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Examples Of Dehumanization In The Giver

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The human race has assembled into civilization since the beginning of time. Throughout their existence, humans have naturally adapted to the environment in which they were residing. They began to form a structure within the society they created. This system included: leaders, a council, and family units. The novel, The Giver, featured dehumanization brought about by the government on to its members. Numerous, basic rights were taken away from citizens in an attempt to form a more perfect world. The Community that the characters of The Giver belong to is constructed to eliminate differences, irregularities, choices, emotions, and colors. This is called Sameness. Everyone looks similar; the weather is always sunny and a constant temperature; members have no choice of what to eat or wear; their emotions are reduced to simple feelings, and they are required to share them with their family units each night. They also only see in black-and-white. Additionally, the Elders, the leaders of the Community, take away the memories of the citizens, forcing one person, called the Receiver of Memory, to contain all memories of the past. These leaders believe that having no choices is better than having the possibility of making a wrong choice. In The Giver one example of mechanistic dehumanization or treating people as …show more content…

It is horrific to kill innocent people and to lie to an entire community about what is occurring. The Council of Elders initiates this "release" to undeveloped infants, criminals, and the elderly. A celebration of life is conducted for the Old before they walk through a door and are released to Elsewhere, which is said to be a wonderful place, not murder. This is an unacceptable way to lead a community and dehumanizes citizens by executing them as well as depriving them of the knowledge of what is really taking

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