People have always been interested in stories about attempts to create a perfect society without troubles and problems. The novel “The Giver” by American writer Lois Lowry has won great popularity around the world, as it is very touching and exciting story about the fate of a young hero who can not come to terms with the created, with good intentions, world.
The young hero becomes close to every reader, because in his fate and thoughts, everyone can find answers to the most important questions. Agree that often, looking at disasters and social problems, we ask ourselves: “Why can’t things be arranged so that there are no poor, unhappy, lonely people, no wars and destruction?” It seems to us that people evolve and grow intellectually over time, so they are bound to come up with lots of things to avoid human misery. But every time we read a work in the “dystopia” genre, we realize that all is not so simple in life. Here is Jonas, the protagonist of the novel “The Giver,” can not stand the “perfectly arranged” world and runs away from it to far away.
What the book “The Giver” is about
The book details a certain commune of people formed on Earth after cataclysms or a major world conflict. The feeling that something terrible happened before the emergence of the settlement does not leave from the beginning to the end of the novel, but what exactly – the author does not tell in detail.
In the settlement, all life is governed by strict rules. The rules are aimed at preventing misery, hunger, loneliness and disease in people’s lives. Each member of the commune does not worry about anything: he is given a job, a spouse and children. A person here does not have to suffer the pains of choice. Everything is decided for him. A committee watches children and at the age of 12, they each get a profession for the rest of their lives. Before that, at the age of 9, the child is given a bicycle: it is the only means of transport allowed. There are no traffic jams and accidents on the streets of the settlement, and the air remains clean.
As for illnesses, they simply cannot exist, because a child who is prone to illness is simply “removed”. When an infirm infant is born, he is carried away from people, and no one else sees the baby, and does not remember him. The same thing happens to the elderly.
So that such situations do not harm the psyche of the residents, they are fed medication that destroys memories, emotions and feelings, including those for the opposite sex.
Life in the settlement runs its course, like a fine-tuned mechanism: no tears, no deceit, no crushed hopes, no broken hearts. But for one 12-year-old boy, the system malfunctions, bringing him a cascade of discoveries, emotions and experiences. Jonas, despite his young age, had to go against this massive mechanism because he simply couldn’t do it any other way.
The meaning of the book “The Giver.”
Like all dystopians, Lowry sought to discover a simple truth: In trying to escape suffering and injustice, we will never know absolute happiness. One must be optimistic and resilient, even when there is no power to make sense of all the tragedies on Earth. People always think that they can change something and everyone will be happy! But this is a mistake! The book shows that such a balance is impossible. No matter how hard people try, someone is bound to suffer. The most important conclusion of The Giver is that a life deprived of emotion and choice loses value and becomes worthless.
Analysis of the book “The Giver.”
The book is about 200 pages of fiction written in a lighthearted manner. From the very first paragraph, the author plunges the reader into the maelstrom of events, and does not let the reader be distracted for fear of missing the storyline. This technique is crucial because the book is intended for teenagers, who would likely be bored by cumbersome reasoning and descriptions. But even adults fall for Lowry’s bait and don’t let the novel out of their hands until the very end. Lowry has twice been awarded the prestigious John Newbery Medal for her skill at provoking serious thought through the events and feelings of the protagonist alone, without the tedious philosophizing.
History of The Giver
Loris Lowry wrote the novel The Giver in 1993. Prior to that, the writer worked for several years as a correspondent and journalist for various publications. Often in her work she touched on social themes. When her journalistic experience reached a solid number, Lowry wished to write a serious novel that would teach young people to think about the future, to look at things from different sides, making their own conclusions. She seems to have succeeded. The first work of the writer was included in the compulsory high school curriculum in the United States. In other countries, parents are mandatorily recommending The Giver to 14- to 18-year-olds.
In 2014, when sales of the book reached 10,000,000 copies, The Giver was finally made into a movie. The premiere of The Dedicated, based on Lowry’s work, was a success. Hollywood stars were cast in the roles, and high-quality sets and special effects launched a new wave of popularity for this fantastic story.
The meaning of the title of the book “The Giver”
The Giver in the novel is the name of the main character’s teacher. Why is his name given to the entire book? Because meeting him influenced Jonas’ fate. Although, according to the laws of the genre, such a peculiar, different from the general mass, the protagonist’s character, sooner or later, would have made his escape from falsehood anyway. But Teacher Giver, by imparting to him the bitter truth of life, was able to guide Jonas.
How often people are offended by those who say truthful things. This novel shows that the truth, whatever it may be, opens the door to a real life where we take all the responsibility and decide everything for ourselves. There is nothing easier than playing a game and pretending that everything that happens is fine. But the important task for everyone is to face reality with fortitude and, no matter what, pursue our goal the right way. The most valuable thing a loved one can give us is to be completely honest with us.
The Problematics of The Giver
The main problematic of the book, as a novel for teenagers, is the difficulty of going the right way when there is no support at all. At the same time, it shows how easy it is to decide to take the difficult step if you find at least one like-minded person in the person of an experienced person.
What The Giver Teaches
The book “The Giver” is useful to everyone. To a teenager who is just getting on the path of independence, it can inspire confidence in their abilities, to show that to be afraid of reality – meaningless, to show that you can not shift the responsibility for their own lives to anyone else. Adult novel “The Giver” will make you think: is it right to protect your own children from the harsh truths of life? Is it worth it to create a greenhouse conditions for the child and continually make choices for him? Is it better to give the little man the right to his own decisions, the sooner the better? And so he doesn’t make the wrong choice, just tell him stories from the past.
The End of The Giver
The novel “The Giver” ends ambiguously. The author shows that the children have reached their destination, but whether they have come to a happy life in another world remains under a veil of mystery. Such an ending provoked accusations of the writer using suspense for profit. But such accusations are unfounded. Loris Lowry, in her novel The Giver, spoke of a teenager’s desire for self-determination. That self-determination came about safely: the boy stepped into the unknown because he felt that this step was necessary for him and his companion, a small child. All the way, he steadfastly moved toward the goal and never once hesitated in his choice. So the story came to its logical conclusion and ended quite organically.
