Giver\" Is a Story About

¶ … Giver" is a story about Jonas, a boy from the future who lives in a society of "sameness," without any emotion in their lives. Jonas is chosen as "the receiver of memory," the person who stores all the memories from life prior to the sameness. He acquires this knowledge from "the giver," and the book centers on his feelings about having this very special job to do.

"The Giver" centers on Jonas and his family, but the bigger issue in the book is the control of society. Jonas lives in a world where families don't make their own decisions, a government makes them for them, and so citizens really have very little involvement in their own lives. The government decides who they marry, how many children they can have, and even if they marry or not. The author writes, "Most of the people on the night crew had not been given spouses because they lacked, somehow, the essential capacity to connect to others, which was required for the creation of a family unit" (Lowry 8). They oversee every aspect of their lives, from what jobs they do to what they do in their own homes, and it is a frightening situation. That is the point of the book. They have total control, and have taken away the memories from the people; because that is another way they control them. They don't remember what they have lost and given up, so they aren't dissatisfied.

Jonas goes through the Ceremony of Twelve to receive his "Assignment" for what he will do in life. This is when he finds out he is to be the Receiver of Memories, and it will change his life. As he learns from The Giver, he learns all the things that the community has given up in order to live under government rule, and he wants to change that. Jonas is apprehensive because he doesn't know what his assignment is going to be, and it will follow him for the rest of his life. However, the Chief Elder skips over him, and ignores him until the end of the ceremony. That's when he finds out he is going to be the "Receiver of Memory," a very important position. The Chief Elder tells him, "We failed in our last selection,' the Chief Elder said solemnly. "It was ten years ago, when Jonas was just a toddler. I will not dwell on the experience because it causes us all terrible discomfort'" (Lowry 61). This makes Jonas even more apprehensive, and he realizes that the current Giver has the same unusual, light-colored eyes that he has.

As he begins his training, he realizes that he is extremely special, and he doesn't have to follow some of the training he has learned throughout the years. He can lie, for example, and he can ask rude questions and expect an answer. He also is the only Receiver in training, so he becomes isolated and lonely, and he misses his friends. On his first day of training with The Giver, he sees a library, another item that all households lack, and he begins to see how he has been singled out for an important position. This training shows him just how much the rest of the community is missing, and what they have given up for the security of their "sameness." He experiences sunshine and snow, something that the climate control eliminates in their community, and he sees how the government controls every aspect of their lives. He begins to rebel against this controls, and he wants to give his memories to everyone so that they know just how much they have given up. The Giver tells him, "There's nothing we can do. It's always been this way. Before me, before you, before the ones who came before you. Back and back" (Lowry 154). Jonas still rebels, and wants to give the community some of the memories The Giver is giving him, like colors, grandparents, and love. The Giver does not encourage him, but Jonas decides to leave the community with the young child Gabriel, so the community will have their memories back.

The underlying theme of this book is how far the government has gone in an attempt to "protect" the people from pain and suffering. They control every aspect of their lives, and even their deaths, as Jonas discovers when he learns the truth about "Release." He is appalled that they kill newborn babies simply because they are twins, and that his friend Fiona will kill the Old with no emotion or regret. He plans a way to run away and join Rosemary, the failed Giver, because he wants the community to know the truth, and The Giver helps him with his plan because he agrees with Jonas' motives. Jonas actually leaves the community the same night he plans with The Giver, because he learns that the newborn Gabriel is going to be released the next day because he can't sleep through the night, and he can't allow that to happen. He takes Gabriel and runs away, enduring hardship along the way. His training helps him endure pain and hardship, and in the end, he finds a community with happiness and singing. Lowry writes, "He heard people singing. Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps it was only an echo" (Lowry 180). The ending seems to say that he and Gabriel have found happiness and a new life, and the reader hopes that is the case and that his leaving has made a difference in the old community, as well.