The Giver

After reading The Giver for the second time, I am convinced that this is one of the best YA novels ever written. I found myself haunted by the images in the book for days after. And while the mystery of the ending is what gives the novel more power, I found myself wanting to know what happens to Jonas and Gabe. And I discovered that there are two more books that make this a trilogy: Gathering Blue and Messenger. And here is Lois Lowry's blog if anyone is interested: http://loislowry.typepad.com/lowry_updates/

Lois Lowry was born in Hawaii, but then lived in all sorts of places, including New York, Pennsylvania, and Tokyo. She got her Bachelor's and Master's at the Univeristy of Southern Maine and then took to writing and living in Cambridge, Massachussetts. After her son died in the Air Force, she took to the task of trying to end all conflict. And so, she says, all of her books center around one theme: "the importance of human connections." (Taken from her official website, http://www.loislowry.com/index.html)

Here is a link to Lois Lowry's Newberry acceptance speech for The Giver: http://www.loislowry.com/pdf/Newbery_Award.pdf

I found this extremely compelling, with special consideration to two parts. The man pictured on the cover of the book is a man named Carl Nelson, a painter she interviewed in Maine. She took that picture and kept it because of the conversations they had about color. She mentioned that his capacity to see color went far beyond hers. He went blind before dying in 1989. My other favorite mention was of a letter she received from a young man, complaining about how Jonas and Gabe died at the end. I never even considered that interpretation. I think it would be an interesting activity to have students write how they felt about the ending - without asking for an interpretation. You would be able to gather what they thought happened just from a reflection paper. Then you could write a list of possible ending interpretations and talk about them as a class, exposing students to the idea that it can be read in more than one way.

One activity I would love to do with students before reading this book is to have them write a short paper about their perfect world. What would be different? What would be taken away or changed? What would have to be sacrificied in order to change something else? This would help students get in the mindset of reading this book, and thinking about how one thing would affect another. It would also help them think about their own community and problems they see in it. Then I would have them look back at their papers after they finished the book and write a second response paper stating what changes they'd make to the first one and what they have learned about utopian societies.

Here's a cool review of the book that I liked: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqYz7T79kbU

I really like the questions they ask, challenging what "perfection" is and so forth. I also like that they call it "What I'd Like the World to Read." Which brings me to the point of banned books. This link brings you to a USA Today article explaining why The Giver has become one of the most banned and challenged books in middle school, with opposition to its mentioning of suicide and infanticide. http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/2001-07-20-the-giver.htm

But, of course, Lois Lowry does not believe her book should be banned. And neither do I. In 2000, The Giver was 10th on the list of banned books as stated by the American Library Association. The top of the list? Harry Potter! That is just ridiculous. In my opinion, parents and others are trying to shield their children, just like they did in the community in The Giver. I think these parents could learn a lot by reading this book. Shielding children doesn't work! Lois Lowry says this about banned books on her website:

"I think banning books is a very, very dangerous things. It takes away an important freedom. Any time there is an attempt to ban a book, you should fight it as hard as you can. It's okay for a parent to say, 'I don't want my child to read this book.' But it is not okay for anyone to try to make that decision for other people. The world portrayed in THE GIVER is a world where choice has been taken away. It is a frightening world. Let's work hard to keep it from truly happening."

And here is a link to a site full of ideas on how to teach it. (Their prewriting activity is the same as mine, but I swear I thought it up on my own! I didn't find this website until after. I must just be really smart.) http://theliterarylink.com/giver_lessons.html. I really like their ideas about how to teach the vocabulary. It revolves around defining the words used in the book that aren't really used that way, and how they contribute to their society. I also love the questions they ask and their suggestions for interdisciplinary use. I think it is a very useful page to get a teacher started.

And finally, after this long-winded exploration into Lois Lowry and The Giver, here are my three essential questions:

1. If you had your own utopian society, what would be the things you give up for perfection? Would it be perfection if you had to give up those things? What kinds of things would you change?

2. At the end of the book, Jonas seems to have found Elsewhere. He comes to houses during Christmastime, filled with love and happiness. But the Giver had said that all of those things were in the past. How do you interpret this disconnect? How do you think Jonas got to this place that was back in time? What makes you think that?

3. When Jonas starts to love Gabe, he decides he needs to save him. He risks everything to save one of the two people he really loves. What do you think Jonas has concluded about love and pain after learning about Elsewhere? What does this book say to you about the nature of love and pain?