Monday, February 8, 2016

THE GIVER // Nostalgia Tour #1


Rating: Five Stars—ajklsdflk (when words fail to describe how wonderful a book is)


Years and years ago, when I read THE GIVER (click the link for a summary) as a tiny, young person, I didn’t catch much of the detail and depth. Granted, I knew that it was good, and I could sense that it was deep, but my small mind wasn’t large enough to go beyond that. So this time around, I was really excited to delve into the story and figure out why it stuck with me. 

The Symbolism. Oh my goodness, there’s so much I could talk about under this category, but I’ll limit myself to a couple points. For one thing, Jonas’ job and his subsequent isolation from his peers quite accurately depicts the way many children feel growing up. After all, it is a common mark of childhood to feel lonely and separated from the rest of the herd, whether for reasons real or perceived. Alongside this, the pain Jonas must experience in his job mirrors the pain of growing up and losing innocence—the pain of seeing the world for what it really is. Like Jonas, as we become adults, we often learn a great deal of stuff we wish we didn’t have to know, and it weighs on us in much the same way that the Giver’s memories weigh on him. 

Emotions. With their feelings-sharing exercises, the people in THE GIVER seem rather focused on emotions. But for such emotions-oriented folk, they are rather callous and unfeeling. In the same way, they maintain strict rules about avoiding rudeness but do not hesitate to be insensitive. Asher gets laughed at for his inability, as a three-year-old, to differentiate between the words “snack” and “smack”, and while that may not seem like such a big deal, the circumstances around that resulted in a painful period of his life—not something that should be joked about. If these people were truly feeling and truly considerate, they would care about details like that. 

Harshness. Beneath the polite surface, these people offer very little mercy and very little true kindness. Back to the unfortunate trouble with Asher—as a three-year-old, he was punished rather severely for innocent linguistic mistakes that are natural to young children. A society that would put so much pressure on its toddlers is twisted, regardless of how squeaky clean it appears from the outside. This overboard punishment extends to the elderly as well—people who should be afforded leniency and respect at their time of life. It’s quite evident that the government requires perfect behavior, even when that expectation is unreasonable. 

Death. In a community that suffers few accidental or unplanned deaths, you would think this would mean they value life more. After all, they have figured out how to keep people ticking. But this is not the case. It’s quite evident they value life even less now. I won’t expand on the major details, in case you haven’t read the book, but their most unsettling problem is hard to miss, even in some of the smaller circumstances. Take the reference to the little boy, Caleb, who once fell into the river and drowned and was then replaced by another little boy with the same name, as though humans are just interchangeable parts of machinery. 

The System. Their system does work—to a point. They have less crime. The streets are safer. People are more polite and more careful with their language. Everyone makes sure to be politically correct. But all of these “improvements” have come at great cost. In order to achieve this level of peacefulness, humans have had to surrender their humanity—their free will, their emotions, and their thoughts. They have had to remove all the spice of life—sunlight, weather, heat, cold, different skin tones, different features, history, everything. They have become mindless cattle that embrace their oblivion as they calmly wait for the slaughterhouse at the end of the road. And all of this begs the question—is the commonly idealized Utopia just another from of dystopia in the end? 



What about you, my little coffee beans? Have you read THE GIVER? What are your thoughts on the story? Do you agree/disagree with me? What are some points I missed?

16 comments:

  1. I didn't even think about the symbolism of Jonas isolation. But that makes so much sense. *realization*

    It did make me very upset that they were always talking about emotions when they themselves never really seemed to feel anything for others. A person would talk about his own emotions, what he was feeling. But he wouldn't stop to consider other peopele's emotions and how that should effect him and his actions. He thought about his feelings, but not about caring about anyone else. The society appeared as if they were very conscious of being kind and considerate when in reality they were trained to be self-centered and fake.

    Caleb's death always disturbed me too. It was as if he wasn't an individual. The boy who was named after Caleb, was meant to replace Caleb. He was now Caleb and he couldn't actually be himself. Because there was really no difference between people in the System so neither Caleb's nor the other boy's individuality mattered.

    "They have become mindless cattle that embrace their oblivion as they calmly wait for the slaughterhouse at the end of the road. . ." It makes you think that if that is what people believe a Utopia ought to be, then what is the point exactly?

    Your last question too. Wow. One person's Utopia is another's dystopia. I see what you're saying.

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    1. I know, I totally didn't the first time either. :P So it was really fun and mind-blowing to get a deeper look this time around.

      It definitely is an upsetting contrast. (And I totally think that was the point, so I'm glad I understood it more the second time around.) Their emotions, and their understanding of emotion, is a selfish, self-centered understanding, and it's interesting to see why that's come about. "The society appeared as if they were very conscious of being kind and considerate when in reality they were trained to be self-centered and fake." I couldn't have said it better myself. :D

      It's really scary when you think about the implications. O_O It's like, if Caleb can be replaced so easily, then is any one individual really important? *shudders* *runs and hides* IT'S SO SCARY AND I LOVE IT BECAUSE CHILLS.

      Exactly. And I totally remember reading the book, Utopia, and even that governmental system scared the living cheese wiz out of me. *shudders* Obviously I need to reread that one as well. :P

      I'm glad you get it. :D Just asking that question scares me. :P But it's totally something that a lot of people need to realize. Often political/societal peace for one person comes at another's expense.

