An Analysis of the Book Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry

Gathering Blue Book Report

The book Gathering Blue tells a story about a dystopian society that is completely different than what is known today. It is a story of control, acceptance, power, and deception. The author, Lois Lowry, portrays a complex story through a simple plot and has created a book that you can read twice and hear two different stories. Gathering Blue is a science fiction novel that was published in 2000 by Dell Laurel-Leaf in New York City.

Kira is the protagonist of the book, along with a few other semi-main characters like Matt, a young boy that befriends Kira.

Another significant character in the book is Thomas, a boy around the same age as Kira that becomes her companion and empathizes with her situation. A few minor characters in the story are Annabella, an old woman, Jamison, Kara's guardian, Jo, a young girl taken from her family to live with Kira and Thomas, and Christopher, Kira's long lost father.

Get quality help now

Marrie pro writer

Verified writer

Proficient in: Free Essays

5 (204)

“ She followed all my directions. It was really easy to contact her and respond very fast as well. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

The people in Kira's village measure age by syllables in a name. As a person grows older, more syllables are added to their name. Kira is a young girl at two syllables that is an extremely gifted weaver that was born with a twisted, crippled leg. In the beginning of the story, Kira's mother dies and Kira's home is destroyed in order to eliminate possibilities of spreading the illness. Kira has no family because her father died when she was young. The village women are no longer accepting of her and the issue of dispelling Kira from their village is brought to the Council of Guardians that are the enforcers of law in the society.

The Council decides Kira's talents as a weaver are useful and they bring her to live in the Council Edifice. Kira's new job is to repair the Singers robe. She was also there to finish the robe and tell the future that the Council wanted. The Singer is a person tells a story through song that lasts many hours. The Singer sings every year at the Gathering with all the people of the village as the audience. A young girl named Jo also lives in the Council Edifice and is to become the new Singer some day.

In the primitive society that Kira lives in, there are no stores with manufactured goods so she had to learn to dye plain threads so she could repair the robe. An old woman of four syllables named Annabella was her mentor and taught her all she knew about dyes. The one color that they could not make was blue. The plant that made it didn't grow where they lived. Kira's little friend Matt knew that Kira wanted blue so he went on an adventure to find it for her. He brought back with him something that would change Kira's life forever. Kira's father, Christopher, was alive and in the village to visit Kira. Before Kira was born, he was killed by beasts when hunting, but that story was obviously false. He told Kira that a man had attacked him because of conflicts of greed and power. The attacker was Jamison, Kira's guardian and trusted influence. Christopher was left to die but that night he was taken by people to another village where his wounds were treated. No one ever knew there was another village or other people. All the people cast out and exiled because of imperfections, cripples, injuries, and disease had been taken there and helped. Kira knew she wanted to go back with her father but in the end she decided to stay and finish the robe. She needed to change the future by finishing the robe with what she thought should go there. She could prevent the council from using it for evil and creating a future that was not ideal for the people.

Kira stayed with Thomas the Carver of the Singer's staff, Jo the Singer to be, and the council, including Jamison, the man who tried to kill her father. Kira stayed to try to convince Thomas to help her change the future because they both had the opportunity to decide what was to come. This wasn't in the book but I also think that Kira stayed to protect Jo, who was only one syllable old and alone in the world.

Lois Lowry wrote Gathering Blue well and I enjoyed reading it. This is the type of book that is good for any age because it is simply written. There are many details in the story that would be significant to a more experienced ready but without these details, the story is still entertaining. It is also the type of book you could read twice and you would notice other information that you missed before. Noticing this could change the whole dynamic of the story and make it interesting even the second time through.

Gathering Blue taught me many things. From this book I learned about courage. When Kira's mother died, she was alone and had no home but she didn't give up on hope. When Kira knew the only person she had trusted, Jamison, was not her ally and she could have left with the protection of her father, she didn't. Kira did what she knew was best for everyone, not safest for her. I also learned about the affects of power and control. There were many hints in the book that the Council/Government was creating illusions that were to control and keep power over the people. For example, the people were warned not to go into the woods or outside the village because of “beasts”;

s, after reading the book, that there were no beasts. Annabella, Kira's mentor, was the first to suggest this, and when Kira told Jamison about what Annabella said, the mentor was suddenly dead the next day. One could assume that this was a way for the Council to keep people from leaving the village or expanding. Overall, the novel has many lessons embedded in the story.