Upon finishing "The Giver" by Lois Lowry, I had a feeling of loss. Loss may not be the correct word. I had no sense of how to process what I had just read. I was stunned and a little sad. And, please, don't take those sentences as a slight to the book or the author. They are not. That feeling after finishing the book makes "The Giver" remarkable.
I have watched the movie at least two times, and it follows closely to the book with a few minor changes. The book goes deeper and is more emotion-evoking than the movie. The book drew a more visceral response from me. To be a tad cliché: The book was better than the movie.
I imagine that the characters in this book would have considered their world a utopia. There is no pain. Meals are delivered directly to the dwelling. Families consist of two parents and one each of a boy and a girl child. Day after day is the same thing. That is not utopia. That is hell.
In one particularly astounding passage, Jonas, the new Receiver of Memories, is talking to the Giver. (The Giver is the retiring Receiver of Memories who transfers the memories to the new Receiver, thus the name "Giver.") Jonas is beginning to see colors and wants to see them all the time. He decries the unfairness of it. "If everything's the same, then there aren't any choices! I want to wake up in the morning and decide things! A blue tunic, or a red one?" Can you imagine a world without color? Can you imagine a world without choice? I was angry, too, with Jonas. He couldn't choose the color of his tunic. He didn't choose his family. He had no choice, thus, no freedom.
Here is the turning point of the book. As Jonas receives more memories, he begins to experience things that the community members do not. He understands pain, starvation, loss, and he knows happiness. Jonas experiences love. "He felt such love for Asher and for Fiona. But they could not feel it back, without the memories." He decides that things must change.
I won't give away any more of the book because you should read it. "The Giver" is a profoundly deep and emotional book. I found myself in shock at what I was reading. I was deeply trouble and perplexed. I found myself feeling a wave of visceral anger at times. This anger amplifies knowing the state of our world today, where so many people are clamoring for something that I would think is very similar to this world. Someone to take care of them and protect them; to put everyone on a level playing field. Sameness.
Freedom from one thing makes you a slave to another. These people were free from emotions. They were free from making bad choices. It was these things that made them slaves. When having no choice and no memories, then we have no freedom. If we have no memories, then we have nothing.
There is a flip side to this book. It is one of hope. We can choose to make a difference. We can choose to feel. We can choose to be an individual. In the end, Jonas acts on his emotions and makes a choice. He chooses freedom and to save the life of a new baby. Lois Lowry leaves the ending open for us to decide what happens to Jonas. For that, we can be thankful. I think he made a wonderful life full of love, freedom, and choice.
Larry