The Giver is an intriguing morality tale about a young boy named Jonas who lives in a community free of wrongdoing and unhappiness. Children are assigned jobs at the age of twelve, preparing for and performing for the rest of their lives. Everything, from their parents to their partner, is chosen. When Jonas is nominated to be the new "Memory Keeper," he stands out from the crowd. Because someone has held all of the negative and positive memories of the past within them since the beginning of time, the community has been kept free of all negative aspects of life. There are several things students can learn from reading "the giver," which is why it is important. The following are some of the lessons students can learn from the tale.
The Importance of Memory
The importance of remembrance to human life is one of The Giver's most important themes. After a trip to her aging father, who lost most of his long-term memory, Lowry was compelled to write The Giver. She realized that there is no pain without memory. If individuals cannot remember physical discomfort, they might as well not have had it. People cannot be troubled by remorse or grief if they cannot remember what happened to them. The Giver's community agreed to remove all pain from their lives at some point in the past. They had to give up memories of their society's collective experiences in order to do so.
Relationship between Pain and Pleasure
The notion that there can be no enjoyment without suffering and no suffering without pleasure is related to the theme of memory. Students can find essays on The Giver at the Source: Samplius that expound on these themes and assist them in completing their assignments. No matter how enjoyable an experience is, one cannot appreciate the pleasure it provides unless they have some memory of suffering. Because they have never experienced pain, the members of Jonas' community are unable to acknowledge the joys in their lives: their lives are completely monotonous and totally lack emotional variation. Similarly, they are unaffected by pain or grief since they are unaware of life's true beauty: death is not saddening to them because living is not valuable.
The Importance of the Individual
The community celebrates the differences between twelve-year-old children at the Ceremony of Twelve. Many children struggle to create a distinct character for themselves at the age of twelve, trying to distinguish themselves from their peers and family. The Giver is, among other things, the story of Jonas' maturation as a person, from a child reliant on his community to a young person with unique skills, aspirations, and wants. The novel can even be viewed as an allegory for this developmental phase, as twelve-year-old Jonas opposes a society in which everyone is the same in order to pursue his own path. Rather than disparaging or pretending that differences do not exist, the novel invites the reader to celebrate them.
Conclusion
The Giver is influential because it is one of the few young adult novels that let individuals choose the ending. Due to its simple but compelling storyline and interesting characters, the book is fairly simple to read in a couple of hours. The Giver's ending is powerful because the reader has a say in what it signifies; just as Jonas made a selfless sacrifice for the benefit of the community, one must make their own decision.
