The Giver By Louis Lowry

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Recommended: Individualism in the giver

Some of the significant themes that Louis Lowry deals with in this novel include the importance of memory and individual, the value of freedom to make choices and the relationship between pain and pleasure.
Importance of memory is one of the most important themes in The Giver. Lowry was inspired to write The Giver after visiting her aging father, who had lost most of his long-term memory. She realized that without memory, there is no pain. At some point earlier in the past, Jonas’s community decided to give up their memories in order to eliminate the pain and regret that came with them. This also include banning members of the society from wanting to engage in activities and relationships that could cause conflict and suffering. They wanted the community to live a peaceful and harmonious life where there was no conflict, war, or hate, therefore they …show more content…

However, Jonas realizes that without memories, a person can’t learn from mistakes, celebrate accomplishments, know love or happiness or any other deep emotion, or grow as an individual. He also learnt that when there is no pain without memory, there is no true happiness. This leads to the importance of individual. When people are unable to experience pain, their individuality is devalued. People learn from memories and gain wisdom from remembering past experiences. And without memories, people can’t learn from mistakes and can’t differentiate what’s right and what’s wrong. Related to the theme of memory, there is no pleasure without pain and no pain without pleasure. No matter how delightful an experience is, you cannot appreciate the pleasure unless you have experienced some painful memories. The members in Jonas’s community cannot value the joys in their lives because they have never experienced pain. Also, they do not feel pain or grief because they don’t not appreciate the true wonder of life;

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