BHC Book Club Visits "Alternate Community"

For our discussion of Lois Lowry's The Giver, Sheila put up signs on the door outlining the rules of the community, and ushered us in to serve as the "Elders" of the community. We reviewed the pros and cons of living in the alternate community of The Giver.

There were some good things to be said of it. There was no war, no hunger, no unhappiness. No one was diseased or deformed, because such a person would be "released" (euthanized) immediately. Whether this was to spare them suffering was unclear but it was clear that the equilibrium of the community was so delicate that no differences from the norm could be tolerated. Everyone made their best efforts to follow the rules, and everyone was, if not ecstatically happy, at least content with their roles in the community. There was no bad weather, no reason to suffer discomfort for more than a few minutes (minor injuries received immediate attention and painkillers were rapidly administered).

But the price of all this contentment and calm was high. There was no love, no strong emotions of any kind. The same man who appeared to "love" babies could also euthanize an infant without a qualm, and send the dead baby (whose only crime was being born the lower weight of a set of twins) down the garbage chute with a cheery "bye, bye, little guy!"

No one had sex, ever. At the first hint of pubescent desire, adolescents received pills to take for their entire lives, suppressing the "stirrings." Your mate was picked for you, your children and your job were picked for you. Your "parents," who were not your biological parents, didn't even get to choose your name. Regimentation was complete. Throughout childhood, children were given age-appropriate toys, clothing and items, just the same as everyone else. No one had more than the tiniest shred of individuality.

There was no art and no music, for people could not even see colors.

Granted that there are those who live in such abject poverty and suffering that a community like this would seem like paradise to them, but for those of us accustomed to making free choices and to having a full range of emotions, it was a dreary and frightening dystopia.

Only the Giver and Jonas, the Receiver, were able to remember what it was like in the past. Jonas is so outraged by what has been lost that he decides to rebel and to run away, leaving the community to have to bear the brunt of his memories that will be released among them when he leaves. He learns that "release" means euthanasia and that his father is one of the killers. He learns that behind all the pleasantness and cheery dispositions is a terrible, ugly truth.

He runs away before he's planned to, in order to save the life of little Gabriel, the baby his father has brought home at night. Gabriel isn't adjusting well, he cries through the night and doesn't grow well. We'd call this failure to thrive, and in fact, lack of love is the cause of many such babies languishing and dying in orphanages where they are not held, cuddled, and spoken to. Jonas takes to him and discovers that Gabriel, too, is a Receiver, for Jonas is able to quiet him at night by giving him the memories.

I pointed out that there were many biblical references in this book. The community Jonas flees to celebrates Christmas and the lights and the tree are symbolic of the love that is lacking in his community. He is like Adam in that he is "expelled" from the Eden-like community (which doesn't even have any animals other than the fish they use for food). His expulsion begins with an apple and he realizes he is different when he sees the apple "change" -- that is, he perceives its red color although he hasn't even got a name for this attribute.

Jonas and Gabriel are both messengers in the Bible. And at the end, Jonas is fleeing his community, bringing with him a baby who is slated to be killed. And, it is apparently Christmas Eve! So I said that there were strong and deliberate religious underpinnings in this book.

We voted to disband the community because the price of security meant giving up far too much freedom. However, at the end, Sheila assigned us our careers. Bruce got to be a doctor! I liked that. I forget what Jason's assignment was, but I was assigned to keep the records.

This was a fascinating discussion and brought up many related books such as 1984, Brave New World, and Anthem. Thanks again to Sheila for arranging such an insightful discussion and for giving each of us the perfect job!