Chapter 19, 20, and 21/review

The Messenger was a wonderful story, which is why I am not going to tell the ending. I recommended you read this book. There are many messages and lessons exampled by the characters.

Leader said that your gifts are your greatest weapon. I think that is one of the lessons that Lois Lowry was trying to get across. Throughout the story everyone was getting meaner and did not care for others because of trade. I believe that she is trying to say that, in our world people are getting to greedy and are not caring as much for each other because of money and things like that.

The only other book I have read by Lois Lowry was The Giver. I enjoyed the Messenger better than The Giver. I think the Messenger has a better ending. The Giver ends with the main character, Jonas, trying to find a better place to live, riding on a red sleigh in the snow. the author let's the reader decide whether or not he makes it. Well, in the Messenger, Lois Lowry makes it clear that Jonas did make it because Leader, whose name is Jonas, founded Village, traveling on a red sleigh. Both Jonas in The Giver and Jonas in the Messenger have the gift to "see beyond".

Messenger: Chapter 17 and 18

In chapter seventeen, forest was getting even more hostile. they both were in agony. They were finding it hard to breath; the air was thick and smelled horrible. Even Frolic was choking. In addition, they had run out of water and every stream was filled with brown muck so they were thirsty. Matty was starting to suspect that Forest was starting to give them warnings. Kira used her gift and saw that there was a bit of hope; she saw that Leader had entered Forest. Their hope faded, though, when they realized that Leader would never find them.
Seer had got some hope when Leader went to save them. Like Matty and Kira, his had disappeared .

Messenger: Chapter 15 and 16

In Chapter fifteen, Matty and Kira left there old home and entered Forest. Matty did not tell Kira, but he felt worried. Forest seemed darker and less inviting. In the middle of the chapter, Lois Lowry switched and narrated what was happening in Village. Kira was right; the Villagers were starting to pile the logs high to form a wall. Leader used his gift and saw that they had started towards Village. Seer was relieved to here that they were traveling back. What Leader did not tell Seer was that he also saw that "Forest was shifting, thickening, moving and preparing to destroy them."
In chapter sixteen, Matty, Kira and Frolic continued there journey. The first day, Forest had injured Kira by poking her with vines which made her feet bleed. By the second day her feet were fine, but Forest was now attacking Matty. Forest covered the paths and burnt his arms with sap from vines. By the middle of the second day, Matty was tired, aching and in pain.

Messenger: Chapter 13 and 14

Matty went to a village where not only the blind man's daughter, Kira, lived, but, before he came to Village, he lived, also. The day before they both were going to travel back to Village, Matty rested and Kira gathered her belongings and more food. Matty found out what Kira's gift was. Like Matty, her gift was in her hands. She nit a tapestry that showed the future. The tapestry showed that the people were already starting to build the wall in front of Village, therefore the border would be closed. Matty then showed Kira his gift of healing, and offered to fix Kira's crippled leg so they could travel faster. Kira said no; her leg was part of who she was.

Messenger: Chapter 11 and 12

In chapter eleven, Matty went to Leader to get the messages that he would deliver to the other communities. While there, Leader used his gift of seeing beyond to see through Forest, to find Kira. Leader found that Forest was "thickening" and becoming dangerous, even for Matty. Leader then said that he knew of Matty's gift, but did not know what it was. He told Matty to use it wisely and not waste it.
In chapter twelve, Matty began his journey only with his dog, Frolic. On the fourth night, he ran out of food. He was not at all worried though, because there were plenty wild berries, nuts and fish. Soon, Matty realized what Leader meant by "thickening". Forest was becoming darker and it smelled. The branches and logs that Matty used to sit on and use were decaying and crumbled when used. Even the fish were slower to bite at the hooks and the animal were fiercer.

Messenger: Chapter 9 and 10

In chapter nine and ten of Messenger, Matty went to the meeting, where the people of Village would vote to close or not to close the border. Matty and the few others who seemed not to have traded before were very disappointed and sad to here that the overall vote was to close the border in three weeks. Seer told Matty to bring his daughter, Kira, from another community before the border closes. Therefor, Matty decided to leave the next day.

