The Giver

The Giver

By: Lois Lowry

Note from me: Hello. The following post is about the book The Giver. At first it is going to seem like this post has no point, especially if you have not read the book before. It is going to seem like I am rambling and at first it will bear no resemblance to the actual book. Please keep reading. There is a point, I promise!!! Just keep reading!!!

"I'm starving," we've all said this at one point or the other, but what we don't realize is that it is not true. You have never been starving. Unless, of course, you belong to a poor family who lives in a poor country and you barely have enough money for food; to the point that you go days without a decent meal. However, this is probably not true, because if you didn't have enough money for food, you probably wouldn't have a phone, or computer, or tablet, and would therefore, not be able to read this. You are reading this though, and by conclusion, you have most likely not been starving. I'm not saying that you have never starved in your life though. Maybe you went camping in the middle of nowhere and ran out of food, what do I know? I'm just saying, if you're reading this, it is highly unlikely that you have ever been starving, not impossible, just highly unlikely. Now where was I. "I'm starving." Everyone says it. You've never been starving, yada, yada, yada. Right, so the point I'm getting at is precision of language. It doesn't exist in society today. I mean just look at all the similes, metaphors and hyperboles we use every day. Also, schools just don't teach grammar like they used to, or maybe that's just America (don't take this the wrong way, I'm American, I love America).

In a society like ours, we just don't care whether or not what we are saying is true. "But I don't tell lies," you might be thinking right now. That is also true (unless you do lie which I have no way of knowing, but let's pretend for the time being that you don't). You see, it all boils down to one thing: precision of language.

"I'm starving,"   you're not starving, just extremely hungry.

"I hate ______." You don't hate them, just extremely dislike them.

Now think, what would it be like to live in a society where you had to be precise all the time. If not, you would get in trouble. You're not allowed to lie, at all; even by accident. Got it? Good. Now add to that. In this new society, everyone wears the same thing, all the time. You're probably thinking, that's not so bad, it's just a uniform. Well, now take away all the color from the picture in your mind, all of it. You should only have black, white and varying shades of gray left. Now, take away the idea of grandparents. I mean, you parents still have parents, you just don't know them, and you probably don't realize they exist. Imagine not getting to pick your career. Someone picks for you, when you are 12! Imagine, every family being the same. A mom, a dad, a brother, a sister. Imagine having to apply for a spouse. You don't get to pick who you marry. Imagine taking a pill every day, that prevents you from falling in love. Imagine not giving birth to your child. Imagine having a curfew. Imagine having to bike everywhere you go. Imagine not knowing anything about the past. Imagine not knowing anything about snow, or sleds, or hills. Imagine not knowing about birthday parties or Christmas, or music, or oceans and sunshine, lakes and boats. Imagine not knowing anything other than your community and the way life is. 

Blissful ignorance, right? You can't miss something you've never had. Except that 1 person does know what could have been. One person does know about the world we have today. One person knows about color and love and real, actual happiness. (Of course he also knows about pain...) This person is called The Receiver, The Receiver of Memories. 

In this specific community, The Receiver's name is Jonas. Jonas is just like everyone else until The Ceremony of 12. This is when you get your job assignment, and your training begins. Laborer, Birthmother, Assistant Director of Recreation, Engineer, Caretaker of the Old. All commonplace every day jobs that are assigned to someone or the other every year; until the Chief Elder gets to Jonas. Receiver of Memories. There hasn't been one in 10 years, and that one didn't work out too well. 

Picture of the book. Yay! 

When Jonas begins his training he meets The Giver. The Giver was the old Receiver of Memories and now he must transfer all those memories to Jonas. Memories of happiness and strength, but also memories of pain and sadness. As Jonas continues his training (receiving the memories), he feels more and more detached from his family and friends. However, he relishes in learning about the past. Back when everything wasn't the same, when people had choices. Every day, he and the Giver and explore the past until one night, Jonas has to leave very unexpectedly to save someone he loves. Will he have enough strength? Now a major motion picture, The Giver is a story about the power of emotions and inner strength.

I really liked this book. It made me think, especially at the end. I give it, probably 4.5-5 starts. I hope you read it, or at least watch the movie, if you haven't already. The movie was really good, just like the book. Honestly, at times, I liked the movie more than the book. 

Please check out the poll on the side of my blog. The question is, "Do you read the books that I write about?" I would really like to know. Well, that's it for now. Sorry, it took me so long to get to the point, but I hoped you kind of liked it anyway. Hopefully you weren't too bored and actually made it to this point. Anyway, tell me what you think. It's a really thought provoking book. 

Bye, for now!