Imagine a world where everything is the same; everyone has the same hair color, the weather is always in between cold and warm, meals are delivered daily to each dwelling, and spouses are assigned to each other and children are assigned to parents. There is no color, no pain, and everyone apologizes for being late or rude.

The Giver, by Lois Lowry

At twelve years old, I met Jonas, an Eleven living in a community of Sameness. I met him again, now, at twenty-onetwenty-two*. Jonas is excited for the Ceremony, the day when he becomes a Twelve and is assigned a role in the community. His role, however, is not like the Caregiver his friend Fiona becomes, or the Assistant Director of Recreation that his friend Asher becomes. Jonas is chosen to become The Receiver, and because of his new role, his life will change forever.

Jonas begins receiving memories from The Giver: memories of war, snow, pain, boating, color, warmth, and more. These memories begin to haunt Jonas and prompt him to try to change things.

As a twelve-year-old, I was horribly disappointed and depressed by the ending. Now, as an adult revisiting a book I both loved and hated during my childhood, I have more perspective… and yet I’m still disappointed. Even though The Giver is technically a children’s book, there are some very adult themes and questions it raises during and after reading. Spoilers ahead!

Obviously, one of my biggest questions is whether Jonas and Gabriel make it to the Elsewhere… or if the lights and sounds Jonas saw and heard were just delusions and he actually died.

The Giver is laced with themes of coming-of-age, as well as the need for explanation and answers that every growing child becomes filled with, but the need for control and Sameness — no war, no feelings, no depletion of food, no sight of color, no sound of music, no pain — is a very Socialistic issue that most children are never exposed to (unless, of course, they live in a Socialist country). Everything is so controlled and perfect, plodding along without a hitch, that it almost makes sense for these people to want it so.

Almost.

I read The Giver within a couple of hours. It’s only 180 pages long, but the first time I read it, I thought about it almost constantly years after.

Do you think that the exploration of Socialism was Lois Lowry’s intention when writing? Do you think that Jonas and Gabriel made it?

*Again, this is another book I read during the middle of summer. I wrote this review originally in July. Please don’t throw things at me!