The New York Public Library has become my best friend since moving here in October. With more than a dozen "neighborhood" libraries in addition to the huge Mid-Manhattan one, I can go online and order ANY book in their city-wide catalog and have it delivered to my local branch, 3 blocks away. Since getting my handy-dandy library card, I've taken the opportunity to both read new books and reread old ones. One example of the latter is The Giver.
I remember reading The Giver back in middle school and really enjoying it, but the book is that much more poignant now that I'm reading it as a 22 year-old. Frankly, I'm shocked that they allow kids to read it; it's that dark and scary (I mean that in the best possible way). That said, it's the most "important" book I think I've ever read for school, so I'm not sure how to reconcile those two viewpoints.
I urge everyone to reread this modern classic. I think its message is as important as ever and will certainly spark thought and discussion. I just finished watching Taxi To The Dark Side (fantastic documentary about the War on Terror and the torture at US prisons), and my mind frequently drifted to the messages in this wonderful book. Get on it.
"He might make the wrong choices."
"Oh." Jonas was silent for a minute. "Oh, I see what you mean. It wouldn't matter for a newchild's toy. But later is does matter, doesn't it? We don't dare to let people make choices on their own."
"Not safe?" The Giver suggested.
"Definitely not safe," Jonas said with certainty. "What if they were allowed to choose their own mate? And they chose wrong?"
"Or what if," he went on, almost laughing at the absurdity, "they chose their own jobs?"
"Frightening, isn't it?" The Giver said.
Jonas chuckled. "Very frightening. I can't even imagine it. We really have to protect people from wrong choices."
"It's safer."
"Yes," Jonas agreed. "Much safer."
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So what do you think happened at the end? I enjoyed the suggestion, especially considering I read the book in 6th grade with the direction of a Catholic school teacher.
ReplyDeleteRosey,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what happened at the end, haha. The book ends
(SPOILERS!)
with him riding towards a house with "love" inside and also hearing music coming from the town he came from, but it could also be interpreted as him dreaming it all up and pulling that memory from when The Giver gave it to him. If that were the case, I don't think it'd be a stretch to imagine that Jonas dies at the end. What did you think happened?