"The Giver"

Paper Summary:

This book review examines the way in which humans try to create utopian communities when they realize how imperfect their world is. Through the central character, a twelve year old boy named Jonas, Lowry explores the deep human questions as he discovers feeling, memory, pain and sorrow. According to the writer of this paper, when Jonas flees with Gabriel, Lowry is saying that whatever suffering they may face is worth the pain it might take to be real people in a real world.

From the Paper:

"With the deceptively simple first sentence Lowry places her hero center stage: It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened (Giver 1). With these words Lowry sets the mood and direction of her story, foreshadows its outcome, and plants an irresistible narrative pull (Campbell 717). Heading into the season of winter darkness, young Jonas takes on a frightening quest. In using the name Jonas, evocative of the biblical Jonah . . .sent by God to cry against the wickedness of Nineveh, an unwilling lone messenger with a mission that will be received with hostility (Campbell 717) Lowry quickly tunes the reader in to her fantasy world."

More papers on "The Giver":

• Analytical Essay # 126586 : "'The Giver' and Memory"
• Book Review # 114543 : "The Giver": Life Without Memory"
• Book Review # 119058 : "Individual Choice in "The Giver"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: