The Giver
By Lois Lowry; Book report by Kristina Rowe
Introduction
"Jonas did not want to go back. He didn't' want the memories, didn't want the honor, didn't want the wisdom, didn't want the pain. He wanted his childhood again, his scraped knees and ball games."
Jonas receives the memories of the past, good and bad, from the current Receiver, a wise old man who tells Jonas to call him The Giver. The Giver transmits memories by placing his hands on Jonas's bare back. The first memory he receives is of an exhilarating sled ride.
If The Book Was Well Written, What Made It That Way?
The book was very good and I loved the way Lois Lowry wrote it. She wrote a book about how it would be in the future, having one person, The Giver, know everything that happened in the past, all the good and bad memories. No one else knew the bad memories. Anything that the people of this 'perfect town' all had good memories. But the one interesting thing about this book was that the parents didn't have the children, they would adopt their kids, if they were healthy, and if they were not healthy, they would release them, or in other words kill them.
What Was The Authors Purpose For Writing This Book?
I think the authors purpose for writing the book was to show how it would be if we got rid of all memories. It wouldn't be a very good world, because going back to having the little children killed if they weren't healthy enough. Most families, if their child isn't healthy they wouldn't kill it. They would keep it safe until it is healthy enough to bring it home. But if we got rid of all memories, and had one person keep all the good and bad memories, it wouldn't be the same life anymore. It would be more dull.
Jonas
Eleven-year-old protagonist of the story.
Fiona
She has red hair that only Jonas Can see.
The Giver
An old man in the community, who holds all the memories, good and bad.
Describe The Authors Writing Style:
The Author placed this book in the future, where no one had any memories of the past. No one new what snow was, because there was no snow. They stayed in a pretty stable climate. No one could see colors. Everything was black and white, until Jonas becomes the receiver. He finds out that there are so many colors, red, blue, green. Its a pretty dull world until, Jonas finds out what he is really suppose to do in the world.
Theme
I think the theme of the book was to think about what can happen in the future if everything was plain, and there was no color or memories.
What Was The Tone Of The Book? How Was It Communicated?
Sad:
- The tone was sad at first, when everything was dull, and there were no memories or feelings. Everyone went with the flow.
- When Jonas's dad was going to release Gabriel, a little baby that wasn't healthy enough to be sent to a family, and Jonas knew what that was so he tried to escape with baby Gabriel.
Happy:
- At the end of the book, everyone could see colors, and there were memories everywhere, mostly good memories though.
- People had feelings, and they could see that the grass was green, and the sky was blue. They could tell what color of hair they had.