The Giver

When assigned to read The Giver by Louis Lowry, I couldn’t remember if I had read it in junior high or not. I knew it was definitely a title I remember hearing a ton about while in junior high and high school, but after reading it nothing rang a bell to me so I guess I had never read it. The Giver immediately reminded me of a book I read in sophomore year of high school called Fahrenheit 451. Both novels have the futuristic, sameness/conformist society where people are “released” when they go against society or do not follow the rules.

I really liked the brave character of Jonas and think it’s awesome that he was chosen to be the receiver or memory. The whole time while reading the story I kept making predictions on what Jonas was actually going to do-obey the laws, or go against society. I’m so happy that he attempts to return emotion and meaning into the world, and also try to save baby Gabriel. I was not crazy about the ending-I hate endings that don’t give away an answer and keep you guessing on what might have happened. The story ends with what seems like Jonas getting hypothermia when making it to the mountain, so as the reader, we are unsure of

Society in The Giver definitely scares me. It is frightening to imagine a society that is actually run like that, with no choice or freedom whatsoever and with very limited technology. People can’t feel emotions such as sadness, love, beauty, family, etc. The Giver has things to say that really cannot be said to often, and I think this is possibly why it has been banned in certain school districts before. However, I would definitely want to incorporate this book into my curriculum if I were to teach middle school because I think it is a great read that really challenges the reader’s mind and makes them think.