Posted in The Giver

I want to say thanks to Cassidy for insisting that we read this book…lol. ;-) I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise. I tend to spend most of my time in the old classic literature and sometimes ignore "contemporary classics," if I can call them that. I know that Lois Lowry has won many awards, and now I can see that they're well deserved.

Discussion Notes

I think it's neat to look back and see how much Jonas changed over the course of the book. At the beginning, you could sort of tell that he was special, but there was something that was just so monotone about his life. In both a literal and an analogous way, there was no "color" in him, just occasional flashes of what might potentially be color. By the end, he had grown into the person who he really was. None of his family--parents, sister, or friends could truly be themselves because something was holding them back.  They didn't have the capacity to feel or to love. Their souls were suppressed, and there was no way that they could grow.

I think this can open our eyes to the answer of Sunday's discussion question. Which is better--having the ability to experience both pain and joy, or living without either one? I would ask, what is the point of living if you don't have the capability of loving? Life wouldn't be worth it. It wouldn't truly be life.

When people ask why God would allow terrible things to happen, they need to realize that if He didn't, He also wouldn't be able to allow us the free will to love. He loves us so much that He wants us to experience the ultimate joy of being with Him, but with that incredible choice comes responsibility and consequences for wrong decisions. The community gives a peek into what life would be like without those blessed and yet dangerous choices.

Discussion Questions

1. How did the Giver change over the course of the book?
2. What do you think it would be like living in a community where you were the only one with the capacity to have true feelings?
3. How do you think the community will respond to the new feelings?
4. In what way did Jonas show his love to the Giver, the community, and especially to Gabriel in the last couple chapters?

Thanks again, sweetpotato, for so faithfully posting in the discussions! There would be no group without you. ;-)

Some quick announcements

According to the poll that we did in December, the book that most of the members wanted to read was Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lews. We'll plan on reading that in another two weeks or so. Make sure you'll be able to get your hands on a copy!

Also, please welcome our newest member, Lillian. We're very glad to have her join us! I hope to see a boost in numbers for this next book. I'll try to get the word out as much as I can.

Until next time,
Sylvia