Son is a 2012 young adult dystopian novel by American author Lois Lowry. The fourth and final book in The Giver Quartet, the story takes place during and after the first book in the series, The Giver. The story follows Claire, the birth mother of Gabriel, who was marked for "release" in The Giver before being taken out of the community by Jonas. Claire, obsessed with finding her son, embarks on a journey out of the community in an attempt to follow and find him. The novel explores themes of love, obligation, sacrifice, and loss. Son received mostly positive reviews from critics. Plot Son is written in three parts, each with a subtitle: Before, Between, and Beyond. Before Before takes place in the same location, "The Community," and at approximately the same time as The Giver. Claire's assigned occupation in the community is Birth Mother by artificial insemination, and her primary responsibility is to give birth. At the beginning of the novel, Claire is nearing the end of her pregnancy. She gives birth to her child at 14, but complications during delivery necessitate birth by Cesarean section. Three weeks after giving birth, Claire reports to the birthing unit office and is reassigned to work at the Fish Hatchery. After she leaves, she inquires after the baby she birthed, and the officer informs her that the baby is healthy and accidentally informs Claire that the child is male and number Thirty-Six in his year. Claire retains curiosity for her son as she begins work at the Fish Hatchery and begins casually volunteering at the infant nurturing center to see him. As she plays with Thirty-Six, she quickly grows to love him, a feeling she finds that she alone experiences. She later realizes that all adult community members take pills that suppress emotions. As a Birth Mother, she was instructed not to take the pills, but the matter was overlooked in her reassignment. Claire is told that Thirty-Six is going "Elsewhere" for his failure to thrive according to the community's standards. Before she can do anything, her son is saved and taken away by Jonas, the protagonist from The Giver. Claire attempts to follow them on a supply boat, but it soon encounters a strong storm and is shipwrecked.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“Shield children from everything false; guard them against worthless music; protect them from obscenity; protect them from false competitions; protect them from affirmation of selfhood. The more so, since it is necessary to inculcate a love for incessant learning. The muscles must not gain the upper hand over mind and heart.”
— Agni Yoga, New Era Community (1926), sect. 116. Reported in Harold Balyoz, Three Remarkable Women (1986), p. 97
“Nothing matters more to a child than a place to call home.”
— Brenda Donald, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Human Resources, "Brenda Donald: Mission possible for Maryland: 1,000 new foster parents by 2010", Examiner.com (5 February 2008)
“If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.”
— Carl Jung, The Integration of the Personality (1939)
“Children appeal to us by a variant of the quality of pathos.”
— Alice Meynell, Children of the Old Masters (Italian School) (London: Duckworth and Co., 1903), "Introductory Note", p. 5
“Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.”
— Thomas Szasz, The Second Sin (1973), Emotions
“The glorified spirit of the infant is as a star to guide the mother to its own blissful clime.”
— Lydia Sigourney, p. 53.

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

Overview

Son is a 2012 young adult dystopian novel by American author Lois Lowry. The fourth and final book in The Giver Quartet, the story takes place during and after the first book in the series, The Giver. The story follows Claire, the birth mother of Gabriel, who was marked for "release" in The Giver before being taken out of the community by Jonas. Claire, obsessed with finding her son, embarks on a journey out of the community in an attempt to follow and find him. The novel explores themes of love, obligation, sacrifice, and loss. Son received mostly positive reviews from critics. Plot Son is written in three parts, each with a subtitle: Before, Between, and Beyond. Before Before takes place in the same location, "The Community," and at approximately the same time as The Giver. Claire's assigned occupation in the community is Birth Mother by artificial insemination, and her primary responsibility is to give birth. At the beginning of the novel, Claire is nearing the end of her pregnancy. She gives birth to her child at 14, but complications during delivery necessitate birth by Cesarean section. Three weeks after giving birth, Claire reports to the birthing unit office and is reassigned to work at the Fish Hatchery. After she leaves, she inquires after the baby she birthed, and the officer informs her that the baby is healthy and accidentally informs Claire that the child is male and number Thirty-Six in his year. Claire retains curiosity for her son as she begins work at the Fish Hatchery and begins casually volunteering at the infant nurturing center to see him. As she plays with Thirty-Six, she quickly grows to love him, a feeling she finds that she alone experiences. She later realizes that all adult community members take pills that suppress emotions. As a Birth Mother, she was instructed not to take the pills, but the matter was overlooked in her reassignment. Claire is told that Thirty-Six is going "Elsewhere" for his failure to thrive according to the community's standards. Before she can do anything, her son is saved and taken away by Jonas, the protagonist from The Giver. Claire attempts to follow them on a supply boat, but it soon encounters a strong storm and is shipwrecked.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Son is a 2012 young adult dystopian novel by American author Lois Lowry. The fourth and final book in The Giver Quartet, the story takes place during and after the first book in the series, The Giver. The story follows Claire, the birth mother of Gabriel, who was marked for "release" in The Giver before being taken out of the community by Jonas. Claire, obsessed with finding her son, embarks on a journey out of the community in an attempt to follow and find him. The novel explores themes of love, obligation, sacrifice, and loss. Son received mostly positive reviews from critics.

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Notable quotes

“Shield children from everything false; guard them against worthless music; protect them from obscenity; protect them from false competitions; protect them from affirmation of selfhood. The more so, since it is necessary to inculcate a love for incessant learning. The muscles must not gain the upper hand over mind and heart.”
— Agni Yoga, New Era Community (1926), sect. 116. Reported in Harold Balyoz, Three Remarkable Women (1986), p. 97
“Nothing matters more to a child than a place to call home.”
— Brenda Donald, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Human Resources, "Brenda Donald: Mission possible for Maryland: 1,000 new foster parents by 2010", Examiner.com (5 February 2008)
“If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.”
— Carl Jung, The Integration of the Personality (1939)
“Children appeal to us by a variant of the quality of pathos.”
— Alice Meynell, Children of the Old Masters (Italian School) (London: Duckworth and Co., 1903), "Introductory Note", p. 5
“Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.”
— Thomas Szasz, The Second Sin (1973), Emotions
“The glorified spirit of the infant is as a star to guide the mother to its own blissful clime.”
— Lydia Sigourney, p. 53.