The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry

I have recently finished reading Lois Lowry's The Giver series and would like to share my thoughts and also would like to encourage others to read these books. I do not want to give you anything like a play-by-play because I do not want to ruin the story for you. You should experience the twists and turns and surprises all on you own. My only desire here is to draw out some of the elements of the story that I think are important and which should be evaluated from a Christian worldview. I hope those who have read these books already will benefit from my analysis and those who have not read the books yet will be more eager to do so after having read this post.

There are four book in the series, the first book being titled The Giver and the following three are called Gathering Blue, Messenger and Son. All of these stories take place in the same world although not all in the same community. Part of the beauty of the books is that although the stories are connected, and Lowry pulls all those strings together in her final book, it is not immediately obvious how they are connected. When one reads The Giver and then picks up the next book in the series, Gathering Blue, they automatically feel the deep contrast between the environments of the main character in the first book (Jonas) and the main character in the second book (Kira).

Despite the fact the settings are different, and even the cultural behaviors are strikingly different in each community featured in the series, there are certain themes in common which run through all of the stories. One of the clearest themes in these books is the need to value human life. The first two communities you get acquainted with in the series are in stark contrast to one another in some notable ways. The first community, where Jonas is from, is sterile, orderly, peaceful and technologically advanced. The second community, where Kira is from, is dirty, chaotic, violent and technologically stunted. Despite the stark differences, however, one becomes painfully aware that the ultimate problems are the same, namely, human life is not considered sacred or inherently valuable. People are means to an end and if they are able to fit the communities' standards, or be a helpful worker, then they should be put to death.

This serves as a powerful reminder that advancement in technology, or being higher in social position, do not equal ethical superiority. People can be brutal and evil in advanced societies just as much (if not sometimes more so) than in primitive ones. We often mistake other kinds of forward motion as synonymous with moral improvement; but this is a mistake.

The two communities you meet in The Giver and Gathering Blue are in juxtaposition to the two communities you meet in the latter books Messenger and Son. In Messenger you are introduced to a community known simply as 'Village', that was formed by those who have fled from numerous other communities because of the brutality they experienced. Most of those who have fled have some kind of 'imperfection' whether it be blindness, birthmarks, missing limbs, etc. All things that should never be seen as taking away from the value of a human person but which, where were from, was considered unacceptable, unprofitable and punishable by death.

One cannot help but think of elective abortion here. Parents today to often choose to terminate the life of their unborn child for any whim they might have. They wanted a boy, not a girl. The baby would have a deformity of some sort. The baby might be a carrier of a genetic disease, etc. As technology advances the threat of Eugenics begins to take new life. Soon parents will be able to design a baby to their specifications and discard any imperfection. But it's not just the unborn, it is the advanced in age or those who become crippled that societies have sometimes seen as a drain on the more able bodied. If the cost/benefit analysis doesn't work in your favor you may be in trouble in many societies and our own country is increasingly adopting this attitude.

Back to the review, the Village, made up of these refugees, is a return to civilization in its truest sense. The people there recognize the value of others simply for the fact that they are human beings. They willingly take care of one another and bear each others burdens, they welcome new comers escaping terrible situations. They are a picture of what we can be when we recognize that people matter and we treat them as we want to be treated (seems like that idea has been stated by a great teacher at some point). The fourth community, introduced in the fourth book, Son, is perhaps not as together as 'Village' is but there is still a much greater respect for life found there. Here you see a picture of families and children, and people coming together to meet needs, to support one another, and they welcome and care for the stranger that comes unexpectedly into their midst from the sea. These communities in contrast to the other two show us a picture of a humanity that has been lost in many other places in their world.

It should be pointed out that there are several other important themes in the book. One is the concept of love. Love for fellow man in general, the valuing human life, is of course already in view but these books also address more personal kinds of love towards specific individuals. In the Giver the very word 'love' is considered antiquated and without meaning in the Community. It is too ambiguous and lacks "precision of language" according to Jonas' parents. Throughout the series of books the concept of love is rediscovered by the main characters who have grown up in communities where the word carries little meaning or, at least, is not practiced by very many. Through the adventure of our main characters we see love well up within them in a variety of ways, normal human ways. Where marriage and marital intimacy was abandoned it is found. Where the natural connection between a mother and her baby has been cut off, it is reconnected. Where an orphan is discarded to the street, they are given a home. Love, these books teach us, is not an irrelevant concept after all.

Another important idea addressed is freedom and especially freedom of information and education. Information is power and in the first two books you see how information is carefully guarded by those in power. In our two negative communities the common person is not allowed to know things freely. In The Giver only the community rule book is allowed for reading and nothing else. In Gathering Blue only males are allowed to learn to read, but many of them do not appear to be interested in that prerogative anyway because intellectualism is not valued so much as hunting. Wherever information is controlled, either by force or social convention, people suffer. Education, the ability to read good literature and study ideas, is crucial for a community to thrive and become truly human.

