The Giver As A Dystopian Society

“Life here is so orderly, so predictable-so painless. It's what they've chosen” (Lowry 103). Imagine a world with no control over who you marry, what your job is, what you wear, or what you get to eat for every meal. This is what it’s like in The Giver by Lois Lowry. The people live in a community that is severely more controlled than ours. We have the freedom to have a pet, have as many kids as you want, and say what you want. The people in The Giver do not have those freedoms. The people in the community don’t even know what love is. In our world love is each individual’s choice, but not in The Giver. In other words, they don’t get to experience the precious parts of life, such has having a wedding and giving birth to your child. No society is perfect, but citizens of every community have an

The Giver is written from the point of view of Jonas. At the beginning of the book Jonas is an eleven-year-old boy living in a futuristic society that got rid of all sorrow, pain, fear, hate and war. Everyone looks and acts almost the same. Everyone is polite and there is no competition. Also the community is not allowed any kind of choices from the moment they were born to the moment they are released. For example, at the age of nine you are given a bike and are not allowed to ride a bike before that age. Also at the age of

The giver follows the life of a young boy named Jonas. In the future, society is different from now, emotions, colour, pain, and liberty are all things of the past, in this alleged dystopian novel. Thorough explanation of this is left out in the novel, what we know is some war or tragedy due to all the emotions, opinions, cultures etc. led to great measures being taken. Thus eliminating all feelings both good and bad, which in turn dehumanized the whole population almost making them in to living robots, just so that the chance of another catastrophe is narrowed down to almost zero. Liberty is merely an illusion in this novel since no choices are made by the people only by the “elders” who aren't explained a lot either

Could you imagine your world in which everything was predetermined for you, and you didn’t have a choice? This is the reality in The Giver by Lois Lowry, the main character Jonas faces these problems and many others as he completes his adventure. Although some may think this to be devastating, this is normal in his society. In the dystopian society conveyed in the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry, there are many similarities and differences to our modern day societies.

Jonas’ community appears to be a utopia, but, in reality, it is a dystopia. The people seem perfectly content to live in an isolated wreck—in a government run by a select few—in which a group of Elders enforces the rules. In Jonas’ community, there is no poverty, starvation, unemployment, lack of housing, or discrimination; everything is perfectly planned to eliminate any problems. However, as the book progresses and Jonas gains insight into what the people have willingly given up—their freedoms and individualities—for the so-called common good of the community, it becomes more and more obvious that the community is a horrible place in which to live. You as a reader can relate to the disbelief and horror that Jonas feels when he realizes

One of the genuine common traits of a true hero is their selfless nature. They give more importance to the well-being of others over their personal self. If it were not for this trait, heroes would not have the desire to help others in need. This quality is portrayed by Jonas to Gabe: “… he forced the memory of warmth into the thin, shivering body in his arms” (Lowry 221). Jonas gives the memories of warmth to Gabe near the end of the book as they were climbing up the hill. He gave the memories to Gabe in order to keep him warm and not let him freeze in the cold weather; he helps Gabe so he doesn’t have to suffer the pain. Jonas proves his selflessness by being more concerned about the well-being of Gabe rather himself. Jonas’s selfless nature also was shown when he volunteers his time to working with the elderly that need help bathing themselves (Lowry 38). Jonas could have volunteered in other areas of the community that are not as uncomfortable as bathing elderly adults, yet he didn’t because it’s not about the appearance of others, it’s about their well-being and needs. If heroes didn’t acquire this trait they would not be able

The Giver shows the ideology of a dystopian theme as it has the citizens being controlled by the authority. Members of the community are being watched by The Community so that they will not perform anything that hurts the population. For example, “”you know that there’s no third-chance”. The rules say that if there is a third transgression, he simply has to be released.” is quote said Jonas’s mother while sharing her experience that day. In this quote The Community is empowered and regulates every community member to be the way they want them to be; perfect. “Attention. A reminder Stirrings must be reported in order for treatment to take place. “”Jonas you HAVE to take your pills!””is another quote in The Giver. In this quote both the Community

Lois Lowry’s The Giver is set in a futuristic, dichotomous society, one that is both utopian and dystopian. In response to the overwhelming destruction and chaos in the world, the Elders have attempted to create and maintain a peaceful and orderly utopia, but this security comes at a price. The citizens of the community have sacrificed their individuality and freedom. Although most adult members have some knowledge of the hypocrisies involved, they choose to perpetuate the deception, allowing the community, as a whole, to continue on blissful ignorance. When young Jonas is confronted with all the truths of the present and all the memories of the past, he must choose for himself

The Giver describes a society in search of perfection, which is a recurring theme in literature. Somebody in Jonas’s society decided that eliminating or limiting choices and feeling, among other things, would ultimately create a perfect place in which to live. By eliminating and/or limiting choices and feelings, the creators were able to implement Sameness, which would then provide a conflict-less environment in which to exist.

Jonas is feeling things that no one in his community has ever felt before. He is beginning to understand that others are missing out on important emotions. He knows that The Giver has already given away most of the memories, and in order to stop the process, he must make a sacrifice in order for his community to be aware of what they are missing. This proves that he is conscious of the fact that his community is not perfect, and the act of staging an accident is a noble, selfless thing to do; something that his perfect peers would not understand. When talking about the harms of banning books and by quoting Lois Lowry, Jennifer Kendall states, “The world portrayed in The Giver is a world where choice has been taken away. It is a frightening world” (Kendall). Kendall makes the point that the Utopian society is not something that people strive for. As a middle-schooled child, it is easy to see that life is not perfect. I feel as if Lowry does a great job in showing the reader that Jonas does understand that his community is not perfect, and he goes to great links to stop the perfection. While there may seem to

Dystopia. A place where everything is imperfect and unpleasant.That's exactly where the main character of the book, The Giver by Lois Lowry, lives. Jonas grows up in a locked community. There is no freedom and the rules are completely insane. Since Jonas is the Receiver Of Memory, he can notice how badly the residents of the community are getting treated. In the book The Giver, the world is a plain dystopia. From extremely strict rules to life of sameness, Jonas lives life through it all.

First of all, I believe The Giver is a dystopia because you have no choices. In document E it states,” If everything’s the same, then there aren’t any choices!” This is significant because in Jonas’s society you have no choices. In document F it states that,” And Gabriel? For Gabriel there would have been no life at all. So there had not really been a choice.” This is significant because if Jonas stayed in the community Gabriel would have died and Jonas could not live with that.

The Giver is a dystopia because they have release. According to document C it reads “This morning we celebrated the release of Roberto,” she told him.” This quote shows that The Giver is a dystopia because it says that they celebrated a release. It shows that they released/ killed an old person. According to document D“To his surprise, his father began very carefully

Lois Lowry’s novel, The Giver, offers a thought provoking, well written story, because it changes the perspective of anyone who dares to read it to. Lowry places her novel, at some point in the future when mankind has gone away with changes and choices in life. She forces readers appreciate, or at least re-think the world they live in today. Her novel presents a fully human created environment where people have successfully blocked out conflict, grief, and individuality. Each person follows the same routine every day. Failure comply with standards, to be different, means death. Jonas, the main character, finds himself trapped in this world.

Jonas lives in a community that is an obvious example of a dystopia. His community is extremely far from perfect. Unfortunately this is what causes community leaders to attempt to resolve these issues in problematic ways. This can unfold into complete control, cruel punishments, and lack of freedom and knowledge.