Check out what the Giver is ABOUT!!!

Hi, again, bloggers! I thought that I should actually give you the gist of the story (The Giver) so that you would be able to understand my posts about it better. Don't worry! I'll give it in a nutshell...

Well, firstly, The Giver (as you may already know) is written by the great Lois Lowry. It's actually a soft science fiction novel set in a future society. It can also be described as a dystopian fiction. When you scan the first few pages of the book, the society might appear to you as Utopia. However, the dystopian features of this so called "Utopian" society would emerge in the later part of the book, creating an anti-Utopian setting in the story.

Secondly, I'll tell you about the main characters in this novel. Jonas, whose life majority of the story describes, becomes the Receiver of Memory. He has a mother (Judge), a father (Nurturer) and a sister, Lily (A seven year old). Next, the Giver is the most important person in the community, who holds memories of love, colour, music and pain which no one else holds. Gabriel (Gabe) is a baby who Jonas takes with him on his journey to Elsewhere (at the end of the book). Asher is Jonas' best friend who is assigned to be the Assistant Director of Recreation. Fiona is also one of Jonas' friends and is assigned to be a Caretaker of the Old.

At the beginning of the story, Jonas is apprehensive about the approaching Ceremony of Twelve. His friends Asher, Fiona and the others of his year, and his parents seem to naturally fit into a certain Assignment. He, however, has never felt a particular draw to any one thing.

Jonas' community is ordered by tight rules, and multiple lawbreaking will result in Release from the community. New children who do not develop as expected and the Old are also Released. Nevertheless, Jonas is not concerned with those things. He is a good student and obeys the community rules. At the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas is shocked when the Chief Elder announces that he has not been Assigned, but rather Selected as the community's next Receiver of Memory. It is a very rare event and a position of great importance.

Jonas meets the previous Receiver of Memory for his training, who tells him that he is now the Receiver and that Jonas should call him The Giver. The Giver begins to transmit his memories to Jonas. Jonas learns about colors, which are not seen by other citizens because of Sameness. He had already begun to see some color, in the case of an apple he took home. The Giver later transmits memories of war, pain, hunger and death. These memories are kept away from the community so that they do not have to know such things. Along with the terrible and painful memories, there are also joyful memories of the time before Sameness and of a love that does not exist in the community.

As the memories he receives drastically change his understanding of his community, Jonas begins to conceive of things being different where people could make choices for themselves, even if they were wrong, and that they could love.  When he witnesses his father Releasing a newborn twin, Jonas realizes that the term actually means death. It is then that Jonas and The Giver form a plan for Jonas to disappear from the community and thereby release all of the memories he has received back into it. However, the night the plan is to be set into motion, Jonas learns that a new child, Gabriel, who has been staying with his family in the hopes that he would learn to sleep through the night, is scheduled for Release in the morning.

Jonas deviates from the plan and flees the community with the new child. They avoid the search planes, but as they go further and further from Sameness their situation grows more and more desperate. Finally, in a snowstorm, Jonas is certain they are coming to the promised Elsewhere, where people are waiting for him and the baby.

 

Thus, I hope that you found the story interesting and attention-grabbing. Well, of course, you may not like certain parts of the story (like the hold of painful and happy memories by one lone person), so you can always give me your comments on it. I would be very interested in hearing [reading] them. Don't give up on it just because it is a science fiction because it's actually a fictional fantasy. Have a fabulous time reading the fabulous Giver! Signing of for now... Subi... :)

The GIVER!!! By LOIS LOWRY!!!

Hey Bloggers! How is life? Mine seems to be a little bit aroused considering the fact that I just finished reading the wonderful book by Lois Lowry! I know you know what it is. THE GIVER! Oh, yes! It is really wonderful. Listen to this... It's not just a book about, let's say, a girl trying to find her identity (but she actually finds only an angel!?). Neither is it about pigs or them fighting for equality ("All animals are equal"?!). I'm just giving you a clue about the literary novels I'm talking about. I won't mention the name of the novels but you'll know it when you read it :P Do you get it?!

The Giver is one of the kind of novels where you'll not be able to predict what happens next as the scenes are unexpected. When Jonas turned twelve, I never expected anything close to HIM being chosen as the next Giver. In fact, I was not even able to predict what he would be assigned to do. The scenes (or happenings) are usually unexpected, yet out of the ordinary. That's right! That's exactly what I would describe the novel-OUT OF THE ORDINARY...

The novel is mainly set in an "Utopian" society. Idyllic, serene, safe, productive-that's exactly how I would describe it. However, the one feature of this Utopian society which was really remarkable was the rituals carried out by every family unit. Rituals such as the Sharing of Feelings during dinner, the Sharing of Dreams during breakfast, the Growing Up ceremonies (Ceremony of Nines, Ceremony of Twelve...), Naming and the Release of the Old reinforces the order of the society. Yet more importantly, I feel that the rituals such as the Sharing of Feelings creates a closer bond between family members. Every member of the household gets to understand each other and reflect upon their reactions towards the certain person or their action. Not only that but I also feel that the ceremony of the Release of the Old allows the other elderly to reflect upon the life of the one being released. It also allows them to appreciate the accomplishments and achievements of the elderly who is released.

However, the most difficult element of the story is the fact that just ONE, SINGLE, LONE person has to keep the memories of pain and war, starvation and neglect, and terrible memories of droughts, famines, floods and cyclones. How is this fair? Why isn't everyone holding these torturous memories? Why can't they unburden the Giver's life? Why does there even need to be a Giver? Though the Giver also holds warm and happy memories, and has the power to see beyond, that is NOT fair. Though he has the greatest honor in the society, he has to give up his life-he is not allowed to discuss these memories with his family or anyone else, he is not allowed to take medication for his PAIN-he has to sacrifice his life for the community which is oblivious and unknown to the reality of life Elsewhere.

The other element of this society which I find hard to consider Utopian is the absence of colours, music and most importantly emotions. What kind of Utopian life would that be? Wherever I look there would be sameness-trees, buildings, roads, flowers, rivers, clothes, hair, plainly everything... The society would be uniform... Or should I say TOO uniform? I mean that I can't even imagine living in such a society where there is no difference, no diversity, no chance to make a choice... There would be no taste in life, bloggers. There would just be NO taste in life at all! Can you imagine this? Frankly, the fact that there are no emotions is seriously horrifying :! There would be no hope in the future, no will to achieve something, no love to show for family and friends... This is terrifying enough in imagination... Let's forget about it being applied in reality.

Hence, overall, the implications raised by the society portrays that individuality, colour, emotion, music and freedom is sacrificed for peace and prosperity. This is the real value of this book. It does not allow you to explore philosophical and moral questions deeply without making you burdened with cheap action thrills... Thus, all of you just have to try it. Well, let's say that it's because I say so!!! :D