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The Giver Sameness Quotes

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A Closer Look at the Sameness "It wasn't a practical thing, so it became obsolete when we went to the Sameness.” (84) The Giver, by Lois Lowry, is from the perspective of a twelve year old boy named Jonas growing up in a Utopia. At the Ceremony of Twelve, where every person that turns twelve receives their life-long “job”, Jonas finds out he has been selected to be the Receiver of Memory, the most honored of elders. The current Receiver of memory, who Jonas calls the Giver, transfers memories of color and feelings like pain and joy to him. As he receives each memory, he learns of a life outside of the utopia. This book proves that being perfect and the same as everyone else is not as great as it sounds. The Utopian society of sameness in …show more content…

"It was your first Stirrings...you're ready for the pills.'....he swallowed the pill...the feelings had disappeared. The Stirrings were gone." (37-39) This quote shows that there are no feelings in this society. The Elders make the citizens take pills to subdue their feelings. "Love. It was a word and concept new to him." (125) When Jonas is given the memory of love, he interpreted the feeling and repeated the word to himself because he didn’t know the meaning. This is yet another fact that proves the community is unable to progress and move forward if the members do not have feelings. Without feelings, you cannot have empathy. Having empathy is important because it helps us understand what the other person is feeling. People wouldn’t experience the ability to trust, to have human compassion, to have meaningful relationships and there would be a certain loss of …show more content…

Without choices, the people are missing out on important life lessons that can help you in life. People can learn from mistakes, they can learn from consequences. "Asher ran through the standard apology phrase rapidly, still catching his breath." (3) One of the rules in The Giver’s society is that you must apologize each time you break one of them. If someone is given the choice to apologize, they will understand why they apologize and realize their mistake. If they are forced to do it, it becomes worthless and doesn't mean anything. "Two children-one male, one female-to each family unit. It was written very clearly in the rules." (8) Another rule in The Giver’s society is that there is a limit on how many children you can have. In our society, if you want a another child you have the freedom to have another child. Without choices, there are no mistakes and no experiences of consequences. Without these crucial building blocks of society, there is no learning and no self

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