The Giver

   

     Another book I chose to read on our class reading list was The Giver by Lois Lowery. The giver is about a boy named Jonas, who is selected to become the receiver of memory upon his twelfth ceremony that takes place each December. The story is about a Utopian society that doesn't feel pain, hurt, sadness, etc. but is controlled by the community of elders. Each group of people is identified by their ages. Each group must follow a certain set of rules created for that peer group. Some of those rules include haircuts, clothing, and activities specific to that peer group. 
     After Jonas was selected as the receiver of memory, he trains with a man we know at the Giver. During his training, he teaches Jonas about emotions, feelings, and color. Jonas eyes are opened to the hypocrisy that has taken place in his community. He learns about the charade through memories. Jonas realizes people have given up their own personal freedom for a community built on an illusion that everything is perfect. They are in fact being controlled by the Elders, and trained on how to respond to their community environment. 
     The Giver and Jonas come to an agreement that things need to be changed, they hatch a plan that allows the Giver to stay behind and help people deal with their new found emotions, while Jonas quietly slips away. Unfortunately their plan must change at the last minute.
     Jonas also realizes that "releasing" infants really means their death. His own family recently had taken in a child who had problems sleeping at night. The elders were scheduled to release this child. That sent Jonas into panic. He chose to take the child and flea on his bicycle. Once he gets away from his community, all of the memories Jonas has is released back to the Giver and then back to the people in the community. This forces the the people in the community to experience the past memories and emotions. In the mean time, Jonas and Gabriel have traveled for days to the point that Gabriel is starving. At the end they come across some snow and a sled. They ride the sled until they reach some Christmas lights. This is where the story ends, the reader is left with what happened to both Jonas and Gabriel.
     There is a second book written after this book that reveals the fate of the the community and Jonas and Gabriel called Messenger. It is an interesting read, because students can discuss democracy vs. communism or socialism. The advantages and disadvantages of all three forms of government. I also came across an interesting website that has the book more as a graphic novel with a summary for each chapter. It might help with comprehension, located here. I also found a web page that is loaded with ideas for teaching The Giver. It has a web quest, a group project creating a Utopian society, discussion questions, literature circles, and study guides, just name and few. That web page is located here. There are several book trailers located on youtube, as well as the trailer for the movie. This one is my favorite: