Author: Lois Lowry
Pages:109-145
Prompt: How does the book compare to our society?
The book is very different from our society clearly. Everything is in order so it is a form of a Utopia. People basically grow up and are chosen their job for them by the council. While in our world you have a variety of choices depending on your situation and wants. No one has feelings like we do in our world, where we experience pain, sadness, anger, loss, and love. The only ones that feel pain are the birthmothers because well I think you get the point. But these traits make family units not what we would think of family. Like when you think of your mom and dad, you think of love and need while in this world they apply for a spouse and all they do is stay together and usually raise children. Claire the main character is the only one who feels this loss because she can't be with her child Gabe. At least she thinks she is the only one. Remember she does not know about Jonas or the Giver. There is a bit of sadness and support to one another but the emotions are more like if your pet goldfish died after 2 days is the most they feel or like the support of a teammate or friend. These aren't extremes like feelings for your family or the loss of a family member.
The people there do not see color, nor do they differentiate to much from one another. They all are the same body types and style of hair and clothes. Life there is very dull and Claire begins to realize this. There is nothing to do, no time to hang out with friends, have parties, or have people come over. All the things we do each day aren't available to the people in this community. They can't have a crush on someone, or have very harsh feelings because they are restricted. They have no clue either so everything just goes on in this long ever lasting cycle. It is also different because they don't exactly have a government. I guess you can call it a oligarchy because it is run by a group of leaders. The people have no say, they do what they are told and if they act in a rebellious manner I don't think it will end well for them. Unlike us they have no access to the outside world. And by that I mean outside of their community. We literally in our society have access to know stuff outside of our world, meaning planet Earth. All they know is their community.
Claire is feeling what no one else feels, which is loss. She misses her child and figures out why he has these feelings. She stopped taking the pills that the entire community takes, to make feelings go away basically. She finds out her child Gabe is not going to be given to a family unit. She is devastated and cannot comprehend what she has heard. Then it gets a bit weird because all she remembers are slight memories as the ceremony has begun. There were alarms and panic in the community.She remembered seeing the caretaker yell for his son, Jonas. He said that he had taken Gabe with him to elsewhere. Then she remembers running and crying barefoot and ending up on a boat. The descriptions of it were that she crashed and no one survived but her. In the book it is spilt and I am on Book 2 I guess. The start is a bit confusing but she has landed ashore on a new place. She doesn't remember how she survived or got picken up. But this women is asking her questions and she is like a medic of some sort. Finally Claire says "My name is Claire." She is in a new place.
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