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The Giver and Montana 1948 are two popular novels appreciated and well-liked by the readers throughout the world. As far as The Giver is concerned, it is written from the perspective of Jonas, an eleven-year-old boy living in a futuristic community that has conquered fear, war, pain and hatred. The author of The Giver, Lois Lowry, describes the life of a boy in a society that has no prejudice, little competition, and no room to make choices; there are strict penalties for law offenders. The book talks about the themes of the importance of memory, pain and pleasure among others. The Montana 1948 is a novel that is set in a small town of the state of Montana. It narrates the story through the eyes of David Hayden, a twelve-year old boy. The novel talks about the themes of racism and adolescence among others. The Giver and Montana 1948 can be compared through the traits of adolescence, symbolism, and memories.
In both novels, two teenage boys are the narrators. In The Giver, the author tells his story through the eyes of Jonas, an eleven-year old boy. Lowry describes the themes of choices, sufferings, and memories of the past. She brings the themes of racism and transitioning from childhood to adulthood to explain the phases that teenagers go through during their adolescent years. In Montana 1948, the author also tells the story through David Hayden’s eyes. Furthermore, the use of adolescence trait in the novel helps Watson to show various themes in the stories. David Hayden explains the character of his father as a weak man since he does not carry a gun while his grandfather favors his stronger uncle, Frank. The author mentions different characters that teenagers would encounter while growing up. When using the boys in both novels, the authors want the reader to believe all the events that happened by feeling the sentiments of adolescents. In addition, the use of adolescence in the novels could maintain the obsessions held by young people as they grow up. Lowry and Watson use the boys as the main characters in the novels to make the teenagers witness the events of the novels ultimately making the books interesting to teenagers.
Symbolism allows the authors to discuss difficult topics to make them understandable to the readers. They focus on the use of symbolism in the novels to engage the readers’ minds in the narration of the story. Moreover, they use imagery to explain the themes, portray character traits and motives of the books. For instance, the use of a baby in The Giver symbolizes hope and new beginnings. Lowry uses symbolism in The Giver to emphasize themes of pain and suffering of the community. He uses colors, the baby, the sled, light eyes, and the river as symbols in the book. For instance, he uses the color red to signify passion, love, and fire. On the other hand, Watson uses symbolism in Montana 1948 to explain the themes of law and justice. He uses symbolism to represent secrets, change, and identity. He also uses the paint to describe the uncovered secrets. He shows the character of David's father, Wes, by using the paint. Also, he describes the hypocrisy of Wes while talking about a painting job referring to the sexual assaulting secrets of his brother, Frank. Both novels use symbolism to present the character traits in the novels.
In addition, the authors use memories to deliver the subject matter of their work. Use of memory in the novels enhances the reader's understanding of the novel, allowing the readers to connect the events. For instance, Lowry uses memory to allow the readers remember the pains and anguish. Both novelists use flashbacks to remind the readers of the negative encountered by the community. For example, Watson allows the audience to know about the crimes such as sexual assaults committed by Frank. Both Lowry and Watson use memory to enlighten the reader about past events consequently leading to present situations.
In conclusion, use of traits of adolescence, memories, and symbolism are the principle traits helping to compare The Giver and Montana 1948. Both novelists widely use the mentioned traits to explain the themes, character traits of the cast, and the plot of the novels. The traits enhance the interest of readers to read books and grasp the underlying lessons. Every novel has its own features. It can be observed that both The Giver and Montana 1948 have their own features and aspects that helped in understanding the essence of the books.
