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Euthanasia In The Giver

Decent Essays

Lois Lowry’s paradoxical novel The Giver follows Jonas, a young boy living in the safety of his controlling community. Although his community appears to be perfect, it is soon revealed that the people of his community are living meaningless, controlled lives. This is shown as they have lost all compassion and knowledge of the past, there is no individuality in their lives and they do not feel any love. After receiving many memories of the world, Jonas discovers that there is more to his life than what his fellow Community members have been living. “They were satisfied with their lives which had none of the vibrance his own was taking on. And he was angry at himself, that he could not change that for them.” This leads the Community members to live like robots instead of human beings. …show more content…

Although the Community members know of pain, they are incapable of actually understanding tragic concepts such as war, death of loved ones and loneliness. Death has been replaced with the euphemism “release”, better known to us as involuntary euthanasia. Three transgressions, old age, being born a twin or not sleeping well can lead to release. “He killed it! My father killed it! Jonas said to himself.” The Community’s members are so willing to essentially kill each other. This non-existent regard for their own and others’ lives clearly indicates that the Community members’ lives are meaningless. As well as this loss of understanding and empathy, there has been a loss of care for family members. After children move out from their family units, parents are sent to live with the other childless adults, never to see their children again. The loss of memories has contributed to the loss of empathy and care for one another, leading to a meaningless

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