The Giver - Lois Lowry

We humans always dream for an Ideal society where there wouldn't be any traces of hunger,war or pain..If we observe the process of  human evolution,slowly are heading towards a comfortable,nearly Utopian society where we seldom have to take risks,pain or pressures..If something aches inside our body we can afford to take a simple  antibiotic or pill to get rid of the pain instantly..Our modern culture and life style bestow us with such sort of comfort..Ofcourse it is much necessary to some extent but,what if loneliness,depression,pressure,love and passion like emotions could also be kept under control with the help of a small pill ?? What if we can avoid the war in advance by providing every human being equal facilities and opportunities,in the sense making their lives so similar ?? What if we can set rules and control everything from birth to death ?? Just imagine a community where everything is so organized that there wouldn't be a single problem..Also such society wouldn't have any colours,not even differences..Even people don't have to make choices...Peace is there everywhere..If people sense something might cause some problem,then they would instantly 'Release' that cause or them from the community...Seems like an Utopian Society right !! Now the question is "Do we really enjoy the happiness without sensing sorrow."? Without choices are we 'actually living' or getting operated just like Robots..Among all,what is being in the world without 'love' ?

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Well,briefly this is the plot of the dystopian novel 'The Giver', written by Lois Lowry..This is the story of Jonas,an eleven year old boy from such community where his life was so peaceful and organized..There is neither pain nor choices in that life...Usually all the members in the community were assigned to different roles at the 12th year ceremony,conducted every year in December..Eventually Jonas was chosen as a rare honourable role as a "Receiver" and this new role would bring enormous changes in his peaceful life where he experiences true meaning of life in the Annex room in Giver's company..In the Giver's quarters Jonas was introduced to memories and books..With that he experiences the real colours of world with all emotions..The story further unfolds,how Jonas cope with his newly found wisdom and felt deceived and lonely in the society he was living till then..

Here are few lines from the book..
The community life was described here...
"The life where nothing was ever unexpected. Or inconvenient. Or unusual. The life without colour, pain or past.”

The Giver's Words..
"The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.”

Now he was [starving]. If he had stayed in the community, he would not be. It was as simple as that. Once he had yearned for choice.Then, when he had had a choice,he had made the wrong one: the choice to leave. And now he was starving. But if he had stayed…
His thoughts continued. If he had stayed, he would have starved in other ways. He would have lived a life hungry for feelings, for color, for love.”

Jonas hesitated. He wasn’t certain, really, what he had meant. He could feel that there was risk involved, though he wasn’t sure how. “Well,” he said finally, grasping for an explanation, “they had fire right there in that room. There was a fire burning in the fireplace. And there were candles on a table. I can certainly see why those things were outlawed.
 “Still,” he said slowly, almost to himself, “I did like the light they made. And the warmth.

'The Giver' won the 1994 Newbery Medal and has made in to a movie under same title.