Gathering Blue Analysis

Gathering Blue… “Captivating quest tale pits gifted girl against brutal odds”. This is one of the very many reviews for the enticing novel Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. Throughout this novel there were times where comparison to our society (Canada) came into action. There were also a lot of things mentioned that are very similar to Canada. The main ways that these compare and contrasts were found is through the viewing points of freedom, government and religion. Imagine waking up in the morning having to abide by one person's rules and regulations. Imagine not being able to think for yourself. Having every move you make be based on someone else's opinions. Canadians don’t know how this feels as in Canada the blessing of freedom is provided …show more content…
This all because of Religion. Depending on what society you go to Religion is celebrated differently. In our society there are many who are in religious practices and there are others who don’t believe in religion. Yet in Kira's society everyone is forced to participate in it this referred to as “The Gathering”. Which is pretty much what we consider a church. People come together to sing and listen to what the singer or in our case the priest has to say. In Kira's society what the say singer has to say is known as “The Ruin Song “. The only major difference is this Gathering only happens once a year. “Every year our village gathers to hear the ruin song”. I also believe that there religion is fear. “Fear was always a part of life for the people. Because of fear, they made shelter and found food and grew things. For the same reason, weapons were stored, waiting. There was fear of cold, of sickness and hunger. There was fear of beasts.” This quote is of course referring to Kira's village where fear runs their lives. I’d also say that there society's religion is also using people for their own needs. They use the children's talents to benefit the community they live in and they keep these children as captives. For example, Kira’s threading or Jo’s singing. “The guardians with their stern faces had no creative power. But they had strength and cunning, and they had found a way to steal and harness other people's powers for their own needs. They were forcing the children to describe the future they wanted, not the one that could be.” According to what Kira’s society is living on I definitely believe they need to fix or enhance their ways. Fear, lies and deceit are ruling these people's lives. Canada's religion should be an example for what theirs should look. In Canada there is suppose to be no judgement as you're allowed to profess any faith you would