A review by coley_reads
The Giver by Lois Lowry

adventurous emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

 

<spoiler Quotes 

“He searched for the right word to describe his own feeling. Jonas was careful about language.” 

“I accept your apology, Asher,’ the Instructor said. He was smiling. ‘And I thank you, because once again you have provided an opportunity for a lesson in language. Distraught is too strong an adjective to describe salmon-viewing.’ He turned and wrote distraught on the instructional board. Beside it he wrote distracted. 

“Who wants to be the first tonight, for feelings?’ Jonas’s father asked, at the conclusion of their evening meal. It was one of the rituals, the evening telling of feelings.” 

“Jonas’s father title was nurturer. He and the other Nurturers were responsible for all the physical and emotional needs of every newchild during its earliest life.” 

“Rules were very hard to change. Sometimes, if it was a very important rule it would have to go to The Receiver for a decision. The Receiver was the most important Elder.” 

“Jonas was glad that he had, over the years, chosen to do his hours in a variety of places so that he could experience the differences. He realized, though, that not focusing in one area meant he was left with not the slightest idea-not even a guess of what his Assignment would be.” 

“I wanted her to take off her clothes and get into the tub. I wanted to bathe her.’ Jonas said. ‘Can you describe the strongest feeling in your dream, son?’ Father asked. ‘The wanting,’ he said. He mother said, ‘You’re ready for the pills, that’s all. That’s the treatment for Stirrings.’ 

“The initial speech at the Ceremony of Twelve was made by the Chief Elder, the leader of the community who was elected every ten years. The speech was much the same each year: recollection of the time of childhood and the period of preparation, the coming responsibilities of adult life, the profound importance of Assignment, the seriousness of training to come.” 

“Jonas has been selected. Jonas has been selected to be our next Receiver of Memory. Such a selection is very, very rare. Our community has only one Receiver.  It is he who trains his successor. We failed in our last selection. The Receiver-in training cannot be observed, cannot be modified. He is to be alone, apart, while he is prepared by the current Receiver for the job which is the most honored in our community. He has shown all of the qualities that a Receiver must have. Intelligence, Integrity, Courage, Wisdom, and Capacity to See Beyond.” 

JONAS  

RECEIVER OF MEMORY  

1.  Go immediately at the end of school hours each day to the Annex entrance behind the House of the Old and present yourself to the attendant. 

2.  Go immediately to your dwelling at the conclusion of Training Hours each day. 

3.  From this moment you are exempted from rules governing rudeness. You may ask any question of any citizen and you will receive answers. 

4.  Do not discuss your training with any other member of the community, including parents and Elders. 

5.  From this moment you are prohibited from dream-telling. 

6.  Except for illness or injury unrelated to your training, do not apply for any medication. 

7.  You are not permitted to apply for release. 

8.  You may lie. 

 

“But what happened to those things? Snow, and the rest of it? Climate control. Snow made growing food difficult, limited the agricultural periods. And unpredictable weather made transportation almost impossible at times. It wasn’t a practical thing, so it became obsolete when we went to Sameness.” 

“The Committee of Elders sought my advice. They came to me for wisdom. The strongest memory that came was hunger. It came from many generations back. Centuries back. The population had gotten so big that hunger was everywhere. Excruciating hunger and starvation. It was followed by warfare. I simply advised them against increasing the population.” 

“But why can’t everyone have the memories? I think it would seem a little easier if the memories were shared. You and I wouldn’t have to bear so much by ourselves, if everybody took a part.’ The Giver sighed. ‘You’re right. But then everyone would be burdened and pained. They don’t want that. And that’s the real reason The Receiver is so vital to them, and so honored. They selected me and you to lift that burden from themselves.” 

“Now, through the memories, he had seen oceans and mountain lakes and streams that gurgled through woods; and he saw the familiar wide river beside the path differently. He saw all of the light and color and history it contained and carried in its slow-moving water; and he knew that there was an Elsewhere from which it came, and an Elsewhere to which it was going.” 

“No I have to stay here,’ The Giver said. ‘I want to, Jonas. If I go with you, and together we take away all their protection from the memories, Jonas, the community will be left with no one to help them They’ll be thrown into chaos. They’ll destroy themselves. I can’t go.” 

“All at once he could see lights, and he recognized them now. He knew they were shining through the windows of rooms, that they were the red, blue, and yellow lights that twinkled from trees in places where families created and kept memories, where they celebrated love. He was away with certainty and joy that below, ahead, they were waiting for him; and they were waiting, too, for the baby. For the first time, he heard something that he knew to be music. He heard people singing. Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the pace he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps it was only an echo.” >