Welcome to the Future of Life
Follow Claire on her journey to meet her son
Son by Lois Lowry
They called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn't exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been stolen from her body. Claire had a son. But what became of him she never knew. What was his name? Was he even alive? She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. Now Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice.
Welcome to Community (Part One-Before)
The beginning of Son takes place in a community perceived to be a Utopian society based on the expulsion of differences.
Birthing Unit
Claire is first assigned to be a birth mother. At age 14, Claire is already giving birth to her first child. After something goes wrong during birth, she is accidentally told that she gave birth to a son, and he is number 36 in his birth year. Because of her "failure", she is reassigned.
Fish Hatchery
After Clair fails to complete her first assignment as birth mother, she is reassigned to the fish hatchery. Claire is always curious about the ships coming from different communities, and she wants to explore one, but it is not allowed without special permission.
Nurturing Center
After hearing that her son, number 36, is healthy, Claire feels empty, thus wanting to find him. As she volunteers at the Nurturing center, she forms a bond with her son. She has no words for this new found love, because love does not exist in her community.
Change in setting
Due to the lack of color in Claire's old village, there were not many differences, and everyone's skin appeared to be the same color. Once she left her old community, all of a sudden Claire could see color. Everything was different. Everyone was different.
Welcome to A Village Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere (Part 2-Between)
After Clair climbs aboard a cargo ship, there is a huge storm and the boat gets shipwrecked on the beach of a village. Due to the large storm and the wreck, Claire loses all of her memory, but remembers her son. She is taken in by Alys, who helps her re-learn life. Claire helps mothers in the village care for their children on a daily basis, which makes her sad because she can't be with her own son. Einar tells Claire that there is a man that can train her to climb the dangerous cliff to leave the village and find her son. Trademaster, the man who can help Claire find her son, asks for something in return to train her. Because Claire has nothing to give, she trades her youth and beauty to find her son, thus looking like an old hag.
Welcome to Village (Part 3-Beyond)
After seven years of training, Claire is finally able to climb the cliff and continue her journey to find her son. While Claire is trying to find her son, Gabe wants to know who his mother is. Gabe is building a boat to escape the community and find his mom. As Gabe works, he notices an old lady (Claire) watching him. Claire knows that she will die soon, and probably not be able to meet Gabe, so she tells Jonas, the leader of village, her story. After hearing Claire's story, Jonas tells Gabe that Claire is his mother, and the only way to save her is to kill Trademaster. Gabe has the power to see inside of people, and when facing Trademaster, he sees that Trademaster is hungry for suffering. Gabe tells Trademaster all of the people that he tried to destroy that are now living and happy. Hearing this ruins Trademaster, causing his death. When Gabe returns home to Village, he finds his that mother, Claire, has returned to her younger, beautiful self.
Because of the Community...
When 'vessels' (birth mothers) produce, their product is taken away from them. Vessels wear a mask to cover eyes so they can't see what's going on, or what their product looks like, to prevent emotional attachment. If Claire didn't live in this community, she wouldn't have been separated from her son, nor would she have to go on this journey to find her son.