The Giver

Lowry, L. (1993). The giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 180pp.

Science fiction, Newbery, 1994

When the story opens, Jonas is nervously awaiting the Ceremony of Twelve, when he will be assigned to his job within the community. But while his friends receive titles like, "Nurturer" and "Recreation Director," Jonas is instead selected to be the new Receiver of Memories. The rest of the book follows his training with the Giver, a kind but sad old man burdened with the recollections of all civilization. As the Giver begins the task of transmitting these memories to Jonas, the boy comes to a full understanding of what it means to live in a world of Sameness and Climate Control, a world devoid of danger but also of feeling. In the end, he and the Giver launch a bold plan to help society recover generations of memory, and Jonas risks making the ultimate sacrifice to show his community what it has lost.

The Giver is written in a straightforward manner with a conventional, third-person omniscient narrator, relatively short chapters, and manageable vocabulary. But for any easy read, it packs a heavy thematic punch. In her artful way, Lowry continually reveals just the right amount of information to keep the reader engaged but guessing. Along the way, she invites readers to ask with Jonas some very difficult but important--and certainly relevant--questions: What is justice? What is the greater good? Who decides? Is it possible to go too far in the name of progress? Equality? Safety? These are valuable questions to discuss with students as they approach the age where they, too, will become contributing members of society. This book also provides a good opportunity to help students develop their thoughts on government, rights and responsibilities, and the role of the individual in the community--issues that will likely just be coming onto their radar in middle school and junior high.

I think this book could work as a whole class novel because it is bound to have a wide appeal and be accessible to most students. It also shares similar themes with other politically-oriented science fiction novels popularly taught in high school, such as Fahrenheit 451 and Animal Farm, so it might be useful to introduce students to a genre and issues they are likely to revisit.

The combination of recognizable vocabulary and thought-provoking issues is perfect for middle schoolers because the writing is well within their comprehension but the themes will push them to extend their critical thinking.

It was really easy for me to see why this book is considered such a classic in adolescent lit. I am not typically a fan of science fiction, but the elements of the genre were incorporated in such a subtle way that I never focused on the un-reality of them. The characters of Jonas and the Giver were compassionately presented, and I couldn't help feeling sympathetic to their plight. I also thought that the imagery was very vividly drawn, especially when describing the memories that Jonas receives. I would be a big supporter of using this book in basically any classroom. The themes it addresses are timeless, and they would lend themselves well to discussion with any age group.