The Giver By Lois Lowry

Lois Lowry's 1993 dystopian novel The Giver depicts the story of a young boy named Jonas living in a society devoid of sadness, pain, and crime. In the dystopia, the elders, who control the community, choose everything for the citizens, including their partners, parents, and careers. Upon the elder's selection of Jonas as the new "Keeper of Memory," the boy becomes isolated, as now he is an outlier. Society has long been free of aspects deemed harmful since the beginning of its formation; throughout its lifespan, a singular person holds every memory of the past within their consciousness, good and bad. Now, Jonas must protect the community from these memories, which a man known as The Giver shares with him, and not distribute the abundance

His mentor, The Giver, explains to the boy, his successor, how their role includes advising the elders when they face new, foreign challenges within the dystopia. The Giver states: "...they call upon me and the memories to advise them" (130). Upon learning this information, Jonas is curious to uncover moments when wisdom has impacted society. At this time, the young boy learns that, at one point, additional children were considered for families in the dystopia; however, concerns for overpopulation stemming from insight contributed by The Giver overruled the idea. Sharing his memory of the past, The Giver relays: "The population had gotten so big that hunger was everywhere. It was followed by warfare." (140-141). The dystopia takes this fragment of wisdom to heart to the extent that they only allow one twin from every set to survive in this culture; unfortunately, Jonas' father is in charge of this task. As a perk of his career, Jonas may watch a release if he chooses to, unlike other citizens. In the case of the infant, he decides to gain an understanding of a release.

Lowry's novel is a powerful reminder of the consequences of suppressing memories and, thus, not learning from past experiences. Without utilizing these tools handed to us, we cannot understand the complexity of human existence. The book is a call to action for our society to appreciate the past so as to not fall victim to the same dull, lackluster life experienced by the citizens in the dystopia. Lowry encourages the reader to use memories to improve quality of life and share the good and the bad with others. Without sharing experiences, we risk falling into the same fate of loneliness experienced by Jonas. As stated by Jonas: “Memories need to be shared” (193). Ultimately, Lowry asserts that memory is a crucial aspect of what makes us