community very predictable. The resident's lives are described as "Sameness" (95). The Giver states that "our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness" (95). Everything involving the community stays the same, including the weather. Jonas accepts his community because he does not yet hold the memories of how life was before "Sameness".
The family units are carefully put together and are chosen by the Elders. Each family consist of a mother, father, son, and daughter. Every family unit has a rite of telling their dreams at breakfast. One reason dream telling is done is to be aware of "stirrings", which are the first signs of sexual desires. When Jonas dreams once of Fiona and himself in a bathing room he describes the feeling as a "wanting" (36). Jonas states that he "could feel the wanting all through me" (36). Jonas's mother explains that the wanting is his first stirrings and that it must be suppressed by taking The Pill.
When a child reaches the age of twelve they receive an Assignment that must be followed the rest of their lives. They receive the Assignment at The Ceremonies in December.
Before the Ceremony of the Twelve, Jonas lives a normal life as do the rest of the elevens. Although, others have an idea of what their assignments will be based on their volunteer work, Jonas does not have the "slightest idea what Assignment the Elders would be selecting for his future, or how he might feel about it when the day came"(19). He is very "apprehensive about the approaching December" (Telgen and Hile 165).
During The Ceremony the Chief Elder skips over Jonas. After all the other names have been called, The Chief Elder informs everyone that Jonas has not been assigned, but selected.
He is surprised to hear that he has been allotted to the highest position in the community. The "selection is very, very rare," (60) the Chief Elder explained to the audience.
When Jonas is selected to be the new Receiver of Memory, he finds himself bearing specific training with the old Receiver of Memory, The Giver. Jonas is stunned to find out that The Giver is relatively skeptical about the society. The Giver transmits "the memories of experiences and emotions that the people have chosen to banish from their minds so that they might sustain the illusion of social order and success" ( Campbell 180). The memories that The Giver first transmits to Jonas, gives him knowledge of cold and snow. These memories give him "ideas that are new to him" (Campbell 180). After a while, Jonas "learns that The Giver lives an isolated life and that his function has been to provide with help when decisions need to be made" (Chaston 117).
As the training continues, "Jonas experiences war and pain and love, and begins to understand how his society has given up choice and freedom for control and predictability" (Campbell 180). When Jonas finds out that he can access the video tapes of "release" he ask to see the mornings release of an infant that the community did not desire. Sadly, Jonas "learns to his horror that the euphemism covers engineered death- for the old, for rule breakers, and for surplus and difficult infants" (Campbell 179). Jonas reacts to his discovery by developing "the insights he needs to channel his anger into constructive actions" (Lord 174). The actions of him mimicking "in a cruel, sarcastic voice. "I will do whatever you like, sir. I will kill people, sir. Old people? Small newborn people? I'd be happy to kill them, sir. Thank you for your instructions, sir. How may I help you" (152-153).
After Jonas finds out the horrible news of what release actually entails, he "struggles to understand his community" (Lord 174). Jonas realizes that his people cannot distinguish difference or become accustomed to change. Elyse Lord described the residents best when she stated they were "simple, shallow, and murderous" (Lord 174). The Giver and Jonas both come up with the conclusion "that the community should not have given up control of things such as color and music" (Chaston 117). The memories Jonas keeps receiving, makes him realize what all his world has given up. Birthdays and Christmas are experiences our world looks forward to and also become some of Jonas's and The Giver's favorite memories. Jonas does not like the "Sameness", he wants to "wake up in the morning and decide things!" (97).
When Jonas and The Giver notice all of the communities limitations they devise a plan to force the society to transform. Jonas will run away, therefore, all the memories that The Giver has transmitted to him will be released to the residents (Campbell 180). This will cause the society to experience happiness and pain. Rosemary, The Giver's daughter, who was also selected as Receiver of Memory ten years before Jonas's time, applied for an early release because she could not bear the pain. Because of the release her "five weeks" worth of memories had come back to the people, causing them much anguish. The outcome is remembered as a terrible failure" (Telgen and Hile 166).
It comes to Jonas's attention that Gabriel, an infant his family has been nurturing, has been scheduled for release, due to not sleeping soundly through the nights. Hearing this news makes Jonas realize that he "must make his escape immediately and, without even talking to The Giver, rides out of the community on a bicycle, carrying Gabriel with him in an attempt to save himself and the baby and to find answers "Elsewhere" (Chaston 118-119). Jonas takes on a rebel character towards the end of the novel. Whereas "Jonas does initially feel content for his community" (Lord 174) in the beginning.
Jonas's escape turns out to be a journey that "is cold, dark, painful, and hungry" (Telgen and Hile 163). His comfort is the knowledge that all of his memories will be brought back to the society, "the memories of how life used to be, kept for safekeeping by The Giver, will be released and life will never be the same again" (Telgen and Hile 170). His own memories of sunlight and warmth, which he is capable of sharing it with Gabriel are their hope for survival.. The novel's ending is deliberately vague, which leaves the reader in suspense of whether of not the lights he sees are even real or just part of his memory and imagination (Chaston 109).
The most unexpected review "of all is the leap forward Lowry has made in mastering the creation of subtext by innuendo, foreshadowing, and resonance" (Campbell 179).
Lowry's very contemporary novel and engaging character, Jonas, explored the functional family and utopian society that he went from accepting to escaping from his twisted utopian society.
The Giver is "driven by plot and philosophy- not by character and dialogue," and the picture of the functional family turns disturbingly awry as the story proceeds" (Campbell 179). Lowry's ability to create joyful, regular actuality "that makes the revelation of the sinister difference in this alternate reality so chilling" (Campbell 179).
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