What if there was a world without memory, choice, or emotion? Could a world truly exist in those conditions? In Lois Lowry’s Newbery Award-winning novel The Giver, the main character, Jonas, lives in a world exactly as described. In his community, nobody at all can remember anything, choose, or feel any emotion. All of these things are banned is because his community wanted everything to run smoothly. They wanted a community without hate, war, or conflict. While reading Lois Lowry’s The Giver, one can see these themes of The Importance of Memory, The Relationship Between Pain and Pleasure, and The Importance of the Individuality was portrayed many times throughout the novel.
One of the most significant themes in The Giver is the importance of memory. According to npr.org, Lowry was inspired to write The Giver after a visit to her father, who had lost most of his memory. She then realized that without memory, there is no pain—if you cannot remember physical pain, you might as well not have experienced it, and you cannot be plagued by regret or grief if you cannot remember the events that hurt you. Lowry was inspired to write The Giver after a visit to her aging father, who had lost most of his long-term memory. She realized that without memory, there is no pain—if you cannot remember physical pain, you might as well not have experienced it, and you cannot be plagued by regret or grief if you cannot remember the events that hurt you. According to the novel, however, our memories are very essential. The Committee of Elders does recognize the practical applications of memory—if you do not remember your errors, you may repeat them—so it designates a Receiver of Memory to remember history for the community. But as Jonas undergoes his training, he learns that just as there is no pain without memory, there is also no true happiness.
