Lowry, Lois. (1993). The Giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 180 pp.

Grade Range: 6-12

Genre: fantasy

Summary and Critique

Author Lois Lowry creates a futuristic utopia in The Giver. This novel, a cross between George Orwell's 1984 and the popular film The Matrix, addresses questions the author received after the publication of Number the Stars, her Newbery Award-winning Holocaust tale. Repeatedly, readers inundated her with one comment:"The past is past. Why remember this terrible time?" In reply, she wrote The Giver, a story chronicling a young boy's experiences within a"perfect" society. Jonas and his neighbors inhabit a totally controlled world of ever-sunny days, perfect health, and families that never argue. However, on the day that Jonas turns 12, he expectantly awaits news about the job he will hold for life, a decision made for him by the powers that be. Jonas's assignment is different from the rest of his peers. Chosen to be the "Receiver," a position of extreme responsibility, high honor, and rare privilege, Jonas'life evolves into one of solitude and pain as the sole savior of the community. To preserve the community's way of life, Jonas (having no prior experience with loss or elation), must suddenly confront memories of pain, war, love, Christmas, snow—memories that overwhelm the young boy both physically and emotionally. Ultimately, Jonas embarks on a plan that will result in drastic changes for both the youngster and his community.

Normally categorized as young-adult literature, this compelling tale remains extremely popular with young and old alike. Highly readable, the novel fosters much discussion through its rich, complex themes (e.g., power in societies, fate vs. free will, lessons learned from pain and joy).

Awards

Newbery Award

American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults

School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

Regina Medal

Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book

Booklist Editor's Choice Pick

Themes/Topics

Families

Generations

Challenges and Triumphs

The Individual vs. Society

Author Information:

Part of a traveling military family, Lois Lowry grew up as the middle child of three, something that she see as an advantage; she let her siblings occupy her parents while she spent her time in the world of books and imagination. She received her degree at University of Southern Maine after the birth of her children and began writing professionally after graduating, part of her life-long dream. Lowry now lives in West Cambridge and enjoys her dog Bandit and spending time with her grandchildren.

Browse Lowry's home page http://www.loislowry.com/.

Visit www.Amazon.com for a complete listing of Lowry's works and excerpts from her best selling books.

Media Connections

Movies

Cast Away. (2000). An adventure/drama film that follows the life of Fed-Ex employee Chuck Nolan while he is stranded on a desert island. He must change physically and emotionally to overcome the new obstacles in his life.

Rudy. (1993). A drama about a football player who must continually battle failure and adversity to reach his goals. Specifically follows his trials, tribulations, and eventual glory at The University of Notre Dame. Extremely Motivating.

The Matrix. (1999) This sci-fi action thriller shows a perfect example of a dystopia. The story line follows the main character's attempt to overcome the oppressive society that has taken control of the world. Movie may need to be edited due to extreme violence.

With Honors. (1994). This drama takes a comedic yet poignant look at the life of a Harvard student. He crosses paths with a bum whose ideas help to change the main character's life. Relevant dialogues on the importance of memories are presented throughout the film.

Television

The Guardian. www.cbs.com A TV series that addresses the challenges of child advocacy. A hotshot young lawyer must represent foster children as a result of a drug arrest. The show consistently presents stories about overcoming huge odds.

Providence. www.nbc.com An evening drama that explores family dynamics and the role of memory in our lives. A young doctor copes with the death of her mother by talking to the apparition (real? imagined?) who pops up unexpectedly throughout the day.

Gilligan's Island. (On many different channels). The castaways marooned on this tropical island develop their own unique, closed society. Interaction between the characters is comedic and stereotypes abound. Nevertheless, the storyline provides fodder for real discussions about power, money, appearance, creativity, societal roles, prejudice, etc.

Music

"Typical Situation." (1994) Dave Matthews Band. Under The Table and Dreaming. The refrain speaks about the desires and warnings of a conformist utopia.

"Cat's in the Cradle." Cat Stevens . Cat Stevens Greatest Hits. Lyrics portray a little boy's distant relationship with his father, and later the grown boy's distant relationship with his own son.

