What Is the Conflict of the Novel “The Giver”?

The main conflict of the novel “The Giver” occurs when Jonas’ new assignment in the Community as the Receiver of Memories causes him to question the restrictions imposed on the society by the Elders who controls everything. The seemingly Utopian society that Jonas lives in was engineered by the Community and converted into a condition of “sameness” to eliminate pain, suffering, hunger and strife. However, the society’s conversion into sameness also took away important facets of humanity such as feelings of happiness and love.

The Community in “The Giver” likewise erased the memory of the people before the Sameness was imposed. The memories was assigned and entrusted to the Receiver of Memories by the Elders. The Receiver of Memories is occasionally consulted by the Elders whenever an important decision has to be made.

By the age of 12, everyone in the society is given his assignment in the community a rite called the Ceremony of Twelve and as luck would have it, Jonas was assigned as the new Receiver of Memory. Once the assignment was assigned the Jonas, the erstwhile Receiver becomes the Giver, who is assigned the task of training the new Receiver of Memories.

“The Giver” is a young to young adult novel written by Lois Lowry and was published in 1993. The novel was written as a narrative in the perspective of its main protagonist Jonas. In 2014, its film adaptation starring Jeff Bridges playing the title role and Brenton Thwaites as Jonas was released.