[도서 리뷰] 『The Giver』

 

기억 전달자

미국 청소년 문학의 대표 작가라 불리는 로이스 로리 장편소설. 모두가 잃어버린 여러 감정들을 찾아나서는 열두 살 소년의 이야기를 그려내고 있다. 1994년 뉴베리 상과 1993년 보스턴 글로브 혼 북 아너 상 수상작이다. 모두가 똑같은 형태의 가족을 가지고 동일한 교육을 받으며 성장하는 곳. 이곳에서는 열두 살이 되면 위원회가 직위를 정해 준다. 열두 살 기념식을 앞둔 조너스에게 내려진 직위는 '기억 보유자'. 과거의 기억을 유일하게 가지고 있어야 하는 사람이 된 것이다. 선임 기억 보유자는 이제 기억 전달자가 되어 조너스를 훈련시키기 시작한다. 조너스는 효율적이고 평화로운 사회를 이루기 위해 희생된 진짜 감정들을 경험하게 되는데….

저자

로이스 로리

출판

비룡소

출판일

2007.05.18

 

 

조만간 영화로도 나오는 'The Giver(기억 전달자)'를 읽고 독후감을 써보았습니다.

미래에 대해 많은 생각을 해보게 된 계기가 되었네요 ^^

 

"Jonas has been selected, " said the Chief Elder. "Jonas has intelligence, integrity, courage, wisdom. But the most essential attribute is the capacity to see beyond." Jonas is just an ordinary boy, but his community is extraordinary.

 

Jonas lives in a strange community where everyday and everything is the same. There are no colors, music, weather, and even feelings. It all happened because of a devastating war. They didn't want that terrible thing to happen again. So, they set up a society that everything is under control, like a cage.

 

In his community, babies are given birth by birthmothers. Birthmothers get wonderful food and play most of the time, but after three births, they just have to wait for entering 'the house of old'. After babies are born, they are sent to the nurturing center. It's nurturer's job to provide physical and emotional needs to babies. But they also measure the weight of babies to choose the ones to be released.

 

'Release' is a terrible punishment in this society. If people get 'released', they just disappear. No one knows what happens to them. I can guess that it's a same thing that we call 'death.'

 

Babies are sent to each families. One male and one female. Family has to share their feelings to one another after evening meal. When the children grew up to eleven, there is a 'Ceremony of Eleven' which is the most important part of their life. The leaders of the community standardize their behavior through eleven years and choose a right job for each of them.

 

Jonas' life becomes very different after the ceremony of eleven. He was selected for a unique job, a 'Receiver'. It was because Jonas had a capacity to see beyond. While he was playing with an apple, something appeared for instant. He was able to see something that nobody else could see.

 

As a receiver, Jonas has to receive the memories of whole world, by 'Giver'. After the community was made, only the givers had a responsibility to keep the memories and descend it to receiver. Every day, the giver gave Jonas a memory. Sometimes he gave good ones, such as 'happiness', 'music', 'sunshine', and 'love'. Sometimes there were bad ones like 'pain', 'war', and 'death'. Jonas realizes that what he had saw in the apple was 'color'. And he knew that 'release' meant death. His society was not real. It was all fake.

 

One day, the giver gave him the memory of his father. His father was a nurturer, and that day, he released a baby that weighed less than six pounds. Jonas was shocked to see his father killing the baby. His father had no pain or conscience. It was only the giver and Jonas who had feelings.

 

Jonas had a strong feeling that he had to share his memory, teach all the people, and save them from the terrible community. He finally decides to escape the community with young baby, Gabriel before the 'release'. It will be Jonas and Gabriel's duty to save their community.

 

I think that this society is similar to 'the matrix'. In both society, people doesn't know that their world is fake, and that everything is under control. They have no choice and freedom. Jonas and Neo knows the truth, so they tries to save the world.

 

You might think that people will be happy if they don't know about the truth, like Jonas' friends and parents. However, if they know the truth, they probably won't agree to live in this place. It's hard to say that Jonas and Gabriel will success, because they will face many dangers that they haven't seen or heard about. But it's necessary for them to take back the dignities and the rights of human. People have to find another way to maintain peace.

 

I think the author's message is that we shouldn't let our future be like Jonas' society. If we do not stop violation of human rights, hunger and terrifying war, Jonas' community won't just exist in fiction. It's our responsibility to make the world that we can make our own future.