The Giver by Lois Lowry

    I read the book The Giver by Lois Lowry. It's about a boy named Jonas. He lives in a community where everything is controlled and perfect. There is no pain or sadness, or even any feelings really. But when Jonas turns 12 he is chosen to be the Receiver. This is a job that requires him to hold memories of when things used to be imperfect. There are a lot of complex ideas that go through the book.


     In the book, everything is colorless. Essentially everything is a sort of gray color. Jonas and the previous Receiver (who is now called the Giver) are the only ones that can see color. I think a complex idea is the importance of individuality.In the book everyone is kind of the same, and being different is bad. For example, when Jonas's mom begins to start giving him a pill that all the kids his age are taking Jonas says " I think Asher takes it as well. But I could never ask because it goes against the rules of Sameness." This shows how bad it is in his Community to be different. 


    Another complex thing in the book is the importance of memory. In this community, they don't acknowledge grandparents, and they try their hardest to not remember anyone that has died ( even children.) Because Jonas is the new Receiver, he is forced to hold everyone's memories of individuality, happiness and pain. For example, the Giver tells Jonas about how the others aren't ready to have their own memories because they have been sheltered. Jonas asks the Giver if he is called for by people in the Community. He says "Rarely. Only when they are faced with something they have not experienced with before.Then they call upon me to use the memories and advise them. There's so many things I could tell them, but they don't want to change. Life here is so orderly, so predictable- so painless. It's what they've chosen. But they would be overwelhmed if they had all the memories I have." This shows how important it is to have memories. They give you wisdom and strength, and without them you wouldn't know how to confront different situations.


    The importance of memory is very important in this book. That is expressed a lot when the Giver begins to train Jonas to be the next Giver. Another important thing is the importance of individuality. In Jonas's world, everything and everyone is somewhat the same, and being different is frowned upon and punishable. Maybe if the people in Jonas's Community could understand memory and individuality, they'd have different feelings.