Review Of Lois Lowry's 'The Giver'

The Giver

Are things as good as they seem?

Are things as good as they seem? This is the reoccurring question I ask as I read Lois Lowry’s “The Giver.” As the story begins, Jonas, the main character, is having trouble finding the “precise” word to describe his feelings about the communities upcoming, Ceremony of Twelve. His determination to find just the absolute, exact word causes an uneasiness, a sense of something “not quite right”, it foreshadows future predicaments and turmoil ahead in Jonas young life.

In Jonas community, everything appears perfect. The community is so meticulously ordered, the choices so carefully made. (Lowry 48) Everything ugly, bad, or painful has been done away with, moreover, when Jonas ancestors chose sameness, they also lost color, choice, music and even

(Lowry 85) They do not have climate or true emotion or feelings. Accordingly, I ask myself again, are things as good as they seem? You see in Jonas’s community, at age twelve, a board of elder’s assigns individuals their life’s work. Likewise, at the appropriate time people may apply for a spouse. Couples are allowed two children, but these are not biological. The community has positions called “birth mothers”. Consequently, new children are raised by nurturers in the nurturing center until they are one year old. Then in a Ceremony of one, they’re assigned to their family. (Lowry 49) People’s entire lives are governed by similar Ceremonies, Rules, and accepted customs. At the highly anticipated Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas receives the highest, most respected position in the community. He is to be the next Receiver of Memory. When Jonas community chose sameness they gave up memories. But, as the Giver tells Jonas, memories are forever. (Lowry 144) Jonas now would accept the collective memories of the people from the Giver. He would use the knowledge he acquired from them to assist the elders