User:Collindh23/The Giver

Collin Holloway

Background of Lois Lowry

Lois Lowry was born March 20,1937 in Honolulu, Hawaii. When asked, Lowry stated that her books vary in content and style. Still when reading them it seems that all of them have the same topic, which is in Lowry's own words “the importance of human connection… the vital need for humans to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment.” This book really matches Lois Lowry's other books in that The Giver shows changes in the characters lives, reflecting this fascination with the multifaceted dimensions of growing up.

In her Newbery Medal acceptance speech in 1993, Lowry explains that The Giver was inspired by many experiences throughout her life, including Lowry’s interaction with her father, who “became an inspiration for The Giver, a novel in which people are deprived of the memories of suffering, grief, and pain.” She also explains that she began writing The Giver by creating an imaginary world that readers would recognize and feel comfortable in. Lowry also mentions that it is tempting to live in a walled-in world where violence, poverty, and injustice technically does not exist, but when doing that we forget about the people who are experiencing pain and injustice. Lowry said of the people living in The Giver, they have lived in a sterile world for so long that they are in danger of losing the real emotions that make them human.

Lowry, Lois. "Newbery Medal Acceptance." Children's Literature Review, edited by Linda R. Andres, vol. 46, Gale, 1998. Gale Literature Resource Center,

Lois Lowry (1937--). (2020). In D. G. Felder, The American women's almanac: 500 years of making history. Visible Ink Press. Credo Reference:

Zaidman, Laura M. "Lois Lowry: Overview." Twentieth-Century Young Adult Writers, edited by Laura Standley Berger, St. James Press, 1994. Twentieth-Century Writers Series. Gale Literature Resource Center,

"Why did Lois Lowry write the book The Giver?" eNotes Editorial, 6 Feb. 2018, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-did-lois-lowry-write-book-giver-742151. Accessed 8 Dec. 2020.