Analyzing Themes Of 'The Giver'

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The giver analysis/evaluation essay Themes; every book contains a couple themes to demonstrate the author 's ideas or opinions. After reading The Giver, I thought that the book contained four major themes that displayed Lowry’s ideas and concerns. The first theme I found was the importance of individuality and freedom. It showed Lowry’s concerns about the society today. The second theme I noticed was memories/knowledge and wisdom. I think it displayed how the amount of knowledge a person has measured how wise and respected they are. The third theme I found was maturing. Coming of age, especially with children showed that they were now expected of more things. Throughout the book Lowry tries to warn us about the danger of blindly conforming. …show more content…

Although memories are important, they are also a source of pain. Lowry shows that we learn from our past mistakes and that pain is the cost of wisdom. It is also shown that without memory, there is no pain. If one does not remember physical pain, they might as well not have experienced it, and they cannot feel regret if they can’t remember the events that caused the feeling. The elimination of the memory of pain from the community allowed the residents to forget the pain they had felt throughout their lives, but as a result causing them to be more conforming. Lowry shows how Jonas feels when he remembers and certain memory; It’s not just a scene that plays in his head, but an actual experience. She also describes how when the Receiver dies or leaves the community all of his or her memories get released into the community. By showing these properties, Lowry emphasizes the importance and the influence of …show more content…

In conclusion, I thought that The Giver displayed three major themes; The importance of freedom and individuality, the significance of memory and how it is related to wisdom, and finally maturity and becoming a certain age. Many examples showed how dangerous it is to fully conform, while others displayed the importance of memory to human life and the influence it has on it. Some also showed that one must be able to cope pain to gain sophistication, and aging means more freedom, but also less innocence. Lowry used themes and symbols well throughout the book to get me thinking about life and its small