I got to know this book by a book magazine which told us a little bit of what the book is about. It was then when I also got to know that <The Giver> is going to be used in PEAI. In this book, there is a strange community which is very peaceful, but in fact, have no freedom.
First, the kids go to school until 12, and get jobs after that. The strange thing is not only that, but the kids got assigned jobs, which were fit to their characteristics. There are many jobs such as the Fish Hatchery Attendant, Birthmother, Instructor of Sixes, Director of Recreation, Doctor, Engineer, Law and Justice, and the Caretaker of the Old.
Also, the kids are given and taken away things that represent their age and things that do not. For Example, Fours, Fives, and Sixes all wear jackets that fastened down the back so that they would have to help each other dress and would learn independence . Also, the front buttoned jacket is the sign of independence which Sevens wear.
Furthermore, they are unfair. Little babies who had not gained weight appropriate to his days of life would be labeled Inadequate and released from the community. If the kids make little mistakes like shoes on the wrong feet, schoolwork misplaced, failure to study adequately for a quiz, each error reflected negatively on their parents' guidance and infringed on the community's sense of order and success.
The thing that surprised me the most was about birth of babies. The babies were born by the Birthmothers and given out and to families who didn't satisfy the rule which said that each family should contain four members, the parents, two kids each a boy and a girl and were named by the Elders. Actually, there was a story about a boy called Caleb, but the parents lost him, so a newborn Caleb replaced him.
At this point, I got to know that parents didn't love their children because if they did, even though you replace your kids, it is not the same as before, but the people living here do not seem to mind much about replacing people. An example of my opinion is about clowning pets. I read a magazine which said that a person clowned her dog which died, but it was different and she didn't think it was a good thing to do.
Even though I have read only a little of this book, it made me think a lot, and I think this is a great book.
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