This is our book group discussion for The Giver by Lois Lowry. Feel free to join in even if you don't want to take part in every book group discussion.

Questions:

What did you think of this book?

What are the advantages of living in the society in the book?

What do you think is the worst thing about it?

How far do you think it is right to go to try and create a perfect society?

What did you think about the ending?

Why do you think this book has been one of the most frequently challenged books? http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksw ... uently.htm

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What did you think of this book? I personally loved this book, and I've read it 3 times. The first time I couldn't put it down.

What are the advantages of living in the society in the book? Advantages are a definite organization. There is no love there, there is no pain.. A dead balance. No fights. No broken hearts. No wars.

What do you think is the worst thing about it? I know this may seem cold and souless, but in my opinion it's not such a terrible thing(I am a balance dead-hearted type of girl though, so don't be alarmed that lots of people think this, cause they don't.) As I said before though, it's like an apathetic balance. The worst though, if I must? No color. No music. No art.

How far do you think it is right to go to try and create a perfect society?
If I'm understanding this question correctly, I'd have to say I think it's right to try and create a well governed(right word choice?) society. But as for perfection..nothing is perfect, right?

What did you think about the ending? The ending was one of those twisty OMG ones. I thought it was an inappropriate way of closing the book..leaving me to think like that... but I suppose it's just Lois Lowry's way. ^_^

Why do you think this book has been one of the most frequently challenged books? Because it's real in a ridiculous fashion, if you catch my drift. It could happen to us, it could be happening now and we don't know about it. You know, it's a strange thing to think about. Plus overall many people just don't like this kind of reversed reality. I know a friend who ABSOLUTELY REFUSED to read it. And when I asked why he simply said 'those kind of things creep me out'
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1) I like the book.. I think it shows very well what the disadvantages of a perfect society can be and that it's worth fighting for real feelings
2) It's very safe and you don't need to care for many things. it has a clear structure that doesn't confuse you.
3) The worst thing about such a society is that the people don't know what is beyond their little area. They have no real feelings and they don't have the freedom to decide which job they want to do and they don't have their own children.
4)I don't think that this is a good idea, because nothing is perfect and it would make your life boring and your heart empty.
5)I like the ending, because I think it was very important that he fought for the real world and freedom and all that

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Can I comment? I love The Giver and have read it multiple times.

What did you think of this book?
It is very powerful and sad, but draws you in with its interesting storyline. I love books about future or alternative worlds that have a hidden secret. This secrecy really grabs people's attention. The Giver shares lots of truths about life in a way many people never could have put into words. It is living proof that love, life, and family are more important that nearly anything.

What are the advantages of living in the society in the book?
There is no hate--no war, nearly no death (unplanned, anyway), and life is very easy and caefree. 'Ignorance is bliss', and these people live a life of ignorance.

What do you think is the worst thing about it?
Worst Things in order from Worst to not as worst:
1. No love. Love is too big a thing to sacrifice, even for no hatred. To actually live without loving relationships is beyond the realm of imagination...and to think they had children take pills to hold back their hormones, and hold back love!
2. Human life is not valued. When twins are born, one is killed. Unwanted babies are killed without a second thought. It is one of the most touching points in the story when Jonas realizes this, and it is terrible to think of how their society throws away life like unwanted garbage. "Children are our most valuable natural resource."
3. No real family. Assigned partners and caregivers isn't a true family. Families depend on love, and actual relation never hurt either. The community is nice, but people are very logical and don't have a real family bond.
4. 'Being released'--honestly, would you like to die like that? Whenever your period of usefullness is over, they just kill you, and there you go.
5. The ignorance. As I said before, 'Ignorance is Bliss'. Blissfully going about their meaningless lives, the poor people had no chance of experiencing a real life with feelings.

How far do you think it is right to go to try and create a perfect society?
People should try to make the world better, but there's point where you have to realize you can't create a utopia. It can't be done. Something has to bend, and either way, an extreme loss is going to happen. Always work as hard as you can to make the world a better place, but strive for 'better', not 'best'.

What did you think about the ending?
It is excellent. I love how it leaves you suspended--endings that don't end are my favorite. I don't think they die, but it leaves the possibility open. Leaving what happens to the imagination stays steady with the feelings of secrecy and mystery in the entire book.

