Book Report For The Giver  Novel

 
"The Giver" is an novel written by Lois Lowry in English. It is published by  Houghton Mifflin in
1993 in the United States. This novel is a young adult, science fiction and fantasy story. First it
seems to be a utopia then turns to be dystopia. And it's events happens in a unknown time in
the future. The Giver won the Newbery Medal in 2014 and has sold about 10 million copies in
the United States, Australia and Canada. Also it is the fourth best story for children ranked by a
U.S. survey in 2012.
The main themes in Lowry’s novel are : first the importance of the individual, second no choice
where everything is controlled and choosed by the elders of the community( work, family
members…), third people doesn’t have memories of the past and all the memories are stored
with one person in the community named the receiver of memories, forth they have no
feeling(no pain no pleasure..) and colors ,fifth all people must abide by the rules and if someone
disobey the rules he will be released, sixths sameness where all people are equal with no
differences.
 
Summary:
 
The giver events take place in and community that depend on sameness between all people
and removed all kinds of war, fear and pain and on obeying rules...This novel happened in the
future…The story is told by Jonas an eleven years old boy who was apprehensive from the
twelve ceremony that occurs in December and in which adults assign the jobs based on their
observation where elevens spent their volunteer hours. In the ceremony of December each
group of children turns to the next group based on their age and the babies are given to the
families that applied for new one, also each couple gets only two children a boy and a girl. The
children are born by birthmothers and spend their first year in the Nurturing center with other
children born in the same year. When children grow up the family is broken and the
parents spend the childless adults until they stop working and goes to the house of old to
take care of them then be released. In the community to be released id to die by they
doesn’t know this, they think that they will go to Elsewhere.

Jonas lived with his family that consists of his father a Nurture for newborns, his mother
which is a justice and his seven years old sister Lily. Also Jonas family takes care of a baby
called Gabriel since he isn’t growing well so father took him to give him additional care
inorder not to be released.Jonas best friend is Asher and his friend who liked a lot is Fiona
,then he felt in Stirrings and wanting her so he took the treatment which are pills.

In the ceremony Jonas sat next to his age group according to their numbers he was nigh
teen.They started assigning the jobs where Asher got an assignment to be an Assistant Director
of Recreation and Fiona was given to be an Caretaker of the old. After Fiona it was Johan's turn
but the Chief Elder skiped him so Jonasgot dizzy. When all elevens got their jobs, then the Chief
Elder gave Jonas the most honored assignment he was selected to be the receiver of memories.
Jonas was different from other he had pale eyes while they have black ones and can see
forward this was detected when the objects seem to change for him. When the world went to
sameness only one person carried  the memories  of the past and carry all of the pain and
feelings in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Jonas was given a group of rules
one of them that he isn't allowed to apply for release , then he knew that their was an old
receiver named Rosemary  applied for release and the community got into a problem in bearing
the memories she carried.

After school Jonas had to go to the Anex center to get his train from the giver who has also pale
eyes just as Jonas and used to hear forward where he heared music. The giver transmits
memories to Jonas by putting his hand on his bare back. Those memories wasn't only for the
community, but before the community was established , it was for the all humanity. Jonas
experienced many of them like sliding on the snow, warm sun , pain, hunger, love, colors and
choices .... Jonas realized that the community is empty from everything and the real life is much
more meaningful. He tried to ask his parents about love to know if they understand but they
didn't . No one in the community has feelings except he and the giver since they carry the
memories. Jonas felt himself as a stranger in the community since he was the only one who
understand everything and that what the giver has felt years ago.

Jonas helped his family in taking care of the baby ''Gabriel'' who was not growing well and had a
problem in sleeping at night, Gabriel had pale eyes same as Jonas so he could transmit
some  memories of love and family to him  in order to sleep.

One day his father said that he is going to release one of a twin according to the less weight.
Jonas get confused about the real meaning of release so when he went to the giver he asked
him.The giver decided to show him how release goes. So they watched Jonas father releasing
one of the twin through injection him with toxics and throwing him in a box with the
garbage.When Jonas realized that realising means death he decided with the giver to change
the community so they put a plan. The giver told Jonas that when Rosemary his real daughter
applied for release since she couln’t bear the sadness of the memories all of them get
accumulated and went to all citizens but they didn’t know handel the emotions and
sensation.So they decided that Jonas would escape from the community to Elsewhere in the
ceremony of December so his parent think that he is with his friends and his friends think that
he is with his parents and to act as if he was dead in this way the community could have the
memories he carry and the giver will stay to teach the citizens how to deal with those feelings
to change the community forever.

At night when all ware sleeping Jonas took his father’s bicycle, some food and Gabriel who
would be released to save him they escaped outside the community to the fields he biked away
for several days hiding from the airplanes that was searching for him. He and Gabriel faced
several kinds of pain as starving and cold. So he always tried to help him by transmitting some
memories for him. Finally it starts to snow so he stopped biking, he was at a base of a hill so he
climbed it with Gabriel when they got to the top he found the memory of sled waiting him, so
they experienced a downhill ride. Then he saw lights from houses inside it families just as the
memories .He was convinced that someone was waiting for them.
Opinion:

One of the themes is that no choices. Citizens in this community aren’t allowed to choose
anything. Everything is the same and specified by the elders.Where the family couples are
choosen by the elders and their children .Each family could have two childrens only a girl and a
boy. They also get their job assitgments at age of twelve. All babies spend tehir first year in the
nurture not in a family unit. Elders chooose the babies names and their comform objects.All
start riding bicycles on age of nine.All in the same age wear the same type of clothes. All spent
their rest of their life with the childless elders when their children grow up.All spent their last
year at the house of elders and get released after spending one year and having great
cermony. All eat the same food no one is hungry.All people doesn’t see colors.All people have
the same wayand style of life.As if they are programmed on everything and aunable to choose
anything.Also all people n the story deals normaly with is theme they get adapted on it and it is
part of their life.Moreover, this theme is so important in this novel since it is one of the reasons
that made Jonas and the giver think of changing the life of the community by giving them some
memories, since life is more beautiful and interesting.

This theme is attracts you to know more about their life style in the community at first you will
think it is a good way in dealing in the society to be all equal in choices then in the rest of the
story you will indentify that this way is unappropriate to use it since it has many faults and
illogical and irregular things that is bbetter to stay as it is in our societies even if there is no
equality between people since each one should bear his own responsibiliity and pain and don’t
throw it on others to control it.So it has a good and bad points.
The novel deals with this theme as a normall thing and it is actually a normal thing in their life
since they choose to live in this way .I think that it is false to choose this kind of life style since it
losed the real meaning of humanity feeling and emotions which are the most important thing in
life . They could get rid of differential by making things equal and justice where all live properly
in peace with no wars keeping feeling emotions and choice that give life it’s meaning.