Last
Saturday my sweetheart and I watched a less-popular movie at a low-price theater. We liked The
Giver, based on the book Kay read and didn’t like. “Boys like it better,” Teacher said. In my 4/14/14 “Lighten My Load” post, I wrote:
“… reminds me of hearing Lois Lowry (age 77, award-winning author of The Giver and 39 other books) describe a
dystopian society that had lost all of its technology – a nightmarish tale!”
A
recurring reminder by “the Elders” in charge and the sheepish people who
follow the bad rules, is to “use precise language”, which “in this community, is
not precise at all but rather is a language in which the meanings of words are
intentionally unclear. For example, each family unit participates in the 'telling of feelings' every evening. This sharing is ironic because
the people don't have any feelings. They gave up their feelings when they chose
Sameness. Another word that is ironic and not precise is 'Nurturer.' Jonas' father, a Nurturer, is supposed to be a caretaker of infants. He does
care for infants, but he also kills them.”
– CliffsNotes
www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/the-giver/critical-essays/style-and-language-in-the-giver
