The Giver

I just finished reading The Giver out loud to my class. The Giver by Lois Lowry is one of my favorite novels. I read it for the first time when I was in 7th grade and it stood out to me as a very interesting book. I read it again in college and it took on a whole new meaning. I read it again when I was one year out of college and the themes and meaning I got changed again. Now, I reread this book about once a year and it always means something new to me.

One of the big things that sticks out to me the most in this book is the theme of choice. Jonas is deprived of choice. The community makes every decision for him. It reminds the reader that we should be appreciative of the fact that WE get to make our own choices. We get to choose what we grow up to be, what we want to do, who we marry, where to go, or even what to wear. I know at times it can seem overwhelming -- trust me, I read this book right around a time in my life where I had to make so many choices about my future. But, The Giver always reminds me that we should realize that we are lucky that we get to make those choices, no matter how hard it might be. There are still places in this world, real places, where people are deprived of their choices.

Remember, when Jonas first learned about choice, he thought what difference does it make what color shirt he wears. But then he realized: