Suzanne’s Comments (group member since Jan 13, 2012)

Suzanne’s comments from the EDUC 567 Spring 2012 group.

The Giver fascinates me. It fascinated me when I read it in middle school and it continues to fascinate me as an adult. The idea of a community where everyone is told how to behave, dress, work, and speak seemed unlikely and foreign but proved to be very interesting and intriguing for me as a twelve year old. Although my love for the book has not changed since reading it at an older age, I have been able to see the book through different eyes and analyze it with a different mind. I clearly remember reading the book and the major theme, but I seemed to have forgotten some crucial elements of the story. Many of these forgotten sections of the story are evoking different feelings than I can remember ever experiencing the first time I read The Giver.

I may have forgotten the reference to Jonas’ “Stirrings” in chapter five the first time around but I won’t forget them again. This part shocked me. I think I was so surprised because it seemed like a section of the story that would shock a twelve-year-old girl enough to make an impression but I have no recollection of the event. I do not think I understood what these dreams were suggesting about Jonas’ journey into manhood and puberty. Lowry’s description of both the emotional and physical desires that are suppressed by a pill, or never experienced at all, helps the reader further understand the level of Sameness and rejection of any type of extreme pleasure.

Another part of the story that surprised, and was also greatly upsetting, was the exposure of what it meant to be released. Although this was an extremely crucial part of the book, I could not seem to remember what it meant. Maybe I blocked it out because it was so morbid. It was disturbing to read the father’s lack of emotion towards his action of “releasing” the twin boy. He also seemed to care for Gabriel, but once again revealed the absence of feelings when he was completely comfortable delivering the news of the baby’s scheduled death.

Lastly, the absence of the ability to love was very saddening. In chapter 16, Jonas asked his parents if they loved him. This seemed like a reasonable question. They lived together, enjoyed meals together, laughed together but Jonas wanted to know if they were capable of sharing this deep, real emotion that would make each other more than just an assigned family unit. His parents were not able to answer his questions, which in itself did give Jonas an answer.
Of course Jonas had to run away. As a young reader, I probably thought he was running away from a baby-murdering town of people who fed him strange pills and forced kids to begin their careers at twelve. However, after analyzing this as an adult I saw that these issues stemmed from a greater concern. Jonas ran away from a town that suppressed his desires and emotions and his ability to choose his own life path.