Lois Lowry, the author of the book The Giver, often portrays her young protagonists from her experience as a child. Lowry was born on March 20, 1937 (Dellinger). During her early life, she was very interested in reading and was very solitary (Dellinger). This is where she got her idea to become an author. Lowry went on to pursue her dream of writing at Brown University (Dellinger). After graduating, she went back to college at the University of Southern Maine to further study writing (Dellinger). Lowry married a Naval officer and together they had four children (Dellinger). Lowry often used her children's escapades as inspiration for her books (Dellinger). Continuing on, The Giver is a story about a young boy named Jonas who lives …show more content…
society. Next, the setting helps express the theme man vs. society. Through Jonas's point of view, we can see just how much Jonas starts to despise his community. This hatred builds up in Jonas and explodes in the theme man vs. society. Jonas lives in a dystopian society (Hanson). This community is strictly made up of rules and rituals (Hanson). Also the fact that the people are colorblind shows just how strict Jonas's community really is about sameness (Hanson). "Jonas mimicked in a cruel, sarcastic voice. 'I will kill people, sir. Old people? Small newborn people? I’d be happy to kill them, sir. Thank you for your instructions, sir'..." (Lowry, 152). This quote in the story, The Giver, shows the severity of Jonas's community and depicts the community's true colors. This quote also helps show that Jonas does not approve, which means that unlike the others, Jonas has a sense of morals. Furthermore, Lowry uses symbolism to help portray the theme, man vs. society. Symbolism in the story allows the reader to see Jonas's abilities firsthand. Also, the reader is able to see Jonas's reactions and how he feels he needs to revolt. "...Jonas did not take his pill. Something within him, something that had grown there through the memories, told him to throw the pill away" (Lowry, 129). This quote symbolizes that Jonas's community is so strict, that they have even gone to the extreme of taking away their emotion for love. Also, that fact that he threw
In The Giver, Lois Lowry uses many techniques to make the novel a good read. She uses techniques that gives suspense, curiosity, and pulls us readers into the book. She especially uses foreshadowing, which makes it so we cannot pull down the book.
Lowry uses the literary elements allusion and setting to express the theme thst memories and choice are worth the pain they might sometimes bring. There will always be a proice to pay when you have something that is wonderful and extremely special. Somethings no one should ever be able to take away from you such as being yourself and being
In 2007, 32 students and teachers die after being held at gunpoint on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University by a student, Seung Hui Cho, who attended the school later on dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. In all 27 students and 5 faculty members died. I really think that guns shouldn't be allowed on college campuses at all because it will cause a distraction from the learning environment, would lead to an increased number of suicides by college students, a gun might go off by accident, most college students are too young to carry a concealed handgun license, and school shootings don't happen that often and college campuses are very safe so, therefore, there is no need to carry a concealed weapon on a campus.
This is an example of internal conflict, as Jonas is deterred by two differing sets of emotions. An example from the novel that demonstrates this conflict is, “Jonas sighed. This evening he almost would have preferred to keep his feelings hidden. But it was, of course, against the rules.” Taken from early in the story, this quote shows how Jonas disagrees with even simple parts of his daily routine. Furthermore, readers learn later that he disagrees with the rules and decisions that have been made for people against their will. On the other hand, he was accustumed to the current way of living, as is has been the same since generations before his birth. The newly named Receiver internalized his concerns, to avoid being punished or
Lastly, imagery influences the theme that one cannot have happiness without pain. The imagery shows what some of the people or thing smell, act, or look like. In the book Jonas says, “I don’t know. They acted like… like… Animals?”(Lowry, 5). This tells us that "they" probably were acting uncivilized and disgusting. A second example is when Jonas sees color. "But something about her changed. Her hair looked different: but not in its shape, not in its length. I can’t quite-. Jonas paused,”(Lowry, 91). The example shows something about her changed by telling what has not changed. Last but not least, is the narrator described where Jonas was. "He was in a confused, noisy, foul smelling place,"(Lowry, 118). Imagery shows how Jonas loathes the community, and Jonas will leave the community to be happy
In the novel, the author uses the characters, plot, and conflict to develop the theme that life can not be taken for granted. The author uses Jonas’s father to help develop the theme that life can not be taken for granted. The author uses Jonas to help show how emotions help people not take life for granted. The author uses Jonas and his father to help show how people can not take life for
Four years later, Lowry published one of her best known novels, The Giver. The story takes place in a future community where no war and poverty exist, but the citizen’s lives are tightly controlled by the government. A young teen named Jonas becomes an apprentice to the title character, the only person with access to memories of the past. The Giver was seen as controversial by some, for its violent themes, sexual content and depiction of infanticide and
Lois Lowry was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1937. Her father was a dentist in the United States Army during World War II, and the family was on constant move almost everywhere in the world. Lowry is the author of more than twenty novels destined for young adults and she has won numerous awards, including two prestigious Newbery awards, one for Number the Stars and the other for The Giver. CITATION Her books portray sensitive, sharp-minded and wise protagonists who encounter difficult challenges and choices in life. She writes about themes which range from the hilarious adventure of Anastasia Krupnik to Jonas’ self-awareness in The Giver that he has been living his life like a machine.
In this novel, foreshadowing is a crucial literary element that Lois Lowry uses to give the reader hints about what is going to happen later on in the book. Foreshadowing gives the reader an idea of the main character's personality, introduces the conflicts that are yet to happen, and discreetly proposes the main theme: the importance of being an individual. Lois Lowry even chose to begin her book with foreshadowing by saying, "It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to feel frightened." (Lowry 6). For example, at the beginning of the book, Lowry introduces the one thing that makes Jonas physically different than the rest of the population in the community: his eyes. Jonas has pale looking eyes, just like the Giver. This is a way of telling the reader that he is special, and will have significant role in changing the community. Another example of this element in the book is the “seeing beyond” that Jonas starts to experience. This example foreshadows the internal changes that are going occur to Jonas later on in the story. “The apple had changed. Just for an instant. It had changed…” (Lowry, 51). Through these examples, foreshadowing easily gives the reader a better understanding of how important it is to have a unique personality.
In today’s society there are many authors who write dystopian novels. They write these novels to give knowledge and to tell how our world is very different from dystopian life. Lois Lowry shows readers how people can suffer in dystopian society. In The Giver, Jonas’ community appears to be a utopia, but in reality it is a dystopia because everyone is under the illusion that there is freedom, dehumanization, and their strict regulations.
Jonas got chastised for using a word incorrectly, which shows us how much their rules are enforced. This part of the book also talks about how they will never be starving. This is because everyone gets food delivered to them daily. This shows us how much control the government has because they choose everything down to what food you are going to eat. This is another way that theme is shown, but it can also be seen in the dystopian
He now even has to make choices and do things on his own. It is clear that due to one choice, Jonas’s life has been dramatically changed. Through Jonas’s choice and his life, Louis Lowry had successfully shown significance of choice in The
Jonas’ community appears to be a utopia, but, in reality, it is a dystopia. The people seem perfectly content to live in an isolated wreck—in a government run by a select few—in which a group of Elders enforces the rules. In Jonas’ community, there is no poverty, starvation, unemployment, lack of housing, or discrimination; everything is perfectly planned to eliminate any problems. However, as the book progresses and Jonas gains insight into what the people have willingly given up—their freedoms and individualities—for the so-called common good of the community, it becomes more and more obvious that the community is a horrible place in which to live. You as a reader can relate to the disbelief and horror that Jonas feels when he realizes
Lowry reveals the theme through characters in the story. All the citizens in the community look similar to one another. The novel states, “Almost every citizen in the community had dark eyes. His parents did, and Lily did, and so did all of [Jonas’s] group members and friends”(25). This information shows the reader that individuality is discouraged. In this community, it is “... considered rude to call attention to things that [are] unsettling or different about individuals”(26). This shows that the people in this society are trained to conform, and differences are not accepted in this community.
This symbolises how Jonas is finally separating from the caged community and is branching out by wanting to be able to choose something for once. The community has always engrained the idea of needing