One final theme I detected was the value of gender roles. This is, of course, a wildly unpopular notion in our society today. But Lowry points out the sacredness of both manhood and womanhood. The idea that men ought to be protectors, providers and self sacrificing is present and praised in the books. Also Lowry highlights motherhood, giving birth and raising children, and elevates it as a blessing that should be cherished. The idea of marriage and fidelity and how important they are to a healthy society is also pictured in these books. The failure of the family to be what it is meant to be may be the most critical problem our first two communities have. These themes could be easily overlooked but I hope the reader will see them there.

For certain there are also many spiritual overtones in the book. The main character in Messenger, (Matty) is something of a Christ figure by the time the story wraps up. There is a sinister character named Trademaster who grants people their wishes but only at the cost of trading part of their identity away. The Trademaster breaks down the humanity of individuals who give themselves away for things hardly worth so much adn in turn it breaks down the wholesome society of 'Village'. While the stories are not overtly Christian, and I would say that certain spiritual themes could be seen as bordering on new age, Christians can certainly see redeemable qualities and discussion points all throughout the series.

There is much to be enjoyed about The Giver series and I heartily recommend the books to you. There is adventure, wonder, battles between good and evil, heroes who persevere over unimaginable challenges and there is a sense of longing for what civilization is meant to be. That longing is not only experienced by the characters in the books but also by the reader who recognizes the fallen nature of our own culture. We long for a society where people are valued and respected and where our need to love and be loved is met. We long to know the truth and to be free. We long for forgiveness and a chance to start over.

The biggest downside to the series, in my opinion, is that while it grabs hold of so many important themes and recognizes some major problem in our own society (and personifies them in the communities) it does not sufficiently provide an answer to the problems. While one could say that it does, it answers it by saying "we must love our fellow man and value the family as it is intended to be" the problem is that a person could easily ask "and why is that?" The book provides no grounds other than an emotional appeal, a strong and good one, but just emotion. What is the objective reason for valuing life, for loving our neighbor?

As Christians we know that it is only in Christ, only by affirming the imago dei (image of God) in man, that there is any hope to see a restored humanity. No other worldview offers a foundation, a sufficient reason, for why we ought to love one another and treat people with respect. God is the necessary factor that needs to be explicitly pointed to for us to be able to take the concepts in The Giver quartet and be able to actually consistently apply them. If there is no God then there is no meaning, no purpose, no objective moral values and people are only a means and not an end. The gospel is the only path forward to creating a true humane society where these values are upheld. In the end it will be only when the Lord Jesus comes again that all of those desires we have will be perfectly fulfilled. Even then it is only so for those of us who have come to know the Savior.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

George Orwell’s Animal Farm is an allegorical tale of revolution and regime change. In many ways this is a story which has seen itself played out over and over again in history. Much of the familiarity of the story comes from the pages of our history classes as we have seen this happen in the nations of the world many times before. More disturbingly, however, is the fact that much of the familiarity of this story is not merely something we’ve read in our history classes but it is something we are reading in our daily news currently.

The scene is set at the Manor Farm somewhere in England which is owned and operated by Mr. Jones, a reprobate drunk of a farmer who does not properly care for his animals. The animals long for a better life than this which they are living which so often is hard, hungry and short. Old Major, a respected and prize winning boar on the farm calls the animals together and lays out a dream he has had, which he takes to be prophetic, and inspires the animals to believe that one day the beasts of England would rise up and overthrow their oppressors and become their own masters. This revolution which was sure to occur would lead to a golden age of equality for all animals, peace and prosperity.

At this point in the story the reader cannot help but align with the animals who, of course, deserve so much better. Major’s speech sets out a vision for the animals that truly sounds wonderful, a thing to be strived for and it settles down into their heart. Eventually Major passes aways but his words do not and when there came a day when the drunken farmer forget to feed his animals altogether they take matters into their own hooves. As they break into the storage bins the farmer and his hands come to beat the animals into submission but, instead, they are met with a frenzied attack by the animals. The seed of Major’s rebellion has finally taken root and the animals overthrow their oppressors.

Elated by their victory the animals seek to start living out the dream of Major and seek to treat all animals with respect and equality. Even so, due to the fact that the animals were not equally intelligent the more intelligent animals, namely the pigs, graciously stepped forward to organize the farm and make sure everyone was treated fairly. The farm adopted the name Animal Farm, and the way of life they now lived was called Animalism. To help the animals live out the principles of Animalism, and to ensure that no atrocities would ever occur again as had under farmer Jones, the pigs codified Animalism into seven basic laws.

