MODULE 6: THE GIVER

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lowry, Lois. THE GIVER. 1993. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0440219078.

PLOT SUMMARY
In the community where Jonas lives, everything is perfect. Life is under control. All rules have been established; all roles are assigned. There is no deviation from the customary order of the community.
Birthdays and age are not celebrated since this celebration would single out one individual over the group. Instead, each passing year is celebrating in a community ceremony and a new responsibility and privilege is bestowed on the children as they move toward the Ceremony of Twelve. During that ceremony, children are assigned their adult roles and begin the training for adult life. All balance has been maintained until Jonas is selected for his adult role.
Jonas has been selected to be the new Receiver. This role is respected but is isolated from the community. Jonas will receive all of the memories of life before the Sameness in order to protect the community from pain and hardship and to offer advice to the Committee of Elders. Jonas experiences many pleasurable memories along with many painful memories. He feels the joy of familial love and experiences the horrors of war. He realizes the true nature of the community he calls “home” and wants to change it. He and the Giver, the former Receiver who is giving all of the memories to Jonas create a plan that would force the memories back into the community. The plan is thwarted when Jonas must quickly leave to save the life of a newchild, Gabriel, whom Jonas grown to love. The two escape and after a perilous journey, the two stumble upon what Jonas believes to be music and singing.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
THE GIVER is a fantasy novel set in the future. The year and the location are not specified. Its Sameness society is reminiscent of other fantasy utopian societies. The setting is very important to this story. Without the community and the rules, THE GIVER would be less interesting. This society is so much different than anything that exists which makes it intriguing. The reader spends most of the book wondering why the people abide living in this community.
The events of THE GIVER have not happened (hopefully) but it is reasonable to believe that they could. There is a great deal of sadness in the world, and it is reasonable that in the future societies may search out methods of combating the stress and inconvenience of feelings. The community that Lois Lowry created is masterfully planned. All details in the story follow the established rules of the created community. The plot is well constructed and plausible.
The characters are incredible. Most of their traits are observed through actions. The reader cannot see into everyone’s mind. The readers can only see what they do; not interpret what they think.
Jonas’s parents, friends, and neighbors all embrace the community order. This way of life is relaxing for them. It seems that Jonas embraces this way of life until he receives his assignment. But soon, one can sense a foreshadowing change in Jonas as the story progresses toward the climax, Jonas’s decision to escape. Jonas develops incredible personal strength. His fear of his assignment is overtaken by his desire to change the system he considers broken. The Giver knows what he must do so that Jonas can become a successful receiver. Despite his reservations and regrets, he knows his role and submits it (temporarily). The Giver also experiences character growth. He realizes that there is another way to chose. The path set before the pair is not the path they are going to follow.
THE GIVER brings up many interesting topics up for discussion.
Is this type of utopia a positive or a negative place?
Would you want to live there?
When did this society start?
Are they alone on earth?
How do other communities operate?
How does the book end? Is Jonas dead or alive? Where has his journey taken him? Was he successful?
All of these topics could culminate into a discussion about feelings and emotions. The community does not value them as the Giver and Jonas do. Should emotions be valued? They lead to joy and celebration as well as tragedy and anxiety. The author creates two main characters who value emotions- one who does from the “back and back” and one who learns to. This is gradually interwoven into the story. Jonas discovers that the war games that the children play are not fun once he experiences the memory and feeling of war. As Jonas learns to appreciate love, the reader sees why love and family are necessary and how empty the community is due to its emotional void.
Another theme is the value and need for history. The Giver and Jonas are the ones who hold all of the memories. Readers evaluate this idea as they read. Is this the best way for a society to operate? The author gradually leads the readers to the idea that this is not best but not in a preachy or predictable manner. The example of Jonas refusing to play war games due to the true memory of war is an excellent example. The other children had no idea why this was a problem because they had no concept of war. Jonas’s new understanding prevents him from trivializing the “game of war”.
THE GIVER is a fantasy novel that incorporates several fantastical motifs. First, the novel would not be successful without the individual choice Jonas and the Giver made for Jonas to leave and force the memories into the community. Failure surrounds every turn of Jonas’s bike pedals. In fact, the original escape plan of Jonas and the Giver was forsaken when Jonas discovered that the newchild, Gabriel, was about to be released. This was the first failure. Jonas reworks the plan and escapes with Gabriel. The novel ends with the reader unsure if Jonas was living a life in a new community or dying of starvation, exhaustion, and exposure. The reader must decide if they were successful.
THE GIVER also has a special character (ability) that is magic. The Giver’s memory- passing is a magical characteristic. He simply places his hands on Jonas’s back and the memory is transferred from the Giver to the Receiver. Then the Giver has lost the memory to the Receiver. This ability is an unusual magical power, but this reviewer deems it one nevertheless.
THE GIVER is an enthralling literary masterpiece. From start to finish, the reader is swept into a world of order, rules, and control. As the reader sees its flaws, Jonas does also. Together they escape.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Winner of the John Newbery Medal 1994
A BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK Honor Book
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
An ALA Notable Book for Children
Winner of the Regina Medal
BOOKLIST Editors Choice
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Best Book of the Year

CONNECTIONS
Other books by Lois Lowry (a few selections)
NUMBER THE STARS
Anastatia Krupnik Series
Sam Krupnik Series
GATHERING BLUE—part of THE GIVER trilogy
THE MESSENGER---part of THE GIVER trilogy

Lois Lowry official Website:
Lois Lowry - Author
Author Profile Website:
http://www.teenreads.com/favicon.ico
THE GIVER information:
The Giver - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Activity: Students would create a society that they thought was Utopian. They would explain rules, daily life etc. As the book is read, discuss how what seemed to be perfect was not in reality. After reading, analyze the Utopia they created. Compare student created Utopia with the Sameness in THE GIVER. Analyze the student created Utopia for potential problems.

THE GIVER is being released as a movie in 2007 or 2008. After reading the book, students should cast the characters from the book using various celebrities. Students will create movie posters based on their casting of characters. Reflecting on the assignment for HOLES (analyzing a book and movie), students need to brainstorm a list of what will and won’t be changed when the book transitions into a movie.