Why Is Memory Important In The Giver

Why are memories important? Why should we have them? I think that The Giver by Lois Lowry answers these two questions through an excellent story. The Giver is about a boy named Jonas who, turned 12 and was selected for the job reciever of memories. His teacher, the Giver, gives him memories from the past, which is much like this world today. Jonas realizes that his “utopian” community isn’t as great as he previously thought, so he runs to “elsewhere” in search of a better place to live. Jonas decides that he needs to leave because he realizes that memories define our sense of self and because his community does not have memories like his than they really have no sense of self.

Experiences help form personality. If you can’t experience anything important than you don’t really have a personality. This is shown clearly in The Giver because only Jonas and the Giver have memories from

Which means that even if you don’t have the memories you can still have a personality. I think they are correct, but to an extent. Yes, they have feelings, but not of the depth of Jonas or the Giver. This is shown when Jonas says “it was a new depth of feelings.” (Lowry, 130.) Here he is referring to the new feelings he has gained from the memories. We know that these came from the memories because Jonas also thinks to himself the “feelings came also from the memories.” (Lowry, 130) These pieces of evidence work together to show that Jonas and the Giver have more enhanced feelings because of their memories, and how you express yourself through your emotions really shapes how you are as a person. If That wasn’t enough either, the Giver explicitly says "Jonas, you and I are the only ones who have feelings.” (Lowry, 153) This should clear up whether the people in the community have feelings or not because a character in the story say specifically that they do