Messenger: Chapter 7 and 8

In chapter seven, Matty attended the Trade Mart. Seer said that it was very different than when he went; when Seer went, everyone was light spirited and were happy. During Matty's visit, everyone was very tense and they came empty handed, even those who were trading. The Trademaster asked the people two questions. The first question was, "Trade for what?", which the people answered loudly. people answered the second question in a whisper, which the Trademaster copied in a book. The second question was, "Trade away what?".
When Matty was finished telling Seer about his experience, Seer asked if Matty had noticed anything different about the people who had traded. When Matty thought about it, he realized that the lady who had traded for a gaming machine had changed. The lady was always very nurturing and kind to her crippled husband who was very slow. However, that night after she traded, she snapped at him for being slow.
In chapter eight, when Matty was going to pick up his puppy from Jean, she seemed troubled. When Matty asked what the matter was, Jean said that her father, Mentor (Matty's teacher), traded his "deepest self" for a woman. She said that he was getting taller, straighter, growing hair in his bald spot and his birthmark had disappeared completely. He became less patient, too. Mentor kicked the rascal of a puppy very hard, who he would normally enjoy taming. Mentor used to always welcome new ones, but now he wants to close the border and not let anyone in.
When Matty went to Leader, he told him abou his experience at the Trademart and about Jean and her father. During that visit, Leader gave the puppy his name: Frolic.

Messenger: Chapter 5 and 6

Matty went over to his school teacher's house to visit his flirtatious daughter, Jean. Jean promised Matty that he could have one of her dog's puppies. When he went over, though, he found that they were all very ill. When he bent down to pet one, he found pain shooting through his arm to the rest of his body. When he touched the puppy again, it still hurt, but as he kept his hand on the dog, the puppy was healing. Soon, he cured all the sick puppies. However, the problem was that the process took energy out of him. He felt so tired, he could barely walk home. This reminded him of the frog. I found that the frog was injured and was going to die. When he picked the frog up, he unintentionally healed it . He also felt weak after that.
In chapter six, new ones arrived at Village. New ones are what they call people who first come to Village. When they came to the entrance, people from Village gathered around them and welcomed them, like they usually do. However, this time, a group of protesters, led by mentor the teacher. They were saying not to let them in. Leader quieted them.
When Matty saw Mentor, he looked different. He thought about what Leader said to him about the trading and Mentor. Matty thought Mentors scar was lighter and he was taller. He soon came to the conclusion that Mentor just got tanner so his scar was less noticeable and he did not slouch, then, which made him look taller.
Matty decided that he would go to the next Trade Mart. Seer let him so long as he did not trade anything; he would just watch and listen. Seer also said that the Trade Mart used to not hold any secrets. Now, from listening t gossip, they do.

Messenger: chapters 3 and 4

Chapter three is about trading. In Village, trading was taken very seriously. So far, people have no money to by things, instead they trade for things they need. Matty wanted to attend one of the Trade Marts, but Seer said he was too young and "it would be to painful." That could mean the temptation could be to painful. Or, it could mean something else.
Also, in chapter three, Matty recalled a memory when he first came to Village. It explained some rules. One was that there were absolutely no secrets in Village, so everyone should be honest. This rule interferes with the event with the frog because he has not told anyone abut it, therefore a secret.
In chapter four, it goes on with some regulations of Village. The town leader, Jonas, called Matty to meet him. Jonas wanted him to deliver a message. Matty was the "unofficial" messenger since he was so good at traveling in and out of Forest. Matty could not be the "official" messenger because he was not old enough. The message was about closing the border, or not letting anyone in Village. This came as a surprise to Matty because Village was formed for people who were escaping poverty and cruelty.

Messenger: chapters 1 and 2

The author, Lois Lowry, began the Messenger with an inner dialog from Matty, the main character. Matty was very impatient during dinner with Seer, the blind man that he lived with. He had something very important to do. The author did not tell the reader what that was. She told about an incident when Matty was visiting Forest, and he saw an unusual frog. The author said that the frog was marked, which made it complicated. Matty's life would be easier if the frog wasn't marked, or at least if he did not know it was marked.
Lois Lowry introduced an important setting in the first chapter, Forest. Everyone in their community, Village, was afraid of Forest. So far, the difference between a forest in the real world and Forest in Messenger is that Forest has a mind. It is very dangerous, too. Forest will give you a Warning, or an image of a horrible incident, in your head. If you get a Warning, Forest is telling you that you cannot come back again-unless you want to die.