What do you think the theme in The Giver is concerning memories? Give examples from the book where this theme is developed.

For me, the theme of memory in The Giver is that memory is what makes us fully human and connects us to one another through time and space. This theme resounds throughout the entire novel.

The only memories that exist in this community are those of the people's own lifetimes, and these are memories that are of Sameness, fully cut off from any emotional resonance.  This is useful, to be sure, since children will learn...

For me, the theme of memory in The Giver is that memory is what makes us fully human and connects us to one another through time and space. This theme resounds throughout the entire novel.

The only memories that exist in this community are those of the people's own lifetimes, and these are memories that are of Sameness, fully cut off from any emotional resonance.  This is useful, to be sure, since children will learn not stick their fingers into sockets and adults will remember how to get from point A to point B. 

But the denizens of this community are completely missing out on the experiences of those who have gone before them, the collective wisdom of time, which is formed of memories.  This means they lack the ability to deal with anything outside their own limited and unemotional experiences and must call upon the Giver to help them.  In one instance, the people of the community consulted the Giver when they wanted to shoot down a stray plane. The Giver advised them not to, drawing on a memory of mass destruction resulting from a similar overreaction.  A people that has no memory of history is going to make grievous and possibly fatal errors. 

As Jonas gains each memory from the Giver, he becomes more fully human and is able to see the powerful advantages of memory. This is brought home in the scene in which he is given the memory of Christmas, with a regular family, including grandparents and love.  He sees a world in which people are "a little more complete" (126), as the Giver says.  This is the emotional aspect of memory that the people of the community have been deprived of. Imagine having been loved and not having the memory of that love.  What a sad world it would be. Depriving the people of these memories, though, is a means of controlling them, since they have no idea they could be living in a better world.

The theme of memory is not all rosy, though, since memories can be painful, as we see when Jonas learns of war.  To have memory means having memories of pain, of disappointment, of anger, or envy.  These have been taken away to spare the people of the community these agonies. 

But the Giver and finally Jonas come to realize that there is no true humanity or community without memory, no matter how painful it might be.  As Jonas prepares to leave the community for Elsewhere, the Giver says his work will be finished "when I have helped the community to change and become whole" (161). Memory makes us whole, and its absence makes us less than fully human.