Memory is essential in influencing a person’s choices and feelings. Without memory, people would not learn from their mistakes. Importance of memory is one of the main themes of Lois Lowry’s “The Giver.” The protagonist, Jonas, slowly realizes the faults of his community, which encourages the control of choice, through receiving memories. In “The Giver”, it shows that regulating memory prevents a greater insight on the world and people learning and growing from their mistakes.
Lois Lowry, the author of “The Giver”, received much inspiration from her experiences leading up to the book. During World War II, her parents were separated. During her childhood, she lived near the Amish of Pennsylvania and later, moved to Tokyo, where her family was reunited. Her bicycle rides in Tokyo were especially significant in inspiring the writing of “The Giver.” These regions served as inspiration for many of her works
After finishing her schooling years in boarding school and Pembroke College, Lowry began to write novels. Her sister’s death from cancer inspired her first book, “A Summer to Die”, in which the main character’s older sister is dying from leukemia. Lowry’s passion for photography also inspired the main character’s love for photography. Her father’s loss of memory led her to write “The Giver.” Her grandfather was also one of her inspirations for many of her works. Her two books, “Number the Stars”, and “The Giver”, received two Newbery Medals.
A novel that highlights the importance of the differences in every individual is “The Giver.” The story starts off by introducing the protagonist, Jonas, and the society in which he lives. Jonas’s family consists of his mother, father, and little sister, Lily. His society promotes sameness. Many rules restrict the decisions of the community. Spouses, children, and careers are assigned by the government, families are only allowed two children; one male and one female, people have to take pills every day for Stirrings, in today’s society it is known as sexual urges, climate is controlled, land is flat, and there is no color. The community also consists of a practice called Release which compared to today’s society, is euthanasia. However, Jonas’s community does not know that Release is ending someone’s life by injection, but they believe it is a release into another community called Elsewhere. They have no grasp of what death is. The community claims that preventing citizens from making their own choices helps them to not make bad ones. This type of world is impossible to achieve in real life, it is a dystopia.
In the beginning, Jonas is described as frightened because the month of December is approaching. In December, the Ceremony of Twelves, when the eleven year olds receive their assigned careers, occurs. Every age group from newborn to the elevens have ceremonies. These ceremonies symbolize the transition and growth from one age to the next. During the Ceremony of Twelves, Jonas is confused because they skip him over when calling the elevens up to the podium for their assignments. At the end of the ceremony, Jonas is finally assigned the role of Receiver of Memory. He is told he will be trained by the current Receiver of Memory and that he has all the qualities that the Receiver must have: intelligence, integrity, courage, wisdom, and the capacity to see beyond. At first, Jonas does not believe he owns these qualities but as the story progresses, he slowly starts to realize the faults and secrets of his community by using his qualities.
Once Jonas commences his training with the Receiver of Memory, also known as the Giver, he receives memories of the world. Throughout all the training sessions, The Giver transmits Jonas pleasant memories of a sled in snow going downhill, sunshine, parties, and his favorite, a family opening gifts on Christmas morning. Then he gives Jonas painful memories of sunburn, an elephant being killed by poachers, a broken leg, starvation, and a battlefield with dying men. The memory of a family opening Christmas gifts helps Jonas realize what love is. In his community, love is almost a meaningless word. The painful memories Jonas receives help him to realize that the people in his community have never felt as much pain or pleasure as Jonas has. When Jonas receives the memory of the battlefield with dying men, he discovers that release and death are the same thing. He becomes disgusted after watching a tape of his father releasing a newborn twin. Jonas starts to distance himself from his family and friends. A quote from Jonas’s father from the first chapter of the novel foreshadows what Jonas would end up thinking about the community, “I’m thinking, Lily, about the boy who didn’t obey the rules today. Do you think it’s possible that he felt strange and stupid, being in a new place with rules that he didn’t know about?” (Lowry 6).
Before his training, Jonas notices many strange things he could not explain. When he is tossing an apple with his best friend, Asher, he notices the apple change. The same type of change occurs when he looks out into the crowd during the Ceremony of Twelves and his friend, Fiona’s, hair. He can not explain these changes but during his training, the Receiver of Memory tells him he is seeing the color red. Not only does he begin to see color in his daily life, but he sees the community in a way in which others do not. Jonas tries to transmit his memories to Asher and Lily but it does not work and they are confused. By Jonas seeing color, he is starting to understand that at one point in history, color existed and made life more beautiful.
Jonas decides he needs to escape his community. He formulates a plan with the Giver. His plan consists of escaping in a car that is headed to another community. His plans, however, are needed faster than planned because Gabriel, the underdeveloped baby his father, a Nurturer, brought home to take care of, was sentenced for Release the next day. Throughout the story, Jonas notices many similarities between him and Gabriel. Jonas, Gabriel, and the Giver all have pale eyes. This is a rare attribute in the community. Gabriel is also the only one able to receive the memories transmitted from Jonas. Jonas transfers calming memories to Gabriel when he cries at night. The night before the release of Gabriel, Jonas steals his father’s bike and pedals out the community. He shares his memories with Gabriel to avoid the chances of being caught by the community. After a long, cold, and painful journey, Jonas and Gabriel reach a hill with a sled and houses with lights coming through the windows and music playing.