Tuesday, November 27, 2007

THE GIVER
by Lois Lowry

1. Bibliography:
Lowry, Lois. THE GIVER. 1993. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 03395645662

Lois Lowry was born in Hawii. She became interested in writing as a young girl and continued to follow her dreams to become a successful author. She was also the photographer for the cover of THE GIVER.

http://www.loislowry.com/bio.html

2. Plot Summary
In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price. (Amazon.com)

3. Critical Analysis

THE GIVER, GATHERING BLUE and MESSENGER is a trilogy that speaks of the concern of “the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment” Characters of the GIVER and GATHERING BLUE meet in the MESSENGER. (Lowry) with each other, but

The book is a well written, in-depth and easy to read science-fiction novel. The writing is clear, captivating and exciting, providing visual images of the community and the controlling atmosphere of the community. There is no independence or free choice while living there. Families are limited to two children that they must apply for and birth mothers deliver the children and the nurturers take care of the children until they are a year old and then they are numbered and named before being given to a family. The story is of a community that has blocked out emotions, seeing color, family connections, divorce, heartache, and hardship while building the community around sameness. There is no love or affection. People within the community are destined with a purpose in life that is determined by the Elders. As the children progress in age, a ceremony instructs the children on what they can do. They are not allowed to ride a bike until they turn nine. Those who do so, will be breaking the rules and be punished. Toddlers who do no speak clearly will be punished with a whipping stick as will the old who do not behave. “December is the time of the annual Ceremony at which each twelve year old receives a life assignment determined by the Elders.” These assignments include jobs such as Caretaker of the Old, Assistant Director of Recreation, Nuturer of newborns, Landscape Workers, Food Delivery people, Childcare Center Workers, Street Cleaners, Birthmothers, Laborers, and Collection Crew. There is also one Receiver who holds the memories that have been transmitted down for generations to the new Receiver. Whenever a new Receiver has been selected, the current Receiver who transmits the memories is called the Giver. Jonas was selected to be the new Receiver and he must bear the pain, suffering and emotions that have been blocked from the community. During his training, he realizes that this is not a normal community and is shocked when he understands the concept of being “released” as euthanasia when the subject is discussed with the Giver. Jonas said “I was only asking about release because my father is releasing a new child today. A twin. He has to select one and release the other one. They do it by weight.” Jonas is shocked and the story unfolds as he takes a young child named Gabriel from his home because Gabriel will be released the next morning. Jonas had the ability to see things and pass portions of his memories and experiences he had received from the Giver, down to Gabriel. He takes his father’s bike and escapes searching for a Utopia. The Giver has helped Jonas experience a sled ride in the snow and seeing family and Christmas lights. Once Jonas has reached the location he has experienced, the story ends with Jonas and Gabriel traveling down a hill on a sled seeing the Christmas scene below. Now that Jonas has escaped, the community he left behind will experience the memories and emotions that were blocked out when the Receiver held all of these things.

The illustrations is a photograph of an elderly man on the front cover. This photo was taken by the author and depicts the Giver.

4. Review Excerpts

From Publishers Weekly
In the "ideal" world into which Jonas was born, everybody has sensibly agreed that well-matched married couples will raise exactly two offspring, one boy and one girl. These children's adolescent sexual impulses will be stifled with specially prescribed drugs; at age 12 they will receive an appropriate career assignment, sensibly chosen by the community's Elders. This is a world in which the old live in group homes and are "released"--to great celebration--at the proper time; the few infants who do not develop according to schedule are also "released," but with no fanfare. Lowry's development of this civilization is so deft that her readers, like the community's citizens, will be easily seduced by the chimera of this ordered, pain-free society. Until the time that Jonah begins training for his job assignment--the rigorous and prestigious position of Receiver of Memory--he, too, is a complacent model citizen. But as his near-mystical training progresses, and he is weighed down and enriched with society's collective memories of a world as stimulating as it was flawed, Jonas grows increasingly aware of the hypocrisy that rules his world. With a storyline that hints at Christian allegory and an eerie futuristic setting, this intriguing novel calls to mind John Christopher's Tripods trilogy and Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl. Lowry is once again in top form--raising many questions while answering few, and unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers. Ages 12-14.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews with Pointers

"Wrought with admirable skill -- the emptiness and menace underlying this Utopia emerge step by inexorable step: a richly provocative novel."


Horn Book Guide
"In a departure from her well-known and favorably regarded realistic works, Lowry has written a fascinating, thoughtful science-fiction novel. The story takes place in a nameless, utopian community, at an unidentified future time. Although life seems perfect -- there is no hunger, no disease, no pollution, no fear -- the reader becomes uneasily aware that all is not well. The story is skillfully written; the air of disquiet is delicately insinuated; and the theme of balancing the values of freedom and security is beautifully presented."

Awards:
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Notable Book for Children
Booklist Editors' Choice
Horn Book Fanfare Selection
IRA/CBC Children's Choice
1994 Newbery Medal Book
School Library Journal, Best Books of the Year
1997 Heartland Award for Excellence
1997 Buckeye Children's Book Award (OH)

Connections: Read the story to the children, a few chapters at a time. Discuss the diversity of cultures within the classroom and the community. Compare these cultural characteristics to the cultures within the book. Openly discuss the expectations of everyone who lives within the community. Discuss on a comparative note the ceremonies of age and what children are allowed to do at each age level. Encourage group discussion on how the rules are perceived by the students and their reaction to the expectations of the community. Continue the trilogy by reading aloud GATHERING BLUE and then MESSENGER to the class, discussing these works in comparison to the characters in THE GIVER.

Additional works by Lois Lowry include:
NUMBER THE STARS
ATTABOY, SAM!
AUTUMN STREET
A SUMMER TO DIE
FIND A STRANGER, SAY GOODBYE
US AND UNCLE FRAUD
GATHERING BLUE
MESSENGER

No comments: