Book Review #23 – “The Giver” by Lois Lowry
Book Review #23 – “The Giver” by Lois Lowry.
Building a Case for Books. It’s amazing that we have reached a point in our advanced society when we actually have to make a sales pitch for books. And yet the latest neurological research continues to confirm what we have already known intuitively… All the latest cognitive studies point to books being a superior form of weight-training for the brain when compared to digital reading. The simple reading of printed matter in books leads to longer attention spans, better memory retention, stronger vocabulary, improved critical thinking, a deeper understanding of material, and a greater empathy for others. Digital reading, unfortunately, leads to superficial thinking like skimming, scrolling, scanning, impatient multitasking, and an inferior comprehension of what has been read. Digital reading builds distracted learners who can’t stay with one thought or topic from the beginning to the end. On the other hand, book reading nurtures analytical thinking like nothing else on the market. And so it’s no surprise that print-reading leads to higher academic achievement, greater brain growth and better comprehension. While digital reading leads to lower retention and a worrying drop in the way our brains process and absorb information. Book reading builds what neuroscientists call a “mental wrap” because the tactile experience of simply turning a book’s pages generate spatial cues that assist greatly in memory recall. There is a sense of a more meaningful participation in the reading experience with the multisensory reading of a book that you take off a shelf, hold onto it while reading, turn its pages, feeling the paper, replacing it on the shelf or in the bookbag. And generally, the more your senses are involved, the more effectively the brain kicks into gear. The book-reading experience is much more pleasurable and satisfying at the visceral level as well, and surveys always seems to find that book-readers are less stressed, less discouraged, have lower blood pressure, are more mentally resilient when coping with life’s inevitable challenges, and have a greater awareness of the world around them. Practically speaking too, book readers develop much less eyestrain and discomfort than digital readers, mostly because of the glare of the blue lighting in the screens. And of course, books are a source of enrichment and inspiration for all ages, not just the young. Books strengthen the reader’s ability to imagine what one doesn’t see, from young readers to old, and is a lifelong source of pleasure that truly satisfies at a much deeper level than anything read digitally. So what’s not to like about books? It seems that books not only build better brains, but better lives too! That’s why I have decided to write a series of book reviews for my blog. My choice of books to review will be random, cover every genre, and will only include those books that have meant much to me through the years. Here’s hoping that the studies themselves will be enriching in some way to you readers, but also that you would be encouraged to remain a stubborn reader of books in the overpowering era of screens.
The Giver, by Lois Lowry, published in 1993 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
“Life here is so orderly, so predictable – so painless. It’s what they’ve chosen… Our people made that choice to go to Sameness. We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with differences. We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others.” (The Giver).
The Established Order of Life in the Community of Sameness. This exciting but rather bleak science fiction story for all ages ten and up has a twelve-year-old main character, Jonas, who is a member of community that had long ago adopted an operating principle they called ‘Sameness.’ Their society was strictly ordered:
Newborn – Delivered by a Birthmother and categorized as Newchildren; is assigned a number, not a name, and for the baby’s first year is raised in the group Nurturing Facility by assigned Nurturers; is given a comfort object to keep until eight years old. There is no known biological connection between child and parent, and so no sense of personal identity or history. Birthmothers are assigned to that role, are lowly regarded in the community, and become a Laborer after the maximum of three births.
ONE year old – The newchild is assigned a name and given to the assigned parents in a family unit.
THREE years old – The child is taught the “acquisition of correct language” according to the Book of Rules.
FOUR years old – Each child is given a back-fastened jacket for the daily uniform in order to learn interdependence since they need help from others to get dressed.
SEVEN years old – Each child is given a front-buttoned jacket for daily wear as a sign of independence.
EIGHT years old – The comfort object is taken away from each child, and each receives a uniform jacket with pockets for the first time to note the child’s growing responsibility to carry objects.
NINE years old – Each child is given a new bike for a personal possession for the first time, having been forbidden from riding bikes until then. Girls may now remove their long-required hair ribbons.
TEN years old – All boys are given uniform short haircuts, and all girls may finally have their braids snipped off.
ELEVEN years old – All standardized childhood behavior is to be continued, and each child is required to spend many hours volunteering in various community functions and facilities.
TWELVE years old – Each child now receives his/her Life Assignment, the career that will signify their role in the community. The twelve-year-old is considered a “citizen-in-training.” Every member of the community has a particular role in one of the established functions that maintain the community. The ages after twelve will cease being noted in the community records, which means no one knows exactly how old one is after reaching the teenage years.
FAMILY UNITS – When considered to be an adult, the Elders assign spouses to establish a family unit and raise two children maximum, 1 boy and 1 girl. The compatible spouse match is made after considering variables such as intelligence, personality, interests, and energy levels. All matches are monitored for three years by the Elders to confirm the fit of the spouses.
