The central conflict of Lois Lowry’s The Giver centers around Jonas, who has been chosen to become the next Receiver of Memory. This means that he will inherit the memories of past generations in order to prevent the citizens of his town from experiencing pain, hunger, war—or suffering of any kind. Jonas learns that his predecessor as Receiver committed suicide because he could not cope with the memories; he begins to feel overwhelmed by them and questions whether or not his society is truly as perfect as it claims to be. He meets a girl named Fiona who is different from everyone else in that she can see colors; relationships are forbidden in their society and so Jonas feels confused about how he should respond to her. Jonas, who has been chosen to succeed to the position of Receiver of Memory, decides to run away so that his best friend Asher will not have to take on the burden of bearing the community’s recollections. Jonas is captured and subjected to a “release,” which erases all of his memories. Aided by her own recollections, Fiona helps Jonas remember who he is; they then escape from the authorities and find refuge with other people who live outside of the controlled society.
What Is The Conflict In The Giver?
Updated: December 10, 2022
The conflict in The Giver is that Jonas is assigned the role of Receiver of Memory, and must learn the true history of the world, which includes the knowledge of pain, suffering, and death. This knowledge is too much for Jonas to handle, and he struggles with whether or not to keep this information to himself or share it with the rest of the community.
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