The way of imagination

       We have forgotten who we are.   Westerners find themselves, to take a first analogy, in the situation of G.K. Chesterton’s (hypothetical) boy whose home is built upon the image of one of the White Horses of Wessex and doesn’t realize it because he lives too close to the horse, indeed, within it.   Only by distancing himself from his hill-side cottage can this boy turn around and realize where his entire life has been spent.   “I think”, says Chesterton, “that is a true picture of the progress of any really independent intelligence today; and that is the point of [ The Everlasting Man ]”. [1]   A second comparison would be to liken ourselves to those denizens of the community from which Jonas must escape in Lois Lowry’s 1993 novel [2] The Giver .   This community has managed to insulate itself against all forms of pain, even the pain of history.   However, by engaging in an effort of “collective amnesia”, they have lost the best p...

     Do you remember what it was like to be a teenager?   To be full of idealism, dreams and a (slightly) arrogant attitude of “I know better”?   Some people never “outgrow” these dangerous yet invaluable tendencies.   In her Giver quartet, Lois Lowry [1] ’s protagonists are all either about to enter or are beginning their teen years.   Also, they all find themselves at odds with the communities of which they are a part.   They are all compelled to “rebel” against the received wisdom of the “elders” and the “rules” of their respective communities and sometimes, even run away.   Lowry’s protagonists all desire and imagine a better future, one that will break with the oppressive nature of their present experience as well as the long-standing “traditions” of their communities which, they come to realize, are not conducive to human flourishing.   In this way, Lowry’s young heroes resemble prophets and apostles – i.e. they dare to criti...