The Giver

                I can remember being assigned to read The Giver when I was in the sixth grade. However, that year I had a teacher that was not all that motivational when it came to getting her students excited to read. I don’t really remember anything about this book from reading it for the first time all those years ago. What I do know is that I appreciated it so much more the second time through than I ever thought I would have

                For me, the pages of this book just kept on turning and turning- I literally read it in only a few hours one night before class. Lowis Lowry does a really good job of keeping her audience in the dark throughout the entire book, much like the main character Jonas is. It is because of this ambiguity within the story that makes you want to read on and see if you can predict what will happen. I also liked the way that she slowly divulges information to the reader; like the fact that no one within the town can see color, and that being released is just a fancy word for dying. The whole concept that an entire town lives in their own utopian society, and has no real free will and choice for themselves is fascinating. Everyone who reads this book is going to be a human with their own experiences that shape who they are, so I think that is why people are so fascinated by this book; we all have experience s that have shaped us, and the characters throughout this book, except Jonas, really do not know what that is like. Their lives are carefully calculated by the elders of the community.

                The descriptions that the author uses in the narrative are also wonderful. Once the audience learns that no one in the village can see color, and that the flashes Jonas has been seeing are flashes of color within his world, the images that pop into the reader’s head are reminiscent of works of art. I, myself, was imagining his friend’s red hair in a sea of black white and grey. These kinds of mental pictures are a great thing to have in a picture-less children’s novel; it really does give pictures to the book from which the reader can pull from. I, personally, sometimes think that these mental pictures are even better than illustrated picture books because it allows the reader to own their representation of the story. I’m sure that the pictures in my head of the story differ greatly from others who have read The Giver.

                One other great thing about the content of this book is the basis it provides for a critical literacy discussion surrounding utopian societies and whether or not they are good. I feel that there would be great room for debate surrounding this topic as well as the issues of everyone in the society being exactly the same. One question that comes to my mind is how does every one perceive these people to look? Are they white? Are they black? Why do you envision this? Questions like these can spark a really good critical literacy discussion between students.

                Overall I thought this was a fantastic book, and even though it is on many controversial book lists, I would most defiantly like to use this book in my classroom in the future as long as the school will allow it.  This book can be studied and so many different meaningful discussions can come from it that I think a school would be crazy to ban this book from their curriculum. It keeps its audience interested, and sparks meaningful conversation between its readers; how is that a bad thing?

Author's Official Website: http://www.loislowry.com/