ANG AMA

Edgardo M. Reyes

Miyembro: Rhovina Abe

Ma. Meesheil Anne Adalla

Maricon Aasco

Laika Dela Rosa

Gerald Eboa

Kimberly Engracial

Nomer Espinosa

Ericson Eusebio

Desire Lilang

Maria Mae Naldoza

Nica Repatacodo

Raquel Yape

Araw/Oras: 3:00PM-4:30PM

Ipinasa kay: Prof. Maria Christine Pinca

BOOK REVIEW:
THE GIVER
Submitted by: MARICON B. AASCO

SECTION CODE: CAS-06-101P

DAY/TIME: 4:30PM-6:00PM

SUBMITTED TO: PROF. LILIBETH CORTEZ

 INTRODUCTION
When The Giver was first published in 1993, Lois Lowry was already a previous

Newbery Medal winner (for her 1989 World War II novel, Number the Stars). She was also

widely admired and greatly appreciated by an avid following of young readers for her comic

series of Anastasia books.The Giver was immediately recognized as a very special novel. It too

won the Newbery Medal. And a large number of commentators concluded that it was the best

book Lowry had written.

Lowry's other work is mostly grounded in the cut and thrust of family life. The narrative

of The Giver, because of the futuristic and allegorical themes in the novel, is a considerably more

Spartan affair. Readers are made immediately aware that they are in the realm of fabulous rather

than realistic fiction, and that Jonas is the principle player in a moral fable with political and

social overtones.

Lowry spent a good part of her childhood living near the Amish people of Pennsylvania.

Later she moved to Tokyo and lived in an American compound within the City. Both

experiences seem to have made her suspicious of attempts by communities to protect a rigid self-

identity. She is careful in The Giver to make the community she is describing extremely

plausible. From many points of view, it represents a well-managed social order. But as the reader

discovers, along with Jonas, more and more about the principles on which that social order is

based-infanticide, enforced euthanasia-it becomes impossible to read the novel as anything other

than a savage critique of such systems.

 SUMMARY
Jonas, who is 11 years old, is apprehensive about the upcoming Ceremony where he will be

assigned his job or his "assignment in the community." In his society little or no privacy is allowed; even

private houses have two-way intercoms which can be used to listen in for infractions of the rules.

However, the rules appear to be readily accepted by all, including Jonas. So it is without real protest that

he initially accepts with his selection as the Receiver of Memories, a job he is told will be filled with pain

and the training for which will isolate him from his family and friends forever.

Yet, under the guidance of the present Receiver, a surprisingly kind man who has the same rare,

pale eyes as Jonas, the boy absorbs memories that induce for the first time feelings of true happiness and

love. Also, for the first time, Jonas knows what it is to see a rainbow, and to experience snow and the

thrill of riding a sled down a hill. But then he is given the painful memories: war, pain, death,

and starvation. These are memories of the Community's deep past. Jonas learns that the Community

engineered a society of "sameness" to protect its people against this past, yet he begins to understand the

tremendous loss he and his people have endured by giving their memories away, embracing "sameness",

and using "climate control".

In his "community," which is under extreme control, there is no suffering, hunger, war, and also

no color, music, or love. Everything is controlled by "the Elders," who are looked upon in a very positive

light, though they control whom you will marry, whom you receive as children, and what you will be

"assigned" as a job. The people in the community do not have the freedom to choose. Jonas aches with

this newfound wisdom and his desire for a life Elsewhere blossoms. But the final blow for Jonas comes

when he asks the Receiver (who now calls himself "The Giver") what "release" is. The Giver says that he

could show him, and allows Jonas to watch a present-day tape of his own father, a seemingly kind and

loving man, "releasing" a baby twin by giving him a lethal injection. Like any other "aberration" from

sameness, identical twins are against the rules, so the smaller of the two is dispatched like garbage,

without the one who conducted the release understanding the true meaning of the action. Together, Jonas

and the Giver come to the understanding that the time for change is now, that the Community has lost its
way and must have its memories returned. The only way to make this happen is if Jonas leaves the

Community, at which time the memories he has been given will flood back into the people. Jonas wants

the Giver to escape with him, but the Giver insists that he will be needed to help the people manage the

memories, or they will destroy themselves. The Giver also wants to remain behind so that when his work

is done, he can be with his daughter, Rosemary, a girl with pale eyes who ten years earlier had failed in

her training to become the new Receiver of Memories and who had asked to be released (the memories of

pain and loneliness having overwhelmed her).

The Giver devises a plot in which Jonas will escape to Elsewhere, an unknown land that exists

beyond the boundaries of the Communities. The Giver will make it appear as if Jonas drowned in the

river so that the search for him will be limited. In the meantime, the Giver will give Jonas memories of

strength and courage to sustain him and save up his meals as Jonas' food and water supply for his journey.

Their plan is changed when Jonas learns that Gabriel, the baby staying with his family unit, will

be "released" the following morning. Jonas has become attached to the baby, who also has unusual pale

eyes, and feels he has no choice but to escape with the infant. Without the memories of strength and

courage promised by the Giver, Jonas steals his father's bike and leaves with Gabriel to find the

Elsewhere. Their escape ride is fraught with dangers, and the two are near death from cold and starvation

when they reach the border of what Jonas believes must be Elsewhere. Using his ability to "see beyond,"

a gift that he does not quite understand, he finds a sled waiting for him at the top of a snowy hill. He and

Gabriel ride the sled down towards a house filled with coloured lights and warmth and love and a

Christmas tree, and for the first time he hears something he knows must be music. The ending is

ambiguous, with Jonas depicted as experiencing symptoms of hypothermia. This leaves his and Gabriel's

future unresolved. However, their fate is revealed in Messenger, a companion novel written much later.
 REACTION
The world presented in The Giver is a perfect world - no pain, no fear, no choices and no

true pleasure. Every citizen is assigned their role, and everyone is happy. When Jonas, the main

character, turns twelve, he awaits his assignment, wondering which career he is destined to

perform. He is surprised when it is determined that he is chosen to be The Receiver, the one

chosen to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver's purpose is holding the memories

of the time before the present perfection. He alone holds pain and true pleasure.

This book is perfect for young adults and mature children. It presents a utopian society

and complex political issues in such a way that young readers can understand these complicated

ideas and theories.

I found the plot to be thrilling and intriguing. The book is an easy read, but it is also very

thought-provoking. I found myself immediately pulled into this other world. The story is told

from Jonas' point of view and though there are no detailed explanations of how the society runs

(like in Orwell's1984, for instance), it's not difficult to get an overall feel for the society and how

it runs.

The only frustrating part of the book is the fact that not everything is explained. There are

many open-ended questions left to the reader. Some concepts aren't fully explained and the end

is open for interpretation. I think that works well with this book, and it's not a fault per se, but it

can be a tad frustrating while reading.

 When I finished The Giver, I wanted to read it again, and every other utopian novel I can

get my hands on. I'm a big fan of utopian (and dystopian) novels, and this one absolutely did not

disappoint me.

Lois Lowry wrote The Giver in 1993, dedicating the novel to "all the children / To whom

we entrust the future." Through this work, it's evident that Lowry understands the world of

children - that they are fully capable of realization of life, society, and politics.

This is one of the very few books that I think every person should read. I've lent the book

to several family members and friends, and I'm considering giving it as gifts on holidays.

The novel has won several literary awards, including the 1994 Newbery Medal, the

Regina Medal, and A School Library Journal's Best Book of the Year.