Surrounded by the aggressiveness of the present-day world, people tend to look for places where it is possible to find a figurative temporary refuge to escape from the stress which they are prone to. Therefore, pieces of art which contain an imaginary world have always attracted large audiences. “The Giver” has not happened to be an exception. This is a world best-seller novel written by Lois Lowry in 1993 which was screened by Philip Noyce in 2014. Having the plot in common, the book and the film have some slight differences in the content, and the most significant of them can be acknowledged the theme of love which is touched upon only in the film.
To start with, it is necessary to note that “The Giver” manages to serve a rare example of the situation in which it is rather difficult to say which one tends to be better – the novel or its screening. The main character Jonas is a young man who lives in an ideal and maximally civilized future society. In this world, there are not any wars, sufferings, joys and memories. Here, any person has a certain mode of living, without any chances to make choices and changes. Regardless these limitations, people live in peace and agreement, as they do not know that it is possible to have a different lifestyle. Soon, the High Council of the society makes a decision to appoint Jonas as the Memory Keeper and direct him to the Giver in order to be taught peculiarities of the Memory Keeper’s work. After the young man gets to know the truth about the existing world, he finds himself in front of an extremely difficult dilemma whether to reveal the truth to everyone in the society or to go on keeping it secret (Lowry, 23-76).
As mentioned above, the both creations have the same plot line. However, the film does not copy the book entirely, and there are some variations, with the film scenarists having managed to take into account modern realities, among others. Yet, the most important difference between the book and the film is that the book does not dwell upon a love theme in its plot (Noyce), whereas the film does, which exalts the story and makes it more live, emotional, and holistic. The difference is notable because nobody in the world is likely to imagine even an unreal world without romantic feelings as they tend to fill the life with sense. Besides, it looks like that the two works appear to be a hint of the day-to-day life: people have the beautiful and the wonderful hidden for them to discover. However, they painted their lives gray and cannot guess that there is much more in front of them to obtain. Love is one of the most powerful wonders in the world, and here it is to experience. Apart from this, it is necessary to underline that the main character of the book is a school-aged boy. However, in the film, he is about 16. Thus, the film is focused on the teenagers with their thoughts, ideas, values, beliefs, and expectations, and adolescence is a perfect time to fall in love for the first time.
In conclusion, it is necessary to point out that, contrary to the book, the film contains a love theme. Life without love proves to be insipid. Hence, this topic is significant to involve into the plot, which the film director succeeded in.
Works Cited
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York, NY: Spark Pub., 2013.
Noyce, Philip, director. The Giver. The Weinstein Company, 2014.