STANDARDIZED EDUCATION – All children are taught the same subjects as they age: Language and Communications; Commerce and Industry; Science and Technology; Civil Procedures and Government.
The Intended Benefits of the Community of Sameness: The persons managing this society believe in the priority of avoiding all risk, pain and suffering in order to maintain security, safety and carefree predictability. So the freedom of personal choice was sacrificed in order to enjoy a society with… No pain or discomfort; no color; no music; complete climate control without sunshine, wind, storms or uncertain weather patterns; no need to cook meals since standardized meals are delivered daily; no crime, injustice or unfairness; everyone is considered equal; no races or ethnic group bias; no deep emotions like sadness or affection or anger; no painful historical memories; an apparent social harmony; everyone contributes to society in some way; no poverty, hunger or deprivation; no unemployment; no sexual activity.
The Downsides of the Community: In order to enjoy those supposed benefits in their society, it nonetheless operated this way…
(1.) There was no consideration given to the sanctity of human life in that society. There was an active eugenics program in every stage of life that included infanticide, assisted suicide, capital punishment, and euthanasia. The acceptable term used for killing an unwanted person was “Release” which was actually a lethal injection administered to anyone unworthy of life in the community:
- A baby who was termed “Inadequate” by being disabled, by not thriving according to their developmental charts, by being unable to sleep through the night by the end of the first year, or by being the smaller one of identical twins. After being ‘released,” the dead baby is thrown down a trash chute to be taken out with the daily garbage;
- Any child who has proven to be rebellious by committing three infractions from their Book of Rules;
- Any person of any age who simply wants to be “released,” at which time they are helped to do so;
- Any adult who willingly breaks the established rules or who is unable to contribute to the community;
- All elderly citizens in the House of the Old who have outlived their usefulness. The “release” ritual of the elderly is celebrated as a party, complete with honoring the person about to be killed with toasts and speeches and group chants, and the person walking joyfully into the “Release Room” to be privately given the lethal injection.
(2.) There was a complete absence of beauty throughout society. There was no color anywhere in the environment, with everything being a dull, nondescript gray shade of blandness. There was no use of the imagination, no music, no art. There was no natural beauty like sky, sunshine, snow, clouds. There was no enjoyable variety in geography such as hills, valleys, mountains. There were no living animals that provided joy and beauty and companionship. There was no creativity or artistic self-expression. There was no inspiring literature or history books, only a required shelf in each family unit with a dictionary, an organizational manual, and the Book of Rules.
(3.) There was no sense of a Divine Power, or God or religion. Since there was no sense of a transcendent Being, or of a creation outside their own abilities, there was the ongoing delusion of self-sufficiency and absolute independence. So of course, there wasn’t an inkling of belief in being made in God’s image, since there was essentially no God in their awareness. Also, naturally, there was no belief in being morally responsible to a Higher Power in any way.
(4.) There was no personal freedom to make one’s own choices. The concept of free will was foreign to their thinking. The decisions were already made in almost every person’s case by either a select committee or by the ruling Committee of Elders. The Elders decided the names to the Ones, the spouse matches, the Life Assignments, the family unit assignments, and who was to be “released” in the community. Without free will, there was no freedom of conscience, no individuality, no independent thinking, no unique personalities, no personal choices.
(5.) There was no personal privacy. The two-way speakers in every house were turned on every minute of every day. There was constant surveillance outside each house. There were daily telling of secrets, dreams, and inner feelings required in each family unit. Everyone was accounted for at all times.
(6.) There was no emotional depth allowed to develop. The touching of others was forbidden. Sadness or anger was not tolerated. Romance between the genders was outlawed and maintained by every person taking a daily pill that sublimated sexual desires and limited sexual development. As a result, the idea of falling in love, or even of loving another person like a parent, sibling, or friend was a foreign concept and not even understood in the least.
(7.) There was no wisdom learned from historical memories. Because so many historical memories were most likely painful to remember and would make the citizens experience all types of profound and deep emotions, there was only one person in this society who was assigned to hold community memories, whether tragic or joyful or anything between… The Giver. His job was to bear the burdens of all the memories from the past and completely keep them from the conscious awareness of the community members. There was no opportunity, then, for the people to learn from the past, to recognize mistakes made that shouldn’t be repeated, to gain wisdom from what has occurred down through history. Every once in a while, the Elders assign someone to become a Receiver, and the Giver proceeds to transfer all his memories onto the Receiver, who will then bear those memories for the community going forward so the people won’t have to bear them in any way.
An Overview of “The Giver.” The tone of this science fiction story is rather bleak, so readers shouldn’t be surprised if they feel somewhat unsettled while going through the story. But this intriguing book has sold millions upon millions of copies since it was published, and is a work of genius by Lois Lowry that somehow is enjoyed by middle schoolers and equally loved by adults as well. The Giver has earned numerous awards, including the Newberry Medal for the Book of the Year in 1993. The reader is immediately plopped right down into a strange, fascinating community in the first words of the story, a society that might have wanted to build a utopia but has clearly become a dystopia instead. The word utopia literally means “good place,” and represents mankind’s never-ending search for the ideal, perfect world in which to live. Such a life, though, has proven impossible down through history, and if we don’t watch things carefully, a utopian society can easily devolve into a dystopian one. Dystopia literally means “bad place,” and in literature is an imagined society which is characterized by extreme oppression and totalitarian control. Sometimes we can be fooled into the supposed benefits of a dystopia, but what does one have to sacrifice in order to get those benefits? Is the trade-off worth it?
The Basic Storyline. (SPOILER ALERT – Don’t even think about reading this paragraph if you haven’t read the book yet. The reader’s excitement builds as the story’s plot thickens, and the stirring conclusion is one of the most interesting endings one could ever hope for. So, don’t say I didn’t warn you!) The hero of the story is a twelve-year-old boy named Jonas (a “Twelve”) who is assigned by the ruling Edlers to the most important role in the community…. the Receiver. He is to have the community’s memories transferred into his keeping by the Giver, these memories being judged long ago as too painful for the average person to bear. The purpose of the community was the avoidance of pain and suffering, so they chose to remain emotionally and intellectually separate from any memories that involved atrocities, warfare, broken bodies, natural disasters, deaths of animals, anything that would be unsettling or deeply unpleasant to the average person. So Jonas was secretly given memories galore by the Giver, good and bad, joyful and tragic, beautiful and ugly. The more Jonas remembers from historical memories, the more he is convinced that his community is way off track. So he becomes a silent rebel, privately refusing the daily all-purpose pill, secretly enjoying the new-found pleasures of color, nature, and deep emotional feelings. Jonas decides to escape his community with the help of the Giver, and they devise a plan. Sure enough, Jonas hops on a bike in the night, takes a newchild who is scheduled for “release” the next day, and they furtively leave the community in search of the mysterious land known as Elsewhere. After many miles of biking in foreign territory and close calls at being found, they finally arrive at a snowy hilltop with a sled that seemed to be waiting just or them. Practically starving and exhausted, they hop on the sled, and they glide downhill , where at the bottom sits a big house with colorful lights and glorious music, Is this the place in Elsewhere where Jonas and the newchild Gabriel can live in freedom? Did they find their destination?
Random Thoughts after Reading “The Giver“:
(1.) This simple but disarmingly inspiring story by Lois Lowry begs a whole host of questions, including… Did this community of Sameness get the best out of its citizens? Did their society help the people to truly flourish? Was this a picture of what should be pursued in our collective lives? Why? Why not? What was so alluring and attractive about Jonas’s community that would make them pursue their ethos the way they did? Does God fit into this story anywhere?
(2.) Our Maker gifted us human beings with miraculous brains, at least partly, so we could enjoy the privilege of thinking for ourselves, of making our own decisions. If we are forced to surrender that gift and allow someone else or a machine to do our thinking for us, then we have become less than human.
(3.) Living in dread fear of pain and suffering, such as in this zero-risk community of Sameness, means we are bowing to the Baal of safety, security, predictability, unpleasantness. That society was defined by rejecting the possibility that suffering is redemptive, helps us to grow up and mature, and strengthens us to flourish while living in a broken world. Also, pain is a purifier, and as Sheridan Larson once said, “Suffering is the distillation process that reduces us to our essence, if we let it.”
(4.) C. S Lewis in his little masterpiece Problem of Pain as he explains how pain is a gift of God… “If the possibility of suffering is excluded, life is excluded”… “Many use the problem of pain as a way to remove God from reality”… “God sometimes presents Himself under the cover of pain”… “God uses pain as a megaphone to rouse a deaf world, shattering our illusions of self-sufficiency so we may turn back to Him”… “God whispers to us in our pleasures, but shouts in our pain”… “Pain shatters the illusion that all is well, so when pain is withdrawn, we tend to forget God”… “God did not create evil, but knew that the offering of free will in His created beings allowed for the possibility of pain and suffering.”
(5.) Without beauty in the world, the very Spirit of creation is violated, and there is nothing available to point directly to our Creator. If our creative impulse is allowed to starve, a vital part of mankind’s essence disappears, and it becomes impossible to be fully human. Life is profoundly frustrated and incomplete without imagination, color, music, nature, artistic self-expression. It’s not merely that variety is the spice of life, but that Beauty gives shape to truth and produces goodness.
(6.) Pain can be a divine blessing and not necessarily a devilish curse. Suffering connects us intimately with God in our shared fellowship of suffering, and so is an irreplaceable bonding agent with the Almighty.
(7.) William Blake once composed this short poem in his “Auguries of Innocence” that says it all:
“Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine;
Under every grief and pine,
Runs a joy with silken twine.
It is right it should be so,
We were made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Through the world we safely go.”