Readers, and Leaders, of Tomorrow by Jolene
Joleneof Detroit's entry into Varsity Tutor's February 2015 scholarship contest
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Readers, and Leaders, of Tomorrow by Jolene - February 2015 Scholarship Essay
One of the biggest themes among popular books and movies at this point in our culture is the idea of a dystopian society. Books such as Divergent and The Hunger Games are paving the paths of our children’s minds; teaching them what to think, how to feel and what questions to ask about life. The problem with many of these books is that they focus on a singular relationship, often between a boy and a girl, and it becomes them against the rest of society. The problem with this kind of thinking is that it lacks the foresight and societal concern that makes us all work together. Instead of inspiring children to become the next Martin Luther King Jr.’s, we are teaching them they need to find the one person in life they can depend on, and who defines them.
The book The Giver by Lois Lowry explores the themes of governmental control, social awareness and the importance of our collective memory. Lois Lowry leads her main character, Jonas, on a journey that awakens his heart and opens his eyes to the importance of freedom; freedom for everyone, not just a few. She explores the idea of collective memory and what happens when, as a society, we forget the past. In the book, the society has lost the memories that bind their community together. Even though this is a fictional account, this phenomenon is happening in our own communities. There are currently groups of people that argue the Holocaust, the genocide of over 6 million people, never happened. How does this impact our social awareness and compassion for humanity? If we cannot join in the suffering and lives of others, we have lost what makes us special. If we cannot remember the past, we will repeat it.
The Giver explores what makes us “real.” What really makes a family, a family? What truly brings friends together? What enables us to have compassion and empathy? High School is a time when kids are starting to be more aware of themselves and are thinking about who they are to become. I would rather have men and women emerge into the world having at least asked some of these questions, instead of walking into life blindly. High School is already a time of angst, hormonal crazes and a search for identity. Having solid material for teens to read and digest gives them an opportunity to ask questions without the added push toward codependence and isolation.
One of the most important themes of the book is to open ourselves to the experience of feeling. Feeling our pain, feeling others’ pain, and being willing to stand with each other in the midst. Most often we try to medicate ourselves so we do not have to feel. We drink, use drugs, get married, have babies, and in general go through life trying to avoid any negative feelings or disappointment. The problem is that when we stop feeling, we stop being soft enough to really experience life. We just float through life like ghosts, when we are actually called to create change and an impact.
From the moment we put our children into school, age five or six, their teachers, friends and curriculum guide and shape the ways they think, feel and make decisions. Are we really teaching and guiding them well? Or are we creating generations of citizens that only think and care about themselves? Will they search for the truth and risk their lives, as Jonas does, for the good of the community? The Giver explores these themes in depth. High School students should experience literature and media that is going to push and challenge them to ask questions about themselves and the community as a whole.