Module 4: Newbery Winners-The Giver

Module 4: Newbery Winners

Book: The Giver

Author: Lois Lowry

Plot

            Jonas is turning twelve, the age when children of the Utopian Community learn of what their forever assignments (The Ceremony of Twelves) are going to be. While most of his friends are assigned the common jobs that their personalities resonate with, Jonas is surprised to find out that he has been assigned the highest title to be ordered for an Elder: The Receiver of Memories, or –as the title implies- The Giver. From this moment on, Jonas is

Impression of the Book

            I love this novel. I first read The Giver almost two decades ago in the fourth grade and I still remember the chills that went up and down my whole body when I realized what I was reading. Now, with so many books such as The Hunger Games and Divergent out and selling so well, I can’t help but think that the original post-apocalyptic/utopian-esque novel was written and read by elementary school children. Unlike its’ latter counterparts, the violence and discord that exists in the novel’s supposedly perfect society is insinuated and more like a silent scream or an atom bomb; it is so loud and disquieting that it deafens the readers senses thus allowing the reader to fully emerge out of the novel changed and realizing the loudness of the message within the story has just broken a piece of the readers innocence. Once the novel is over, the reader is not only more self-aware but has matured. The Giver won the Newbery Winner simply because the words within the novel caused such an impact on certain souls that a change has been made in the lives of many on magnanimous level. A book can change a nation and I truly believe that a glimpse into “perfect” world may just change some of those minds who strive to attain such “perfectness”.

Usage in a Library Setting

Because the book is a reflection of a Society that has deviated from practicing the act of recollecting, as a Librarian, I would use the book as a metaphor for what happens to society when the past in ignored. I would use the book  as a History lesson (review what happened in history-real life- then predict some consequences that would reveal itself in a real life Utopian society.And, as a Sociology lesson, I would use the book to investigate the consequences of a Utopian Society; lack of humanity: lack of color, lack of love, love of emotions in general.

Review

“In a departure from her well-known and favorably regarded realistic works, Lois Lowry has written a fascinating, thoughtful science-fiction novel. The story takes place in a nameless community, at an unidentified future time. The life is utopian: there is no hunger, no disease, no pollution, no fear; old age is tenderly cared for; every child has concerned and attentive parents. Each aspect of life has a prescribed rule: one-year-olds — "Ones" — are Named and given to their chosen family; "Nines" get their first bicycles; Birthmothers give birth to three children and then become Laborers, "family units" get two children, one male, one female. In Jonas's family, his father is a Nurturer, one who cares for the "newchildren" before they go to a family unit; his mother is in the Department of Justice, and he has a younger sister, Lily. But although their life seems perfect, the reader somehow becomes uneasily aware that all is not well. Young Jonas is eagerly waiting his Ceremony of Twelve, the time when all the twelve-year-olds in the community receive their Assignments for their lifelong professions. He can guess that his playful, jolly friend Asher will work in Recreation and that gentle Fiona will be Caretaker of the Old but he is astonished to be selected to be trained to be the new Receiver of Memories, the most respected of the Elders. As he begins his training by the old Receiver, whom he calls the Giver, he discovers that the community is spared all memories of pain and grief, which are lodged in the mind of the Giver, and now transmitted to Jonas. He learns about war, starvation, neglect, misery, and despair. He learns, to his horror, the truth about the happy release given to old people and newchildren who do not thrive. But he Teams also about joys that the community never experiences: they do not see color, or hear music, or know love. In a cliffhanger ending which can be construed as allegory or reality, he asserts his new wisdom and knowledge. The story is skillfully written; the air of disquiet is delicately insinuated. And the theme of balancing the values of freedom and security is beautifully present.” - By Ann A. Flowers

APA Citations

Flowers, A. A. (1993). The Giver. Horn Book Magazine, 69(4), 458

Lowry, L. (1993). The giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.