Why do you think this book has been one of the most frequently challenged books?
People aren't comfortable with the truths it shares about life. Human life should not be wasted. Getting rid of Love is not worth anything--even getting rid of hate. Families build up societies. People don't want to believe that, because there are movements in the world striving to knock down those truths as we speak. Also, the violence associated with realeasing babies and the elderly may scare some people, making them believe it is inappropriate for younger children.

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Thank you for five-plus wonderful years of obsession, friendship and fun

1. I really enjoyed this book, it was very powerful. It was very mysterious in a way, and so unlike our own lives that I think that is what first drew me to it.
2. The advanages are that everything is soooo planned that nothing really bad or disasterous ever happens. There is no war, and everything is very orderly and has structure to it.
3. I would hate living in a society that was so orderly and planned so that nothing out of the ordinary would ever happen. Also, there is no true love and friendships between people, for there are no real families, and most of your life is planned for you, in a sense. People choose what you are going to do. Even your death is planned, which I think is just sick. Everyone's lives seem to have no true meaning or depth to them.
4. I don't think its right to create a "perfect" society to the extent of this, for then it gets to a point where it just has no meaning or purpose. Even if life has some sorrows and hardships, that makes the good times all the better. I think you should just let the natural course of life run, and even though there will inevitably be bad, at least it will have meaning and purpose.
5. I didn't really like the ending all that much. It was good in some ways, but it just seemed so incomplete. I want to know more of what happened!!
6. I think many people don't like to read about such an unnatural world that feels so uncomfortable, and has no respect for human life or has any real love. Some people aren't comfortable reading about the "creepy" way in which these people live.

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"Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

What did you think of this book?

I really enjoyed it. It's a very powerful work, and it does a very good job of showing the disadvantages of a supposedly perfect society.

What are the advantages of living in the society in the book?

Nothing truly bad ever happens. Plus, there is a sort of... comfort, living in a world where there's no grief, no pain, knowing what you should do at every situation, not having to flounder for some higher purpose or having to worry about what's right and wrong. No proverbial Saurons around to mess everything up in this world!

What do you think is the worst thing about it?

The lack of emotion, for one. No one really cares about one another, there's no love, no real happiness, and so on. In the same vein, there's no real meaning for anything anymore; it's all so well-planned that all depth has been stripped away. Life has barely any value; not just in release, you note the sentence Lowry uses when talking about the Ceremony of Loss performed for the four-year-old, Caleb: "...so that the little Four seemed to fade away gradually from everyone's conciousness.".

How far do you think it is right to go to try and create a perfect society?

Always try to make society better, but don't go so far as to take away choice.

What did you think about the ending?

I really liked the way it's left open to interpretation, assuming you haven't read Messenger.

Why do you think this book has been one of the most frequently challenged books?

1) The Giver is real in a sort of... how do I put this? It's real, but not real. Surreal. It seems like it COULD happen, therefore it creeps a lot of people out.
2) I don't quite get this, but a lot of people seem to bring up the treatment of sexuality, euthanasia, and suicide in it when they complain. It's kind of odd, but people just hate seeing books on middle-school reading lists that don't skirt around those issues, even if it's not all that explicit. There's a whole debate I could start up over that attitude, but I think I'll save that for another time.

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"In a mad world, only the mad are sane."

Should we get a new group book?? I would like to continue doing this if anyone else is...

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"Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

Yes we really should get a new book - I'm sorry I havn't had time to organise it. Would you (or anyone else?) like to take over running this?

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Sure, I would love to!! Any book ideas, anyone??

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"Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

Would anyone be interested in reading either A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or Memoirs of a Geisha???

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"Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

Ooh I'm in the middle of Memoirs of a Geisha at the moment I'd enjoy discussing that.

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Cool. If we could just get a couple more people....

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"Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

^I'd definitely be interested! I've been in need of a reread of that one..

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Cool. Ok, well how about we all start it, (or continue it ) and I'll get some questions up about the book within the next few days. Hopefully we'll get a few more people to join in along the way.

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"Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

Wow- I'm so sorry. It's been months. To be perfectly honest, I completely forgot. Anyway, if people are still interested, here are a few discussion topics:

What did you think overall of the book?

Does Sayuri have a better life as a geisha than one assumes she would have had in her village? How does one define a "better" life?

How does Sayuri's status at the Nitta okiya resemble, or differ from, that of a slave? Is she in fact a slave?

Did Sayuri and the Chairman love each other? Can love exist between a geisha and her danna or does the unbalanced nature of the relationship make love impossible?

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"Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."