Synopsis - Jonas' world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.
For the last few months, I have been interacting with Caragh and Brianna from Loaded Shelves and
endorsed them as being a blog that all readers from different walks of
life can enjoy. I am incredibly honored to be able to contribute book
reviews to their blog, for reading is one thing I thoroughly enjoy to
do. I am Josh Caporale and I created my blog, Caponomics, back in March 2011. Caponomics began
as a column in my high school newsletter. After graduation, I briefly
had a column with the same name before I took my high school newsletter
editor's advice and created a blog. I am a growing blog that has 19
followers, over 200 posts, and over 22,000 page views, holding high hope
that at some point in time, I can surpass these numbers. The topics I
cover on my blog include politics, music, film, television, sports,
food, nostalgia, and most importantly... books and literature. While
there isn't a direct concentration, my absolute passion lies in writing
and reading and I hope that some day, I become a successful writer who
writes in the realm of horror, sci-fi, speculative, or just situation
fiction ("what if").
I
have given you enough about my story and should move forward with a
story far more excellent of my own: or should I call it a warning? In
the American curriculum, Lois Lowry's The Giver is seen as a
staple in some way, shape, or form. Since I went to private school, I
did not have the opportunity to read it. Thankfully, when I took a Young
Adult Literature class this semester, this was one of the books we read
and it just so happened my group and I presented this book to the
class. When I say that The Giver is a warning, I mean we are
taking visible steps toward a world that is very much similar to this
novel. The fact that somebody is possessing a power like "The Giver"
would probably come in the form of technology, such as a ring that plays
a role equivalent to a computer flash drive, but the nature of
possessing memory will become nearly obsolete, something we have seen
multiple times in literature.
The Giver follows
a boy named Jonas who will be entering his twelfth year. During this
point in time, individuals are assigned a role in society. Yes, this is a
society that provides just about no freedom to its citizens. Citizens
are assigned a role, their spouses are chosen from them based off of
their personality and common interests like they're on Match.com, they
request children that they receive if they successfully survive their
first year, and they are required to share their dreams with one
another. There are been plenty of arguments in futuristic societies in
which children will not be naturally born, but instead in test tubes or
in laboratories. This seems to be that kind of society, for the only
individuals that can be seen naked are babies (before their first year)
and older people living in the "House of Old." Jonas lives with his
father, who is a nurturer that cares for babies, his mother, who worked
for the Department of Justice, his sister, Lily, who is years younger,
and Gabriel, who is a baby that Jonas' dad is raising until he turns one
and is either adopted by a family or released if he does not meet their
standards.
Jonas
is the last one called during the ceremony, for he is selected to be
the next Receiver. This individual eventually becomes the subject that
holds the memories of society from generations ago. This requires
meetings with "The Giver," who is an older looking man that possesses
the memory from generations ago in which he passes onto Jonas by rubbing
his back. Of course, this is a relatively strange method that will
catch some attention, but the intent is to use this in order to deliver
memories. Through these meetings, Jonas learns about a society of snow
and sunshine, relief and pain, as well as the memory of color.
Unfortunately, this society has converted to that of "sameness" (ohhhhhh
boy, does that look familiar???), in which the weather is always the
same year round, people don't end up in situations in which they hurt
(and if they are, they just take a pill), and this society did away with
color, because they wanted everyone to look as identical as possible so
no one would complain. Jonas learns the secrets behind what really
happens during release and why the last person who took on the role of
Receiver surrendered the position and demanded a release. This all leads
to a climatic result that turns into something that's incredibly
open-ended. At the same time, these connections are tied in some way in
the three sequels: Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
The Giver is
downright brilliant! It delivers a powerful message about how a
futuristic utopia is relatively impossible, even if the world around us
supports such a notion. At the same time, we are taking steps further
toward living in such a society. The Giver has elements of *SKIP
THIS SEGMENT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO CONSUME A SPOILER* human euthanasia
*YOU MAY CONTINUE* Totalitarianism, climate change (solved with climate
control), and rebellion against such a controlling society, something we
see through plenty of leaders throughout history. The purpose of a work
is that it delivers a message, often originating as a thought in
someone's head, that will keep the reader thinking long after the last
words have been read. That is where The Giver succeeds best and
it's rightfully taught in schools, even when schools have made an effort
to engage in the inappropriate practice of censoring it. The Giver should
be seen as a warning to anyone that believes in the government tending
to their everyday needs, for that will be a case in which freedom will
become obsolete and to see freedom become obsolete is the biggest sin
that society has to offer.
Verdict: 10/10
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