Welcome to the Blog site for Messenger by Lois Lowry. Please enter at least two postings; one is original and the second must be a response to a posting by one of your classmates.
In Messenger by Lois Lowry, I believe that the main character named Matty has made a true difference in his village. He was giving, kind, and a most of all a true friend. During this time period, the Village was in turmoil and Forest was thickening. The Forest is not like regular forests. It has a mind of its own and can hinder of help people that cross through it. Lately, Forest has become evil, strangling people to death and erasing paths. This also links to the village’s chaos. There is an evil presence that is slowly poisoning people and the people are trading their inner selves. They have become corrupted and have shifted to a mean and evil shell of a human. They people have voted for a wall to be built to keep out outsiders. Meanwhile, Matty was assigned to bring back Kira home to her father, Unfortunately, Forest has started to attack them and they are close to death. Leader tries to step in but gets entangled. He sends a last message to Matty saying to release the power he has. Matty did at the cost of his own life. His power spread through the whole earth and healed and cleansed everything. Forest has lost its evil intent and the people have stopped building the wall; they have also been rid of the evil presence and the villagers are once again pure and kind. Matty has truly made a difference as you can see. As it is said by Leader, “The distant sound of keening had begun.” This meant that the forest is becoming whole again. He gave his life to saving all living things and is one example of an individual making a difference in the world.
I can relate to Matty sacrificing himself for the good of his people. However, mine was on a smaller scale. One of my friends forgot their lunch and he kept on asking people. Again and again, he got rejected and I couldn’t bear it anymore. I got up and took him to the café and bought him food. He paid me back and now we have established a routine. We look out for each other and I think that is a real honor to have this connection.
Kevin the point of a post is to share your opinion, not the whole story! I will just say that you should have added how Matty healed forest and all the other people in Village, and that that was even more important than his healing of forest.
When I began to read The Messenger by Lois Lowry, I was already expecting what I would think. I read The Giver and Gathering Blue and I disliked both of them so I had already prepared myself for this book to be not very good. Lois Lowry surprised me however; this book was all right; not great, but okay. The book had more action than the other two books I have read by her, and unlike Gathering Blue it had a few twists, and unpredictable elements. There were a few things that didn’t get tied up that annoyed me a little bit. For example when Matty went to go get Kira, she said that she had learnt things in school, and Matty reflected that this was a new change to the village. When I read that I thought that they were going to talk about some changes in Kira’s village but they did not elaborate. I was also a bit confused by what happened to Mentor, and why he changed and why other people changed and traded away “the deepest part of their soul”. I think a very inspirational quote in this book is “We need his gift now. Our world does.” This the only quote I could find about making a difference in the world, and I think that is what Matty did.
Kevin that was very kind of you to step up and buy lunch to your friend. And if that routine works for you, that’s great. However, I just think of this situation in a different perspective. If nice people like you keep on helping this friend, he will rely on you guys and will his/her independence will not get any better. Yes, this may sound confusing to you. What I mean is that people need to face these rather tragic situations and think of how to solve the problem themselves instead of relying on others. For example, (not to offend anyone) some beggars earn quite a bit of money and they enjoy their lives (although this is very rare). Then they rely on the people who give him/her money instead of trying to improve their life by working hard and getting another job.
I don’t know, I am rather a selfish person and I find it rather unfair when other people get help from others and get something in an easy way when I had to work extremely hard for it, on my own. After reading your post, that thought came back to mind: people should face unfair situations and try to get out of the predicament on their own. But, once again I thought it was very nice of you to buy your friend lunch on that day.
P.S: I am looking forward to reading how Matty sacrifices himself for the Village.
I have only read the first few chapters of this novel, and yes, I am disappointed at Lois Lowry, once again. The plot is too obvious; Matty will open up a path in the Forest or will create a big change in his society, also known as Village. Most likely, there will be a twist towards the end of the book, like any other Lois Lowry book I’ve read, which will not really surprise me; for by the time I am near the end, I would probably assume the twist.
