The Giver (pdf), a novel by Lois Lowry, was written in 1993. The story is set in a society that at first appears to be utopian but is slowly revealed to be dystopian. The society has done away with pain and strife by converting to “Sameness”. Where all lives are the same, everyone looks and dresses and lives the same. This has also eradicated emotional depth from their lives. The novel follows the life of a 12-year-old boy named Jonas, and his experience growing up in this society.
Jonas is selected to inherit the position of Receiver of Memory, the person who stores all the memories of the time before Sameness. To keep from repeating mistakes of the past, the memories of what was before “Sameness” must be preserved. These memories can help aid decision-making within the community. As Jonas begins to receive these memories, he struggles with the new emotions and concepts they contain. Something as simple as the exhilaration of sledding down a snow-covered hill stirs him. He doesn’t know if these new concepts are good or evil, or perhaps something in-between.
The more memories Jonas receives, the more he realizes that “Community Life” lacks color, emotion, a sense of personal identity or experience. All this was lost in order to preserve order, structure, and a sense of equality. Jonas wants to share these experiences and emotions with others. But if he does, he risks being “Released” from the community.
The Giver is a novel that shows protecting people from pain can be taken too far. The people in Jonas’ community are sheltered from physical discomfort and emotional turmoil through a combination of propaganda and medication. But these things are causing them to miss out on the joys and even the disappointments of life. The ups and downs we experience as we go through life create in us an ever-increasing depth of emotion and character that cannot be obtained otherwise
Download The Giver PDF HERE
Get the Audio version HERE!
Get the Kindle version HERE!
