A Lonely Mind With a Heavy Burden: Hope in The Giver Lachlan Murdoch MacLean 9th Grade

Hope; it holds the potential to drive a man insane, feeding on any optimism one possesses, building up and growing larger until reality tears it down. However, It can also be a marvelous state of mind, allowing one to do things they never thought possible. Without the hope that inspired a man to sail past the edge of the world, a vastly-uncharted land would not have been found, even if it was thought to be India at the time. Without the hope that pulled on the heartstrings of the settlers of this new land, the United States may not truly be the land of the free. Within a mass amount of calculations and scientific theory, it was hope that drove human beings to set foot on a celestial object that once could only be viewed from hundreds of thousands of miles away. This theme of hope flourishes through the pages of Lois Lowry’s novel The Giver, illustrated through the tone and symbols that appear through the characters experiences.

Lois Lowry struck emotional tones and ideas, using descriptive situations to allow the reader to connect to the scenarios Jonas, the protagonist, found himself in. A bitter tone reveals itself as the story unfolds into a black-and-white world, quite literally. Jonas was the only one that was able to see...