The Giver, by Lois Lowry – reviewed by Mary and Honor.
In UIV (Year 9) Book Club we have been reading dystopian novels, the latest being The Giver by Lois Lowry. In a perfect community set in the future, everything is seemingly utopian and organised. Every child at the age of twelve is allocated their suitable career. For Jonas, the main character, this means receiving all the memories of the past, good and bad. The rest of the community is shielded from this knowledge so that everything remains controlled. We later learn the impact that these memories have on Jonas and the many secrets that have been hidden from him.
We felt that this book highlighted the privilege and burden that we have in this day and age. Lois Lowry shows what impact choice has upon people and how knowledge changes us as people. As humans, we always dream of living in ‘the perfect world’, without the weight and responsibility that we encounter in our day-to-day lives. But Jonas and his community make the reader reconsider this supposed ideal. We have the opportunity to make the wrong choices, which we then learn from, and through this to improve our quality of life. We also have the benefit of knowledge: to understand what is beyond our reach, and change our lives. But when knowledge and choices are out of the characters’ hands, they have little ability to alter their own lives. The people in The Giver don’t even understand that the lives that they are living are horrible and disguised.
The Giver also changed our perspectives of family. In this novel, the characters are split from their family when they become of an age when they can look after themselves. They also cannot give birth to their own children as the community has designated birthmothers, who then pass the child onto a chosen family. This provokes thoughts of how lucky most of us are to have the freedom to love and care for those close to us. This fascinating novel changed our views on the life we lead.
Next up for the Year 9 Book Club on our dystopian journey: Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Year 9 girls – DO JOIN US!
Please get in touch with Mrs Barrett-Jolley if you would like to join the Year 9 Book Club and read the next book.
Photo credit:
Will & Deni McIntyre / Photo Researchers / Universal Images Group
Rights Managed / For Education Use Only
