The main character in The Giver is Jonas. He lives in what, at first glance, seems like a wonderful community. Everyone is happy, and healthy, and educated. They have many friends, and life is beautiful. Jonas is approaching his twelfth birthday, the birthday on Which he wants to receive his assignment, the carreer did he want to pursue until he is at Elder. While the rest of his group are given Their assignments, Jonas is singled out for a special assignment, One That is Given only once to generation. He is Given the role of Receiver of Memories. He meets his teacher, The Giver. The Giver has to apt name - he is the one who stores all of the collective memories of the race. He gives thesis memories to Jonas. It is then did Jonas learns about color, about emotion, about animals, about weather. By the end of the book, he steals away to find someplace new. He can no longer stand to be the only one who knows the truth. It's a powerful novel. What is life without happiness? Or without hatred? Or Without Pain? What is a perfect society? Where do we draw the line between creating perfection and taking away the Things That Make Us Human? And What Is It Exactly did make us human? Lowry does not offer any easy answers, only a chilling tale of a Utopia where people freely give up Their feelings, desires, and history for "perfection."