During the early period of Animal Farm things go pretty well. The seven laws of Animalism, when followed, really do guide the animals in a way of profitable and peaceful living. Not everything is easy, having to learn to do things on their own, but the work that is done is honest and all do their part so it was good. Over time, however, things begin to shift and the pigs begin to take a more and more dominant leadership role. Two pigs in particular take leadership roles, Snowball and Napoleon. Furthermore the pigs themselves do no labor on the farm but they take the position of administration of duties because of their higher intellect. It was also the pigs who put forth new resolutions in the regular meetings and who eventually designate the harness room for their own use as headquarters.

Eventually it was noticed that the milk which was being produced was disappearing and eventually it was found that it was being used by the pigs and although this did not set right with the other animals at first, Squealer, another pig who had a way with words and the ability to make things sound however he desired, was able to convince them that it was actually to everyone’s benefit that the pigs drink the milk. In addition to this when the new puppies were born, and after they had been weaned, Napoleon took them away from the mothers assuring them that he would see to their education personally.

Eventually there was an attempt by Mr. Jones to take his farm back. The animals charged to battle although some were injured and one life was lost, they were able to drive back the enemy under the leadership of Snowball. After the battle Snowball was awarded Hero First Class for his heroic efforts. A major victory for the animals this was a watershed moment for Animal Farm and a historic moment to be remembered.

As time progressed at Animal Farm the disagreements that had been long standing between Snowball and Napoleon grew more sharp. There was a windmill project that was created and led by Snowball, which was adamantly opposed by Napoleon, which was meant to bring many conveniences to all the animals. A day came wherein Snowball and Napoleon were at the regular meeting with the animals debating the issue of the windmill in which suddenly a ferocious pack of dogs burst in and chased Snowball off the farm. It eventually became clear that these were the puppies whom Napoleon had taken from their mothers to educate.

From this point on changes continued to occur gradually but steadily to the way things had been. The regular meetings were cancelled, there was no more discussion to be had between the animals about what should be done, Napoleon would tell them what was best. The dogs would growl into submission any who dared to show any dissent. Eventually Napoleon would order that the windmill should be built and eventually it would be spun that it was really his idea originally anyway. Snowball was said to have been a traitor who did not fight valiantly as they recalled but rather was in league with Mr. Jones all the while.

On and on the changes came, and the less intelligent animals were often made uncomfortable by these changes and thought that they were not in accord with either history as they recalled it or the laws of Animalism. Even so, Squealer was always able to assure them that they had not remembered correctly what really happened or what the laws of Animalism really said (most of them couldn’t even read it, after all). Even when some of them would check the laws it was noticed that indeed the pigs were right, it said what they were saying, not what the animals had remembered.

All of these changes progressed and the animals were always assured that everything the pigs were doing was really for the benefit of all the animals and that all the animals were equal. The animals thought they remembered better times and having had more food in the past, but they were constantly assured that they had never had it so good as they did now. Eventually Napoleon and the pigs moved into the farmhouse and Napoleon was himself rarely seen and always guarded by the dogs when he was.

In the end there came a day when the humans came and met with Napoleon in the farmhouse and the animals spied through the windows to see them not as enemies but as friends. And it had come to the point that the animals who looked at Napoleon could hardly discern whether or not the pigs were still animals or whether they were people. Somehow, over time, the pigs had taken over Mr. Jones spot and yet they were far worse than he had ever been.

This sad allegory is much like what we have seen in history and eerily like some of what we see today in our own country. From instances like the Hitler Youth who were taken from parents and brainwashed to obey a tyrant, to the rewriting of history, to the use of propaganda to convince people that everything is really for their benefit, this is how regime’s rise to power. It usually starts with a vision of a better life and often that better life seems to occur at first but gradually things begin to shift. The ignorant masses who do not know the law or history for themselves are powerless to stop what occurs before their eyes. Those who do have the wherewithal to read between the line and see what is happening are often ruthlessly suppressed.

We’ve heard it said that those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it. I have once read something equally true, and ever more terrifying, which said that those who do know history are doomed to watch in horror as everyone else repeats it. Orwell’s book ought to be read and reflected on as we see things gradually changing in our own country because I fear that America is on a dangerous trajectory in many of the same ways that are laid out here in this book. As our political leaders promise a better tomorrow, “free healthcare” and “equality” for all, do these things (specifically the way they define them or suggest that they may be attained) really lead us to freedom and equality or to quite the opposite?

