Blog Post 1: Initial Response
At first, The Giver made no sense to me. I did not understand the significance of being "released" and why Lily was being referred to as a "Seven". I was also puzzled by the "speaker". The surroundings of Jonas and his community were very foreign to me and I could not relate to it. I soon realised that the world Jonas was living in was a futuristic society that has eliminated all pain, fear, war, and hatred. There is no prejudice, since everyone looks and acts basically the same, and there is very little competition. Everything was standardised. It was supposed to be a perfect world.
As I read on, I soon felt that this "utopia" that Lois Lowry had created did not seem quite right. The mood is foreboding, and I got the feeling that something bad was going to happen. This mood suggests that Jonas' community is far from perfect.
The biggest thing that stood out to me was that Jonas's society had eliminated choice. At the age of twelve every member of the community is assigned a job based on his or her abilities and interests.They were not allowed to choose themselves. What I found most haunting was the concept of "Birthmothers". Their job was solely to give birth. It was as if they were being used until they simply could not give birth anymore. This quite shocking and it left me feeling quite disturbed.
The biggest thing that stood out to me was that Jonas's society had eliminated choice. At the age of twelve every member of the community is assigned a job based on his or her abilities and interests.They were not allowed to choose themselves. What I found most haunting was the concept of "Birthmothers". Their job was solely to give birth. It was as if they were being used until they simply could not give birth anymore. This quite shocking and it left me feeling quite disturbed.
The book left me guessing after I finished reading it. Many questions were left unanswered. What actually happened to Jonas and Gabriel? Do they die? Are they dreaming? Do they go to a house with lights and music? Do they end up back in their original community? This ambiguous ending left me pondering long after I flipped the final page.
Overall, I felt the The Giver was a meaningful read, with a gently haunting touch to it, teaching me to really appreciate the simple joys in life that we all take fore-granted.