Because I was predicting such a dull, pointless and unclear start to the novel after reading two other novels by Lois Lowry, I wasn’t surprised when the story began with Matty and the blind man having supper. Thank god I had read the previous books I was able to assume who those characters were. However, if I hadn’t read the Giver and Gathering Blue, I wouldn’t have had a single clue about who those people were. These are one of Lois Lowry’s biggest mistakes. Her beginnings are very boring and weak and she never clearly introduces or describes her characters.
Well, my friends who’ve read this book are telling me it’s better than the other novels, so I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book.
By the way, why does Lois Lowry always use the same characters? Did she run out of imagination?
I agree with you Won MO. It is important for people to figure out how to solve their own dilemmas. However from time to time I think it is okay to give people a leg up and some help. I also agree with what you said about people taking the easy way and you worked so hard. It is really unfair and I can sympathize with that.
Won Mo, just a clarification. This doesn't happen on a regular basis. THis only happens if we are in an emergency. However, I appreciate your perspective.
Louise, I totally agree with you. I think that this particular book, Messenger, was better written and told than Gathering Blue and The Giver. I found that it was much less predictable, though not completely unpredictable, and the plot was stronger and better. This book had a little something that made me read on, not just me forcing myself like on Gathering Blue. I agree with you on the fact that Matty made a difference. The quote that you have carefully chosen reflects that. I find that unlike Gathering Blue where the changes are hidden that Messenger showed them a bit more. I liked the way that Matty was a Healer and that he used his “powers” to help his community instead of himself. Even though I found the ending a bit weak, I was a tiny bit surprised when he died for his community. If this particular part was better written it think that it could have been more powerful. What do you guys think? Do you agree or disagree with that? In this book, I found that Matty’s character was much stronger than Kira’s in Gathering Blue and I thought that that helped the book move along smoother. Do you guys agree? Overall I think that Messenger was much more powerful than Gathering Blue but it wasn’t “gold” then again.
Chelsea, I think that Lois Lowry wanted Matty to die dramatically doing something for the world, She wanted the book to have a tragic ending, but instead it kind of failed. I agree with you that matty's character is smoother, he seems more relatable person, someone who is normal, because he is talking about his pet, and the girl he likes.
10 comments:
Messenger
In Messenger by Lois Lowry, I believe that the main character named Matty has made a true difference in his village. He was giving, kind, and a most of all a true friend. During this time period, the Village was in turmoil and Forest was thickening. The Forest is not like regular forests. It has a mind of its own and can hinder of help people that cross through it. Lately, Forest has become evil, strangling people to death and erasing paths. This also links to the village’s chaos. There is an evil presence that is slowly poisoning people and the people are trading their inner selves. They have become corrupted and have shifted to a mean and evil shell of a human. They people have voted for a wall to be built to keep out outsiders. Meanwhile, Matty was assigned to bring back Kira home to her father, Unfortunately, Forest has started to attack them and they are close to death. Leader tries to step in but gets entangled. He sends a last message to Matty saying to release the power he has. Matty did at the cost of his own life. His power spread through the whole earth and healed and cleansed everything. Forest has lost its evil intent and the people have stopped building the wall; they have also been rid of the evil presence and the villagers are once again pure and kind. Matty has truly made a difference as you can see. As it is said by Leader, “The distant sound of keening had begun.” This meant that the forest is becoming whole again. He gave his life to saving all living things and is one example of an individual making a difference in the world.
Add-On for my Comment
I can relate to Matty sacrificing himself for the good of his people. However, mine was on a smaller scale. One of my friends forgot their lunch and he kept on asking people. Again and again, he got rejected and I couldn’t bear it anymore. I got up and took him to the café and bought him food. He paid me back and now we have established a routine. We look out for each other and I think that is a real honor to have this connection.
Kevin the point of a post is to share your opinion, not the whole story! I will just say that you should have added how Matty healed forest and all the other people in Village, and that that was even more important than his healing of forest.
