The Giver

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lowry, Lois. 1993. THE GIVER. Westminster, MD: Random House. ISBN 0-440-21907-8.

2.SUMMARY
Eleven year old Jonas lives in a community with his mother, father and sister. On the surface everything within the community seems utopian. There is no violence, no war, no hunger and no unemployment. However, there is a pervasive unease in this story. At first, there is no explanation for the strange characters—the ever present voice of a ‘speaker’, the fact that children refer to themselves by their age groups, the unusual family routines. As the story progresses and we learn the extent to which members of the community have given up all of their personal freedom. We learn that they do not choose their occupations, the food they eat, their mode of transportation or even their spouse! All these decisions, small and large, are made by a group of supposedly wiser ‘Elders’. The story begins at an especially interesting time in Jonas’ life: he is about to undergo the Ceremony of the Twelve where he will learn which occupation has been chosen for him for the rest of his life. Jonas is not chosen for any garden variety career-he is chosen to become the next Receiver, the one person in the entire community who will keep the memories that cannot be shared by all. As the horror of the Sameness he faces grows daily, Jonas and the Giver, his mentor, find a way to make an incredible change in their community.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This amazing tale works on many levels: pure horror and science fiction. The author manages to create a world that is foreign, yet real and believable. A futuristic world where community members are forced to take a pill each day to repress their sexual urges. As Jonas becomes privy to more and more information about the nature of life and emotions, his disillusionment with his community grows. Jones feels absolute revulsion when he finds out the truth about “release” and learns that his beloved father has been murdering babies and lying about it for years. When he learns that baby Gabriel, a nightly visitor to his home, is scheduled for release he is forced to expedite a plan to escape from the community in search of a place where free will to act and feel as one wishes is possible. The book ends on a hopeful note and readers are left feeling impressed by Jonas’ courage and tenacity. A remarkable accomplishment for Lowry and a must-have addition to any library, personal or public.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*Newbery Medal (1994)
*Booklist Editor's Choice
Starred Review in Booklist-Lowry's simple, powerful prose creates an anti-utopian world where the lack of hardship, war, and poverty only covers the citizens' deeper lack of freedom.
Horn Book Guide-The story is skillfully written; the air of disquiet is delicately insinuated; and the theme of balancing the values of freedom and security is beautifully presented.
Voice of Youth Advocates-The story is skillfully written; the air of disquiet is delicately insinuated; and the theme of balancing the values of freedom and security is beautifully presented.


5.CONNECTIONS
*This novel is a great way to start a discussion about domestic spying, privacy rights, free will and utopian ideals. A secondary classroom could use this book to jumpstart a discussion into the Patriot Act.
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. ISBN 0345342968.
Orwell, George. 1984. ISBN 0451524934