Life is not what it used to be in the society shown in the fictional novel The Giver by Lois Lowry.

        A second way the theme is shown is through Jonas’s memories of loss and sadness. For example, the Giver gives Jonas a memory of death on the battlefield, and during the memory, Jonas sees a soldier: “His head fell back, his lower jaw dropping as if he had been surprised by something. A dull blankness slid slowly across his eyes,” (119). Jonas is on the battlefield and experiences warfare. The theme that memory is important to the experience of life is shown because Jonas’s community is isolated and doesn’t experience warfare. The memory is important to life because it shows the world’s way to deal with conflict and can be for the better at times. Another example is shown is when Jonas receives a memory of the loss of an elephant, “He could hear noises: the sharp crack of weapons – he perceived the word guns – and then shouts, and an immense crashing thud as something fell, tearing branches from the trees.” (100). Jonas witnesses a poacher killing an elephant. The theme that memory is important to the experience of life is shown because in Jonas’s community, people don’t exactly feel things like loss and sadness and can’t realize the importance of having it in their life. Without the feeling of loss or sadness there can be no feeling of pleasure or happiness. Therefore, we realize that loss and sadness is important to the experience of life.

        The last way the theme is shown is through Jonas’s memories of happiness. For example,  Jonas receives a memory of an exhilarating sled ride and it starts to stop, ”The snow was piled now around it, and he pushed with his body, moving it forward, not wanting the exhilarating ride to end.” (82). Jonas is very happy and having a great time riding the sled down the hill doesn’t want it to end.   The theme is shown because everybody likes to be happy and without it the experience of life would be sad and cold.  Another example is when the Giver wants to test Jonas’s receiving skills and places his hands on his back, “The warmth spread, extending across his shoulders, up his neck, onto the side of his face. He could feel it through his clothed parts, too: a pleasant, all-over sensation; and when he licked his lips this time, the air was hot and heavy.” (84). Jonas likes the sensation of warmth from the sunshine and is happy and pleasured by it. The theme that memory is important to the experience of life is exemplified by the way Jonas is pleasured and happy by the sunshine. Without sunshine, many important happy qualities to life are missed such as the warmth it gives or the tan. Therefore, it is obvious that without happiness, the experience of life is not the same.

        Throughout the novel, the theme that memory is important to the experience of life is exemplified many times. It is exemplified by the relationships with people in the community and his personal feelings. Memory is important because without we can’t experience life the way it should be experienced. Furthermore, without memories, it is hard to understand many things. It plays a key role in making new decisions because of the way we deal with past decisions for reference. In Jonas’s role, he uses the memories to make the decision to escape from the community. This action gives not only Jonas a new life but also the community that he left. Therefore, from Jonas’s experiences, we realize how important it is to have memories in your life.