"No Woman, No Cry." (1984) Bob Marley and the Wailers. Legend. Lyrics speak of the memories of the Government Yard in Trenchtown through a compelling narrative.

Online Resources

www.new-utopia.com Home page for the "Principality of New Utopia." This new resort community is currently being built in the Caribbean upon utopian ideals: an oasis in the middle of the ocean that offers luxury office buildings, hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, etc.

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chmemory.html An entertaining and informative site providing many memory games.

http://www.jsonline.com/alive/vanish Link to a web site that contains a four-part article about Alzheimer's disease called"The Vanishing." Offers information about the neurological disease that destroys the memory.

http://www.secondaryenglish.com Contains ample information about Language Arts at the secondary level, including lesson plans that are great for immediate use or adaptation.

Related Texts

Albom, Mitch. (1997). Tuesdays With Morrie. New York: Doubleday. 192 pp. A highly acclaimed story of a close knit relationship between a mentor teacher and his compassionate student.

Anaya, Rudolfo A. (1972). Bless Me Ultima. New York: Warner Books. 277 pp. This classic chronicles the life of a Hispanic boy when his"witch" grandmother comes to live his family. A sweet mentor-mentee relationship develops between the two.

Cruz, Nicky. (1998). Run Baby Run. New York: Logos Associates. 197 pp. The story of a gang leader in New York who struggles to break free, but gets pulled back in by memories. Details his conversion to Christianity.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. (1852). The Blithedale Romance. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields. 288 pp. The oldest text suggested in this section. Written by a master American storyteller, the tale examines the factors causing a farm to fail in reaching its utopian ideals. Emerson and Melville are represented as "characters" in the story. For advanced/adult readers.

Heller, Joseph. (1961). Catch 22. New York: Dell Publishing. 463 pp. Heller's classic about the challenges of overcoming the horrors of war. Very shifty text:one page deals with the humor of the war situation, while the next deals with the complete horror of the institution.

Lewis, C.S. (1998 edition). The Chronicles of Narnia. New York: Harper Collins. 523 pp. Lewis transports the reader to the fantasy world of Narnia. This series is great as children's literature but still works at the secondary level because of the complexity of the story. Most famous is the first book in the series, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

Orwell, George. (1978). 1984. New York: Warren Publishing Company. 273 pp. The classic and chilling text of a world gone evil because of mind control. A perfect example of a dystopia.

Teaching Ideas

(1)"Extra, Extra, Read All about It" Empower students to create a newspaper for Jonas'community. Stage a staff meeting and lead students through the publication process, considering how controversial issues in The Giver would have been presented to the community. For example, cover the Cermony of the Twelve and changes at the Neutering Center. Students can create papers in small group or as a class activity. (Adapted from Classroom Notes Plus Vol. 15 (2). December 1997. p.9)

(2)"Being Lois Lowry" Have students write essays addressing the question,"And then what?" At the end of Lowry's novel, we are left to imagine the future of the community. Students can create their own additions to the novel from multiple perspectives (e.g., Jonas, the Giver, a community member, an outsider). (From Classroom Notes Plus, Vol. 15 (2). December 1997. p. 9).

(3)"Making A Memory String" Students must be supplied with fishing wire and beads (many different kinds) for this exercise. Begin by having a discussion about the importance of memory in The Giver. To reinforce the importance of memory, read the short children's story, The Memory String. Next, use a short video clip from the movie With Honors, in which the bum describes his special way of preserving memories. On a scratch sheet of paper, have the students brainstorm five significant memories. Allow them to begin making their memory strings by selecting five beads that correspond to the five memories they just wrote down. On the same sheet of paper, ask them to write why they chose that specific bead to represent that memory. Have the students assemble the strings by placing the beads onto the fishing wire. When they finish, ask the students to select their favorite memory and do a quick-write about the situation and circumstances that surrounded that memory. As closure for the class, ask for volunteers to show and explain their memory strings.

(review written by Brandon Wilson and edited by Amy Strecker)