The community in Messenger by Lois Lowry lives in Village. In the beginning of Messenger, Village is a place where the differences among people are accepted. The community has grown by accepting those who were not accepted by their former communities. Even though this is a community that accepts differences there are still hard times. Some hard things that are happening are happening at the Trade Mart.
At the Trade Mart, Mentor is trying to trade for the stocktender’s widow. This is an injustice because he is trading for a person. It’s not right and there are laws against trading for people. Mentor is trying to trade for the widow because he is lonely, but that doesn’t justify the right to trade for a person. He is trading his deepest self trait, which is his kindness, that’s what makes him a good teacher. Even though his kindness may be his deepest trait it is not right to trade for a person. There is nothing that is enough to trade for a person.
The Mentor also faced an injustice; prejudice because of his physical appearance. He had a birthmark on his face, was going bald and walked with stooped shoulders. The stocktender’s widow made fun of the way he walked by imitating him. This was unfair especially in this community because it set up to be a community which accepted people’s differences.
If the Mentor gets his way and the wall is built to close the community to newcomers forever the people of Village will face injustice. The people of the village will lose out on what Village has thrived on for years: the acceptance of the difference in others. Village will become like the community of The Giver. There will be no people with differences.
Messenger represents the real world, having people with many differences. It also sets an example for us of how we should live, together as one group. Since no two people are alike we all have differences and the Stocktender’s widow reminds us of prejudice we can all face. Being a member of Village community acknowledges the differences in all of us and Village should not close itself to newcomers who are also looking to live with diversity.
