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What is the job of the Birthmother like in The Giver?

The job of Birthmother in The Giver, we are told, sounds pleasant at first. They are expected to have the babies for the community. They are very well-fed, expected to exercise only very gently, and are able to have fun while they are awaiting the births of the babies, entertaining themselves with games and other amusements.


But when they are done having the requisite three babies, they become Laborers, and they must do "hard physical labor" (Lowry 22) until they are too old to do so any longer, and then they are taken to the House of the Old. Lily thinks she would like to be a Birthmother, but Lily's mother says "There's very little honor in that Assignment" (21).


It is interesting to note what Lily's mother says because the community seems to be based on sameness and an implied equality, but this passage suggests that there is a kind of hierarchy in the community nevertheless. Some assignments are clearly more honorable than others. There is an implication that being a Birthmother requires youth and good health, but little more, as does being a Laborer, so this is akin, in our society, to unskilled labor, which people in our own society often look down upon, too.

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