The Metalogician by John of Salisbury

There are books which stand the test of time because they influence not only a generation but are, indeed, timeless and thereby have influenced entire cultures and civilizations for centuries. Such books made such a splash when they were written that their ripples are still felt today albeit the names of the authors and their works are often unknown to the people who today carry around their ideas in their pockets not knowing from whence they came. These are what some have called “The Great Books” and this not because all of the ideas in them are created equal but because their influence has been undeniably great. Without a doubt some ideas from the Great Books are stronger today and others are relatively forgotten in contemporary times.

Among those which has been largely forgotten, especially by those involved in contemporary education, is John of Salisbury’s The Metalogician in which he lays out an argument for and defense of what we might now call Classical Education which is composed of the Trivium and Quadrivium. It is precisely because this work (and others like it) have been relegated to a place of “nearly forgotten” status that we see the mess we do in the educational system in our country. John writes this defense against a figure whom he calls “Cornificius” whose real name he withholds for the sake of charity towards a fellow professing Christian but whom his disdain towards is not even thinly veiled. Cornificius denies the importance of studying the Liberal Arts much like our contemporaries do which makes The Metalogician a timely book to read in our day.

Cornificius’ primary argument against studying the Liberal Arts is that he believes nature either grants a person the necessary ability to perform those arts or it does not and therefore there is no use in trying to train a man to do something nature has not enabled him to do just as training a man to do what nature has already enabled him to do would be superfluous. John puts it in this way, “In the judgment of Cornificius (if a false opinion may be called a judgment), there is no point in studying the rules of eloquence, which is a gift that is either conceded or denied to each individual by nature.” While it is not John’s contention that nature gifts all men with equal ability it is his contention that study of the Liberal Arts is important no matter how much natural talent a man has been given.

One of the primary themes found in The Metalogician is power which studying has to help a man, any man, become a better man. Quoting Cicero, John, makes clear what he means by studying, “‘Study… is the diligent and vigorous application of one’s mind to the determined accomplishment of something.” There is no person, regardless of how naturally gifted or, seemingly, lacking in natural gifting, who cannot grow as a human being through the study of the Liberal Arts:

Although the gifts of nature are definitely helpful, they are never or rarely so effective that they are fully realized without study. Nothing is so strong and robust that it cannot be enfeebled by neglect, nothing so well constructed that it cannot be razed. On the other hand, diligent application can build up and preserve the lowest degree of natural talent.

There is no one too low nor too high in their natural ability that can’t improve by study.

John tells us that Socrates was known for being “susceptible to women” but overcame his vices through his commitment to philosophy and the practice of virtue. Here was a man whom nature could hardly have gifted more powerfully but whom grew greatly through study and application of what may be called the Liberal Arts. On the other end of the spectrum John tells us “that Scaurus Rufus was far from naturally bright but that by assiduously  employing his meager natural talents, he became so accomplished that he even called Cicero himself ‘a barbarian.’” With these two case studies we see that there is truly no one who cannot greatly benefit from studying the Liberal Arts.

John begins his work in the most natural of starting points when talking about Classical education, the Trivium. The first stage of the Trivium is that of Grammar which is then followed by Dialectic and then Rhetoric. The primacy of Grammar is due to the fact that it undergirds all learning that will follow after it. The ability to read, write and speak properly is the foundation upon which all future learning is dependant upon. As the book progresses, however, John’s point is the same. In every stage of learning it makes no difference how much natural ability one has, they can build on it and they ought to.

In Book II of The Metalogician while discussing the Dialectic stage of learning, the same point is uttered again that natural ability is insufficient in itself no matter how much of it one has. “Even though one’s natural faculty of reason, I refer here to his mental power, may be very keen, still he will be greatly handicapped in philosophical pursuits if he is without a rational system whereby he may accomplish his purpose.” And so John demonstrates this point time and time again throughout the whole of his work effectively refuting Cornificius and all who, like him, would negate the importance of studying the Liberal Arts.

In the end John exposes Cornificius as seeking to destroy the very foundations of a meaningful education. At the very first he accused Cornificius of having “contrived to improve his own reputation by making many other ignoramuses like himself.” An effective method that we see employed today in public education, I am afraid, in which the way to become the most intelligent, powerful and successful has nothing to do with working the hardest but with managing to raise a generation of fools who know less that yourself. We may rightfully hope that such a goal is not really in the minds of contemporary educators as it was for Cornificius but whether it is the intent or not it is nevertheless the same result in the end.

Our only hope for the future well being of our society* is to take the study of Liberal Arts seriously as John of Salisbury suggests we should. He more than amply demonstrates the folly of relying only on what nature imparts and he successfully argues the value of studying the Liberal Arts regardless of whether or not one was generously blessed by natural ability. The reestablishment of the Trivium in modern education as laid out in The Metalogicianwould do wonders for the world today.

*Of course the gospel of Christ is the real hope, here i spoke with only education in mind