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  2. It must be time for a re-read?? I didn't really enjoy The Giver when I read it :/

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    1. Mayhap. :P If you do reread it, I would love to know what you think about it the second time around. (But I totally won't judge you if you still don't like it--not every book is for everyone.) On the plus side, rereading it doesn't take that long since it's super short. *nods* *shoves book in your face, but politely* :P

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  3. Wow, I didn't even think about half of these things the last time I read it. (I did speed read and I finished it in half an hour, though, so that may have had something to do with it.)

    I think in their society they are so concerned about making sure their way of life continues in the same fashion that they don't stop to think about whether or not it's right or about the individuals who get hurt. Their system works for a machine, not a society of people. In a machine if one part gets damaged you simply replace it but you can't do that with a person because people have value and they aren't created to do a single thing or fulfil a single, mindless role.

    And that last sentence. That last sentence is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing! I've never thought about so much of this.

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    1. Reading it in half an hour is impressive. *slow clap* I think it took me about an hour to read it. But yeah, speed reading does mean you're more likely to miss some details. And rereading is just really good in general-because now you know the story so you can take more time thinking more deeply about it. *nods*

      Exactly. Like, they mention that if they want rule changes, they can present them to a committee-like thing that will take about the rule for ages but never actually change anything. Which means everything's stuck the way it is, even if it isn't optimal--even if people are getting hurt. And that's the thing about Socialism--if you're just a machine, it's a perfect system. But not for a group of people. And the minute we start forgetting that people are valuable and irreplaceable and not interchangeable is the minute we start treating others like cattle rather than humans. And it's so scary because it happens and there's a certain extent to which humans embrace the cattle path because it's easier--it's just easier to have everything dictated for you so you don't have to think for yourself and gah. *shudders* It's the stuff of nightmares--so obviously I love reading about it.

      Aww, thank you! I'm glad you liked it. :D You're welcome! I get my kicks from digging into stuff and bringing up points I haven't heard anyone else reference.

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  4. Great post, Liz! The last bit is definitely food for thought.

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    1. Aww, thank you! I'm glad you liked it, and I'm glad I could give you something to think about. :D

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  5. It took me forever to get around to reading 'The Giver' (I only read it for the first time last year), but boy was it a powerful book for all it's shortness. Actually, I was inclined to judge it when I started, simply because it was so short I wasn't sure it would be able to go into any depth. Hehe. Boy was I wrong.

    I think on of the most frightening things about this book, especially looking at your fabulous breakdown, is how many elements of this 'utopian' society you can see coming out in society today. While it's obviously not as extreme, I was surprised, reading through your breakdown of the book, to see how many of these elements I could relate to the real world. It's a sobering thought certainly.

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    1. Yeah, I can see where it would seem a short book wouldn't have much to say, but it's surprising how often that's not the case. :P I'm glad you decided to give it a chance! :)

      I think you're totally right. It's rather scary to see how close we are, in certain ways, to the society in The Giver. *shudders* I think that's always what scares me most about good dystopians--not only do they seem possible, they feel like the pieces are already starting to fall into place in our own world.

      I'm glad you liked the review! Thanks for commenting! :)

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  6. I've read it twice, and I agree -- it's a pretty freaking powerful story. It was one of the first books to introduce me to dystopia, and I remember being shocked and stunned by it because that was back when I was an innocent little snowflake and dealing with death that way as nothing short of horrifying.

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    1. *nods sagely* 'Tis indeed. I think it's a great book for introduction to dystopia because it's both subtle and in-your-face. I was pretty young when I read it too, and I think I had much the same response. *shudders*

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  7. I haven't read The Giver yet! Sometimes I feel like the last person who hasn't. All I've really heard is that everyone is disappointed by the ending, so I've been a bit nervous about picking it up. And someone KIND OF spoiled the ending for me (actually, they pretty much told me exactly what happens, but I have no idea what the rest of the plot is so it didn't make any sense). I'll probably get to it eventually, though.

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    1. :P That's pretty impressive, actually. I highly recommend it, and I wants actually disappointed with the ending. I'm not sure I've seen many people express disappointment with it--I guess I haven't been in the same reading circles? Personally, I thought the ending was perfect for the story. *nods* I hope you get to read it eventually. :) I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, when/if you get around to it. :D

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  8. This book is incredibly nostalgic for me. Like, I don't feel like I have a lot to add on to what you said because it's spot on, but especially what you said about whether or not they value life... I read it in sixth grade and didn't read it again until twelfth grade, so that was a pretty big gap over one of the most developmental periods of my life. But even though I hadn't read it, I spent so much time thinking about being born a twin and what it would be like if I were the one to die. Like, I probably thought about that an unhealthy amount.

    However, I did actually finish reading the series with SON sometime during high school... it was a beautiful conclusion. And I need to reread it. Because dang.

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    1. Same. I obsessed about it too. And I think it was helpful to have such a large gap between readings, because I had plenty of time to think about it with my younger perspective before I went back and took a second look with my older perspective. :P

      I finally got around to reading SON a couple months ago. It actually wasn't my favorite. But I'm really glad you liked it! :)

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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