The Giver

By Lois Lowry

I'm going to assume that everyone in this class has read this book (because we were all supposed to), so instead of summarizing I'm just going to post what I think.

I'm not really sure what I think of The Giver.  Now, don't get me wrong, I thought it was a wonderful book, and I definitely had trouble putting it down.  It offers a look into an alternate, yet plausible, world - kind of a children's version of 1984, in a way.  The plot was interesting and the characters were realistic and very relatable.  Lois Lowry's language is so perfect that we can feel exactly what it would be like to be Jonas.  When he struggles with the idea of his world, we struggle too.  And in that sense, I think the story is very well-written.

The only thing I think I am unsure about is the ending.  I have read that Lowry left it open-ended on purpose, and I can understand that.  I'm still not really sure whether I think that Jonas has finally reached his happy Elsewhere, or if he is dying in the snow, entering a dreamlike state.

The one thing that doesn't really sit well with me was Jonas and the Giver's final plan.  I feel like Jonas was cheated in some way - why was it his responsibility to leave, and not the Giver's?  I know that the Giver mentioned that he was too old and weak to make the trip, and would have died during the journey.  Jonas could have died too, but either way those memories and feelings would have come back to the people.  And Jonas has so much more life to live, it really isn't fair that he is forced to risk his life.  The Giver could have left instead - and even if he had died, to me it wouldn't have mattered as much, because he is already very old and has lived a full life.  Jonas seems like such a thoughtful human being that I have trouble believing that the Giver would have been able to help the community cope with the memories any better than Jonas could have.  And the Giver already had his chance to help the community, and failed.

A big part of this book is that so many questions are left unanswered.  And I'm sure Lowry did this on purpose.  We are all meant to be questioning why things are the way they are in Jonas' world, and what things would be like if the community were different.

Because of all of these questions, The Giver is sure to inspire deep and thoughtful discussions in and out the classroom.  I feel that this book would be better utilized in a classroom if it were used as a group reading or a class read-aloud book, instead of just being read individually by one or two students.  It would be a great book for a student to read on his or her own, but there are so many things to discuss that it would be much more helpful to read it together and have discussions about what the students are thinking and feeling.  This would be a great book to use with older students.