Lois Lowry’s dystopian novel The Giver takes place in a future community near a river. Everyone in this Community is assigned a task they must work for the remainder of their time. There are also very, very strict rules set in place for the people to follow. Jonas, the protagonist of the story, goes through many changes that made him begin to ponder. He turned to inquiry to answer these thoughts. One lesson that someone can learn is to never be afraid to question the unknown.
This theme is implied from the beginning. Jonas knows he is different. He knew it all along. Even though he always felt that something big would occur, he still had concerns. His main concern was for the Assignment he would be tasked. He asks both himself and his parents many questions debriefing it. Anyone reading this book can tell that Jonas’ world may seem different to us, but to them, everything seems right; everything seems fine. The people do what they are asked, when they are asked and never question the system. However, where other minds dare not think, Jonas’ mind remains active and full of thought, as indicated in this quote, pulled from the book. “He realized, though, that not focusing on one area meant he was left with not the slightest idea-not even a guess- of what his Assignment would be.” This all sparks curiosity later in the book.
Towards the middle, more questions arise. At the ceremony, Jonas is selected as Receiver of Memories. This is a very important task. As stated in the book- “such a selection is very, very rare.” This shows how infrequent a selection like that is, but Jonas was selected nonetheless. As Receiver of Memories, Jonas must take and experience the memories of The Giver. These memories are ones of true life, which, when given to Jonas, change him in different ways. He saw color, felt pain, and experienced love. All these memories brought additional questions to mind. Once Jonas felt he could, he asked The Giver why he and the Elders are keeping these secrets. “It’s not fair,” Jonas pleaded. “(Because of these rules) We cannot make choices for ourselves. I want to wake up and make my own decisions.” Jonas is obviously upset about the regulation in place for the people. He asks The Giver why can’t all the other individuals take the burden of memories. The Giver explained it was cause too much pain to them and it would harm him, similar to losing family or seeing ones we care for go through great agony.
In the end, the Giver and Jonas create a plan to leave the memories behind and escape to Elsewhere, something that has never been done before. This supports the theme I stated above. Why? If Jonas wouldn’t of been bold enough to stand up and state his feelings to the Giver, their bond would’ve been nowhere near as close at is it was and the scheme that was brought up between the two that involved fleeing the community would’ve been shut down. Jonas would’ve been the new Giver and become even more saddened. Everything would’ve been the same as it was, with each person being exactly alike. And Gabriel, the young boy Jonas’ family took in, would’ve died. All this was to happen, but it didn’t. Jonas’ bold actions changed everything. He sacrificed a lot to make the Community a better, diverse place.
Now, one could say that just because Jonas questioned the order doesn’t quite mean that was what caused the getaway to change the future of their community. However, the Giver respected the things Jonas had to say. In the book, many deep conversations can be recalled between the two. When Jonas questioned, the Giver replied truthfully and all these remarks made their partnership intense and powerful. Jonas’ suspicions about the Community’s rules only made the Giver feel as if change needed to be made. From there, they did what was right and made a massive change for the generations to come.