The Giver Vs Pleasantville

Symbols of new beginnings and different meanings In our world, we are surrounded by numerous signs and symbols. Some symbols are gesture’s, some gestures are very important in our world, like hugging. I use a lot of hugging because it's a sign of friendship or love. It is when people give meaning to something. That’s when it has emotions.

In The Giver, Lois Lowry shows that the community has a lack of emotion and colour (both symbolically and literally.) As Jonas receives more and more memories, he sees what real emotions are, for example: Happiness and Sadness. Therefore, their free will to feel emotion has been taken just so that there would be no passion, in which there would protectiveness, which would lead to fighting and chaos. The citizens have lost their free will to express themselves because individuality is supposedly rude and

Utopia, is it as great as we think? With utopia freedoms and choices are lost even if the idea is good in theory. In the Giver the society dims emotions and takes away color to keep every one the same. It also takes away uniqueness. It also happens in “Harrison Bergeron”.

The novel ‘The Giver’, authored by Lois Lowry, and the film ‘Pleasantville’, directed by Gary Ross, share numerous similarities. Many of the themes and messages conveyed throughout both the novel and film are very alike. Some of the various similarities between the themes explored include the concept of colour, denial of true emotions as well as the main character being a harbinger for change.

In the book, The Giver, by Lois Lowry, a young boy named Jonas lives in a community of Sameness, where all memories of color, joy, and sadness have been eliminated from the citizen’s daily lives, and where freedom of choice has been deemed, “definitely not safe”(Lowry 98). Suddenly, though, Jonas’s life spirals out of control when he becomes the Receiver of Memory. He is charged with the job of receiving all past occurrences, both good and bad. Finally, he decides that joy and love are emotions that need to be shared, and flees the community, resulting in the return of the memories. This dystopian setting puts many restrictions on available information, citizens’ personal lives, and changes the way deaths are handled, and is very different from the society in which we live.

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

When I was in eighth grade, I read “The Giver” by Lois Lowry for the very first time. Since the first time I read the book, I have read it three additional times. Since the book was published in 1993, it has sold over ten million copies. It is a required reading in many schools. The story follows a young boy named Jonas through his life in a seemingly utopian society that has eliminated many issues that the modern world now faces. There is no crime, no war, and no poverty. In this world, every individual looks and behaves similarly; the world is seen only in black-and-white, with no color existing. When children turn twelve years old, they receive a job that they will perform for the rest of their lives, until they are eventually “released”

If the citizens in the community were to hold their own memories, it would make The Giver and Jonas receive less stress. They would not have to worry about keeping the pain, joy, melancholy, memories that they get to experience each day a secret. The Giver and Jonas would be able to share what they learn and they would be able to teach others as well. “ The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.” (p.193). The Giver and Jonas would not be the only ones who get to see color and feel love and emotions. They would be able to talk to people about what they discovered or what had happened in their memories. The Giver and Jonas would not be alone.

The outcome of the individual citizens receiving their own memories would make them a stronger human being. If the memory they had gotten was poor or alarming, they would learn from it and not do it again or prevent it from happening. An example was the war memory, “From the distance, Jonas could hear the thud of cannons. Overwhelmed by pain, he lay there in the fearsome stench for hours, listened to the men and animals die, and learned what warfare meant.” (p.151). If the memory was informative, the citizen would be able to learn from it. If they received a joyful memory, they would bring it back to the community and want to make it happen. An example is the Christmas memory, “ Jonas felt joy of it as soon as the memory began.” (p.154). The

Jonas, who is the main character, is born into a society where they are all the same and all know the same information. The citizens have no idea about some of the events in the previous years. Only one person in the community is allowed to have memories; They are called the Receiver. In comparison to a utopian community they have sets of rules, which are similar to laws that we have. These “rules” are ideal in this society, because without them the memory of the people would not be an issue. “Memory is important in society because it contains the knowledge we need in order to live in a world full of surprises.” (Lowry). This phrase the Giver states is very powerful in the minds of people who understand how one’s knowledge can affect life for all

“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared. (Lowry, Goodreads). In other words it’s saying the pain Jonas is feeling is mental and emotional but not physical. The giver is making Jonas feel these memories and they're coming back to his head. And by sharing memories it lets you get help or makes you feel good because people can help you. My Thesis is comparing and contrasting modern day to the Giver.

Life decisions are what shapes you to who you are. If you were told who to marry, how many children to have, where to live, and what job to have really isn’t living is it? In a world of sameness, everything stays the same and does not change. In The Giver, the story is told through a black and white image, that is until Jonas discovers colors. The receiver and the giver have a hard time connecting with the rest of the community due to being able to see what others cannot. “He found that he was often angry, now: irrationally angry at his groupmates, that they were satisfied with their lives which had none of the vibrance his own was taking on (Lowry, 99).” Jonas starts to get frustrated over the fact that no one else cares about being all the

What if a whole community had the absence of color, expect for one twelve-year-old child? According to the novel The Giver written by Lois Lowry, Jonas, the twelve-year-old child, lives in a seemingly ideal, but colorless, community of conformity and contentment. Not until he is assigned, and given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory, as he starts to understand the dark, and complicated secrets behind his community. He begins to recognize various ways in which his community needs color to be more free and happy. Within, the novel Lois Lowry, mentioned a lot of themes that were contributed to Jonas’ ability to see color, and the absence of color in his community. One of the themes that was expressed within the novel was, the

The Giver had once told Jonas "Without wisdom I could not fulfill my function of advising the Committee of Elders when they call upon me." This means that the Receiver of Memory does help the Committee of Elders. The giver had said that his advice comes from his wisdom and his wisdom had come from the memories. Nothing will change for the community for generations to come if the memories are not put back into the community. Relinquishing memories of the past to get rid of the pain for people in the community have made the Receiver of Memories suffer with unbearable pain; this is than not achieving sameness because one person has to bear the pain for all. It is also unfair for one person to have to take in all the

In the community, once you start experiencing feelings for another person, you have to take a pill that takes away those feelings. As Receiver of Memory, you are not allowed to take any medicine. The Giver and Jonas are the only ones in the community that experience these feelings. Being Receiver of Memory allows you to feel love and love is such a strong emotion. The Receiver of Memory makes you realize that the perfect society isn't really so perfect . Love is an amazing feeling and not being able to feel it is horrible, but being as The Receiver of Memory, you are able to experience