" 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...
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.
This is an entertaining book but it is also deeply disturbing. That's because it isn't that hard to believe that a society could become so controlling and controlled. There is no real enjoyment, love, or spontaneity in that society, and people are more like robots than real people. They just do what they are told and follow all the rules, and Jonas is smart enough to realize that's no way to live. He has the opportunity to do something about it, but the rest of the community doesn't have that ability. It is a sad story too, because it's hard to read about an entire community living that way, and allowing the take over to take place. I enjoyed reading the book, but it's not one that I would read again.
References
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993.
