Post-Reading Task – Book review

The novel “The Giver” written by Lois Lowry deals with Jonas, who’s living in a community, where everything is very controlled and Jonas is selected to do the most honored job.  The book was published 1993 and is a soft science fiction novel.

The novel “The Giver” is set in a perfect world. In the Ceremony of Twelve Jonas, the main character is selected to be the new Receiver of the Memories of his community. During his training, performed by “The Giver of Memory”, Jonas finds out about the dark secrets that underlie the apparent harmony of his world.

I think the book is nice to read it in school or something like that, but I wouldn’t recommend it to people, who want to read it privately. In the beginning of the book, you get to know many information about the community and Jonas, the story is interesting, but how further you read you lose your interest. Especially in the end, the action takes place about a huge time period and that isn’t very interesting. I have to say that the book has an open ending and I don’t like that, because I want to know how the story ends and I don’t want to imagine how the end might be. 

All in all, for reading the book in school and something like that I would recommend it, but for reading it privately I don’t recommend it.

Post-Reading Task – Another title for the book

In my opinion the book title should be something like “Jonas – The Receiver of the Memories” like my blog name, because the current title “The Giver” doesn’t give you any information about what the book is about neither the cover does and I think the new title would give you some hints, that there is a boy, who will be or is the Receiver of the Memories and that he receives memories.

Therefore I would change the cover too, to give you a first clue, what the book might be about in addition to the title. I didn’t find a picture nor could create a picture, which fits to my imagination of the book cover so I will describe it.

At the book cover you see a boy, who has lighter eyes, and a old man. The boy is lying on a bed an the old man has his hand on the boy’s back. The boy has a thought bubble above his head, which contains the memory of riding the sled in it. At least the book cover itself should be in black and white, only the thought bubble I imagine to be coloured

All in all the new title should give you the information that the boy Jonas is the Receiver of the Memories and the book cover should show you from whom he receives them.

Chapter 20-23 – Newspaper article

Without a Trace

The community is shocked! This morning: The parents of Jonas, the new Receiver of the Memory, got a mysterious message from Jonas, which said, that he’s doing a morning walk through the community. But then they realized Gabriel, the newchild, is also gone.

The police said that Jonas is gone. Has vanished! The Receiver is vanished, the most dreaded case since 10 years. What will happen next? Does the community get the mysterious feelings like ten years ago? And why is Gabriel also gone? 

The police already started a big search. Planes overflew the community and the area nearby every 30 minutes, but there isn’t anything new. The police talked to his parents whether Jonas behavior was different than the time before, but nothing.

The final question is: Why did he run away? And what will happen to the community?

Chapter 19 - A Release

In Chapter 19 we get to know some information about the process of a release, because Jonas’ father has to release the lighter twin.

The release takes place in a small windowless room, empty except for a bed, a table with some equipment on it. A scale and a cupboard.

It’s just an ordinary room without windows.  Jonas’ father weighed the twins and rewrapped the bigger one and gave it to his Assistant, who left the door with it.
Jonas’ father  took out a syringe and a small bottle and began to fill the syringe with the liquid from the small bottle.

Finally his father injected the liquid in a vein in his head, because the veins in the arms of the newchild are too tiny and the father dropped the syringe into a waste receptacle.

Then he cleaned it up and made him comfy. The newchild was no longer crying, it moved his arms and legs in a jerking motion and then he went limp, his head fell to the side and his eyes were half open, but he was still.

His father was putting the things away and put the motionless twin in a small carton and threw it in a small door in the wall.

That was it and how we know, the father killed the newchild, so If someone ask to for release, he or she will be killed by a syringe with a mysterious liquid.

Chapter 18 - The Fail of the Selection - Part 2

In chapter 18, we get to know the last information about the fail of the previous selection.

The Giver said, after Jonas said, that he’s thinking about his release, that the committee hammered out the rule after the failure ten years ago.
The Giver said that she was a female, how we already know, and that “she was a remarkable young woman. Very self-possessed and serene. Intelligent, eager to learn” (p. 108 l. 33). 

Her name was ‘Rosemary’. The first day, when she came to the Giver, she felt the same like Jonas’: She was excited and a little scared. The Giver mentions her eyes, which were very luminous. 

Then the Giver asked Jonas for the memory of the family with the grandparents and especially for the feeling 'Love'. Finally the Giver said that he loved her and that he liked her laughter, but it had broken his heart, because he had to transfer pain to her.
The training was the same like Jonas’: At first painful memories and in the end a happy one, but Rosemary was like Jonas, she wanted to experience everything and asked the Giver for more difficult memories. 

The Giver transmitted her loneliness, loss, a memory of a child taken from its parents. Finally she was shocked and everything had changed since she knew about pain. The Giver could see it in her eyes, but he didn’t give her physical pain, but he gave her anguish of many kinds like poverty, hunger and terror. 

After five weeks being a Receiver, it was the last session for her. The Giver said it had been a hard one. The times of laughter were gone by then. “She stood up very silently, frowning, as if she were making a decision. Then she came over to him and put her arms around him. She kissed is cheek.” (p.110 ll. 28-31)

She left the room and did not go back to her dwelling. She had gone directly to the Chief Elder and asked for release, which she could apply for, because this rule hadn’t been in the instructions of a Receiver there.

Chapter 17 – Jonas’ Diary

Dear Diary,
it’s a long time ago, since I wrote the last entry. 

Today wasn’t such a nice day.
In the morning, the speaker said, that we have the day free and we all were happy about it and everyone was doing what he wanted to do.

I don’t take the pills anymore! Mum and Dad don’t know it, nobody knows it, but I can’t live in a world without feelings. The dreams came back, at first I felt a little embarrassed, but now I can handle it.

I rode my bike to look for Asher. Riding through the community, I realized that I cannot imagine a life in the community without colors. Now everything is so beautiful and is shining with deeper feelings. Finally I saw Asher, who was playing with some kids and Fiona on the playing field ‘Good guys – Bad guys’. I played it a lot when I was younger, but know with all these memories of war I have, I cannot…
When I stood there, I was having a memory, in which someone was shot. I almost cried! Certainly the others don’t understand it and so they were just leaving, except for Asher and Fiona. Asher was upset, because I ruined the game… I wanted to explain it, but he didn’t understand it. No! He CANNOT understand it.

After refusing Fiona’s suggestion to ride the bikes together and hang out, I rode home. At home Lily talked about wanting to learn riding the bike. I think I will teach her, it’s almost December. Only a month left. 

Phew! Almost one year over… one year a Receiver…

Dad talked about going earlier to bed, because of the twins, which will be born tomorrow. The lighter one will be released. Simply released! Such a shame.

Well, Lily told some stories, I agree with Mom’s suggestion that Lily should be assigned as a ‘Storyteller’. It would perfectly fit to Lily’s behavior...or rather her speeches.

Well, I’m tired, I think I will go to bed now.
Good night, Jonas.

Chapter 13 - The Fail of the Selection - Part 1

During the ceremony of twelve we got to know that the Elders failed in their last selection for the Receiver of the Memory. In chapter 13 we get to know more details about the incident.
Now I will write how it could happen.

It was the second day of the ceremonies in December. It was pretty much the same process as at Jonas’ selection: During the distribution of the assignments the Chief Elder skipped one person, a female, in the end she said, that she was selected to be the new Receiver of the Memory.

The Chief Elder mentioned that the training would include indescribable pain and in chapter 13 Jonas asked the Giver, what happened. The Giver said indirectly that the girl died, because of the pain and then all the memories, which she already received, were gone and the whole community had access to them. Finally it was a chaos, because the community got to know the indescribable pain and the knowledge.illhill