Lowry wrote The Giver differently than the other books we have read in class. Instead of depicting a world which we should strive for, Lowry creates a world that epitomizes a dystopian society. Sexual feelings are repressed. The chosen citizens release (or murder) the elderly, the rebellious, and those that display anything that goes against the grain. The citizens are being controlled and no one realizes that being oppressed is detrimental to their well-being.

My belief is that Lowry is informing of what our world might become. She sees negative trends that could take away creativeness and ultimately eliminate happiness. Instead of telling the reader how to live his or her life, she depicts a world that the reader should regard with caution. I find this way of story telling to be the most effective. When I read 1984 it made me question the government and their double speak. Likewise, The Giver made me aware that our society is capable of controlling every aspect from sex to occupation. This is not a world that I want to live in, and it is not one that Lowry wants to live in.


When Jonas and the Giver finally devise their plan to give back the memories, Lowry is freeing the community. She is telling us that it is not too late for the people in the book to turn back and it is not too late for us. At least not yet...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2hHRqF5zRM

The book we read for class today was the first book that dealt with a unique culture. We have dealt with English culture but that is very similar to ours. This book had Asian culture and sayings. As American reader some of the book was a new experience. Tree-leaf had to learn his ways from Crane-man while an American character would not have been as patient. In A Wizard of Earth Sea Ged blew up and was punished for his actions. Tree leaf did not lose his patience at any time of this book. Also when Min took as much time in developing his craft it was unusual. Min could only produce around ten molds a year. An American would produce a whole lot more because he would want to make a profit. In class we talked about how it was different and written from a different prospective. Park is American but of Korean descent, not many of us in the class can relate to how she was raised. Because she has different influences we as readers might have missed out on some points that she was trying to make. I know I could not grasp all the proverbs that Crane man was speaking of. Park had a much different upbringing than Rowling or some of the other authors that we have read. However some of her American influences came out when the town started to widely produce Kang's work and also how Kang put little time into his craft. Kang did not put pride in his work just like Americans don't put pride in their work. Our cars are often made fun of because they are mass produced, this is Kang's molds. We spoke in class how these were American attributes and they did not resemble Asian traits. The book closed with Tree-leaf finishing his journey. This is the appropriate ending for any culture. This goes to show that even if one's culture is different all the stories still end the same.