The Theme Of Memories In Lois Lowry's The Giver

In Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Jonas and his community live in a world without memories. As no one has anything from the past to compare their current lives to, there is also no concept of real pain or pleasure. Both pain and pleasure are important aspects of life and the human experience, giving each person a different perspective based upon their experiences, creating differences that the community of The Giver strives to get rid of. In order to protect sameness and equality in every aspect of life throughout the population, no one can be allowed memories except for the one chosen member, the Receiver of Memories.

When Jonas becomes the Receiver of Memories, he obtains memories of both pain and pleasure. At first, the Giver only gives memories

No one truly comprehends what he experiences, but they understand that he obtains wisdom from the memories he holds. As Jonas learns from the memories, he asks the Giver. “Why do you and I have to hold these memories?” to which the Giver responds, “It gives us wisdom.” (139-40). The Giver emphasizes that he does not hold power in the community, but wisdom. By understanding the past actions and emotions of humankind through war, famine, disease, and pain, he can prevent them from occurring again. He is a staple in the community and an adviser to the council due to his abilities to make decisions based on the mistakes and repercussions of the past. Memories are what allow people to create context for future actions and provide insight to possible outcomes of those actions, which is why the community turns to the Giver for advice. Jonas remembers an event in the community where a pilot flew a plane over the city instead of away from it. The city council panicked under the circumstances and asked for advice from the Giver: “I used my wisdom, from the memories. I knew that there had been times in the past—terrible times—when people had destroying others in haste, in fear, and had brought about their own destruction” (141). No one else is able to have the same understanding and wisdom as the Giver, and later, Jonas, and no one really seems to notice any lacking in their life at the same