When I began to read The Messenger by Lois Lowry, I was already expecting what I would think. I read The Giver and Gathering Blue and I disliked both of them so I had already prepared myself for this book to be not very good. Lois Lowry surprised me however; this book was all right; not great, but okay. The book had more action than the other two books I have read by her, and unlike Gathering Blue it had a few twists, and unpredictable elements. There were a few things that didn’t get tied up that annoyed me a little bit. For example when Matty went to go get Kira, she said that she had learnt things in school, and Matty reflected that this was a new change to the village. When I read that I thought that they were going to talk about some changes in Kira’s village but they did not elaborate. I was also a bit confused by what happened to Mentor, and why he changed and why other people changed and traded away “the deepest part of their soul”. I think a very inspirational quote in this book is “We need his gift now. Our world does.” This the only quote I could find about making a difference in the world, and I think that is what Matty did.
Response to Kevin’s add-on
Kevin that was very kind of you to step up and buy lunch to your friend. And if that routine works for you, that’s great. However, I just think of this situation in a different perspective. If nice people like you keep on helping this friend, he will rely on you guys and will his/her independence will not get any better. Yes, this may sound confusing to you. What I mean is that people need to face these rather tragic situations and think of how to solve the problem themselves instead of relying on others. For example, (not to offend anyone) some beggars earn quite a bit of money and they enjoy their lives (although this is very rare). Then they rely on the people who give him/her money instead of trying to improve their life by working hard and getting another job.
I don’t know, I am rather a selfish person and I find it rather unfair when other people get help from others and get something in an easy way when I had to work extremely hard for it, on my own. After reading your post, that thought came back to mind: people should face unfair situations and try to get out of the predicament on their own. But, once again I thought it was very nice of you to buy your friend lunch on that day.
P.S: I am looking forward to reading how Matty sacrifices himself for the Village.
Thoughts on The Messenger
I have only read the first few chapters of this novel, and yes, I am disappointed at Lois Lowry, once again. The plot is too obvious; Matty will open up a path in the Forest or will create a big change in his society, also known as Village. Most likely, there will be a twist towards the end of the book, like any other Lois Lowry book I’ve read, which will not really surprise me; for by the time I am near the end, I would probably assume the twist.
Because I was predicting such a dull, pointless and unclear start to the novel after reading two other novels by Lois Lowry, I wasn’t surprised when the story began with Matty and the blind man having supper. Thank god I had read the previous books I was able to assume who those characters were. However, if I hadn’t read the Giver and Gathering Blue, I wouldn’t have had a single clue about who those people were. These are one of Lois Lowry’s biggest mistakes. Her beginnings are very boring and weak and she never clearly introduces or describes her characters.
Well, my friends who’ve read this book are telling me it’s better than the other novels, so I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book.
By the way, why does Lois Lowry always use the same characters? Did she run out of imagination?
I agree with you Won MO. It is important for people to figure out how to solve their own dilemmas. However from time to time I think it is okay to give people a leg up and some help. I also agree with what you said about people taking the easy way and you worked so hard. It is really unfair and I can sympathize with that.
Won Mo, just a clarification. This doesn't happen on a regular basis. THis only happens if we are in an emergency. However, I appreciate your perspective.
Response to Louise
Louise, I totally agree with you. I think that this particular book, Messenger, was better written and told than Gathering Blue and The Giver. I found that it was much less predictable, though not completely unpredictable, and the plot was stronger and better. This book had a little something that made me read on, not just me forcing myself like on Gathering Blue. I agree with you on the fact that Matty made a difference. The quote that you have carefully chosen reflects that. I find that unlike Gathering Blue where the changes are hidden that Messenger showed them a bit more. I liked the way that Matty was a Healer and that he used his “powers” to help his community instead of himself. Even though I found the ending a bit weak, I was a tiny bit surprised when he died for his community. If this particular part was better written it think that it could have been more powerful. What do you guys think? Do you agree or disagree with that? In this book, I found that Matty’s character was much stronger than Kira’s in Gathering Blue and I thought that that helped the book move along smoother. Do you guys agree? Overall I think that Messenger was much more powerful than Gathering Blue but it wasn’t “gold” then again.
Chelsea, I think that Lois Lowry wanted Matty to die dramatically doing something for the world, She wanted the book to have a tragic ending, but instead it kind of failed. I agree with you that matty's character is smoother, he seems more relatable person, someone who is normal, because he is talking about his pet, and the girl he likes.
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