In The Giver, a very futuristic society is portrayed in the book. Nowadays, there are many problems in the world such as environmental problems, political problems and so on. However, Lois Lowry has used her imagination in the book to counter all these problems and show an utterly perfect society where Jonas lives.

However, this is only on the surface. When Jonas turns twelve, he is assigned a very special job – to be a Receiver of Memories. When he goes to work every morning under his mentor, otherwise known as the Giver, he realises that his society is not a perfect as it seems and has to go through a lot of painful training to make sure that the rest of the community does not suffer. I think Jonas is very noble as he was given a very honourable job, but it was difficult. Moreover, Jonas was not allowed to apply for release from his job. This implies that he is bound to the contract as the next Receiver until another Receiver takes his place. Therefore, as Jonas is made to do a very hard job for the entire community, he is forking out his youth, innocence and age while doing this job. This is a very noble thing to do. Undoubtedly, the job will make him all the wiser and the community would seek his help during crises, but along the way Jonas makes several painful and even traumatising discoveries such as the real meaning of release – euthanasia. As a foster family member Gabriel may have had to be released in the book, the discovery of the true meaning of release – supposedly a blissful experience – renders him unable to think of Gabriel undergoing the same treatment, and this thus spurs him on to leave home with Gabriel in search of another community. I think that Jonas is somewhat pitiful as he has to leave the safety of his home into the unknown, where his only companion is Gabriel. Both of them are vulnerable and defenceless, but this journey was only embarked on as Jonas could no longer stand living with his family who were so blissfully unaware of the processes going on in their Community, and this was again caused by his appointment of becoming the new Receiver. Therefore, it shows that the job Jonas has to do is more difficult than it seems because he has to cope with much harder things than the rest of his peers, who are given more physical jobs rather than jobs which engage the person emotionally and physically.

I think The Giver is a very pleasant read because its concepts are simple and it also lets us realise that, though our world seems chaotic, sometimes chaos is better than utmost perfection because most of the time, humans are unable to maintain perfection and in order to maintain the high standards that they have set, would have to use easy ways out – such as employing the Giver to remove all bad memories or good memories that may encourage rebellion in the community and poses a threat to the internal security of the community. This makes us appreciate what we already have, despite the many problems we face in life.

The Giver also portrays simple concepts in a different way. For example, in Jonas’ world, the people cannot see colour. However, Jonas is singled out be being given the ability to see colours. This concept of colour may be simple and obvious to nearly every one of us, but in Jonas’ world, colour is unheard of and it is considered an unusual gift to be able to see in colour. This presents the originality of the story and is also what makes it a pleasant read. It is written in simple English and therefore, it is enjoyable to read as it is not difficult.

The Giver also made me reflect a lot on whether we treasure the abilities we have, no matter how ordinary or normal they seem. Although Jonas' special ability was to be able to See Beyond, in his Community he was considered different from the other children due to this ability and was even skipped in the Ceremony of Twelve. This made me very ashamed of myself as being a more whiny human, I have always complained a lot about my failing eyesight and the bothersome need to wear spectacles. However, I did not think about my ability to see all the different shades and hues on the trees, buildings and people around me. The Giver has made me very thankful for all this.

Also, The Giver is a coming-of-age story that shows the many problems that tweens or teens face. As I am very near Jonas in age, I can somewhat understand some of the feelings that he feels or I have also sometimes gone through some of the problems he faces, though not that extreme. This helped me to identify with the book a lot.

Overall, I think that everyone should read the Giver because it is an engaging read that shows many old ideas repackaged differently. Also, it makes us think and reflect on what we humans are doing well in society and what can be improved on. It also helps us to appreciate that we do not come from birthing machines but have real parents and siblings, who love us deeply and should be treasured. Therefore, I think that the Giver is a very well-written book and should be appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

LISA