Three reasons to read "The Giver"

 

  The Giver by Lois Lowry, a book awarded the John Newbery Medal, is a fictional novel about Jonas, a twelve-year-old boy living in a futuristic society where no emotions exist, no pain, no love, no hate. Every child is raised the same way, and follow the same lifestyle as their own parents. However, in this society, there is a man that goes by the name, "The Giver". A man who is responsible for keeping all the memories involving emotions from the rest of humanity, such as war, disease, holidays, marriage, etc... However, when Jonas is assigned to be the next Giver, he and the original Giver form a bond, and a plan, to expose the whole civilization to emotions. Here are three reasons why you should read "The Giver".

     1. The foreshadowing quotes

     In this story, there are many quotes that are intricately woven into the story, without giving too much away, while also giving the reader a bit of curiosity. For instance, when Jonas was throwing apples with his friend Ash, he noticed that the apple changed. However, after a few seconds, the apple "Unchanged". He described it as "The same nondescript shade, about the same shade as his own tunic". (24, Lowry) This sentence might at first feel a bit strangely worded. Who would describe an apple having a "nondescript shade"? Later, it was revealed that in Jonas's world (minor spoilers ahead) color did not exist. Apparently, color was removed from this world so that people would not be prejudice based on race. When readers come to the realization that color did not exist in this world, they would first be shocked, but then have a sudden understanding of what all those previous quotes meant. It's difficult to describe something's shade when there is no color to describe it with.

     2. The relatable characters

     In this story, there are many characters that we (the readers) can relate to. For instance, Jonas has an annoying younger sister, who often gets away with doing something wrong because of her young age (for example, when she made fun of Jonas's peculiar eye). I am sure that many young readers have that bothersome younger sibling, who always gets away with everything due to their "young age" (even though a lot of the times they should be mature enough to realize what they are doing is wrong). There is also The Giver himself. The Giver and Jonas form a strong father-son relationship, as shown when Jonas asked for The Giver's favorite memory, which ended up being a family reunion with someone's grandparents. After Jonas received that memory, Jonas shyly asked The Giver if "we could be that way, and that you could be my grandparent." At first, this line might seem a bit awkward. However, it makes sense when the reader thinks about it as the relationship between Jonas and The Giver is just like the relationship between a young child and his grandfather.

     3. The emotions

     I first want to say ahead of time that this paragraph is more spoiler-heavy than the previous paragraphs, so spoiler warning! Gabe, who is Jonas's brother (technically adopted brother as no one has the same birth mother), is set to be released from the society within a few days. Being "Released" has always been a bit vague to the readers, because sometimes it's viewed as either a positive or negative thing depending on the situation. However, when Jonas realizes that being released is just another word for execution by injection the readers were shocked.  When Jonas saw the  baby after the injection, he thought, "Once again, as he had on the playing field, he felt the choking sensation. Once again he saw the face of the light-haired, bloodied soldier as life left his eyes. The memory came back. He killed it! My father killed it!" (150 Lowry) This paragraph (and other paragraphs like it) play with the reader's emotions as they come to the sudden realization where all those people who were released actually went.