In a society that appears to be the perfect utopia, would questions as to how it got that way be forbidden; or would mankind be so shielded that they would not see their past as a disputable matter? In “The Giver” (1993), the community that it is set in seems to be this ideal world. There is no crime, no pain, no hate or love. Jonas is a unique Eleven, feeling apprehensive about the Ceremony of Twelves (in which he would be assigned a job that he would do without question, for the duration of his natural life). This community strives for Sameness, a concept that seems to follow those of a strict dictatorship. At the Ceremony, Jonas is selected to be the Community's Receiver—a job that opened his mind to colour, pain and love. With this dystopian
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In this story, each citizen has to receive a specialised pill once their Stirrings (which is a euphemism Lowry uses for "puberty") start. These pills, much like many narcotics available today, simply eradicate primal emotions from the person's mind. They take away the unpleasant feelings, but also the ones essential to humans. Because of this medication, they do not know true pain. They know nothing of love. At the beginning of "The Giver," Jonas is unfamiliar with these concepts. He, much like every other citizen, takes this drug everyday without a second thought; believing that it is something he must do because everyone else does it. When he is assigned his duty as the Community's Receiver, Jonas begins to learn about different emotions that affected the citizens from the past. The reader soon realises that the pills are responsible for the Community's lack of feelings. The civilians do not question this, as it had been that way for their entire lives, "and back and back and back" (page 146). Every citizen's indifference towards their medication represents the majority of the modern world's attitude towards the …show more content…
This movement had caused many a hindrance for the community, such as the inability to see colour or the lack of varied skin tones and the lack of opinion. A real life example of this would be Nazi Germany, which lasted from 1919 to 1938. Adolf Hitler wanted to create a master race, which he called the "Aryans." However, he had to eliminate many different ethnic groups (mainly Jews) and citizens he believed were weak to achieve this. The community in “The Giver,” has accomplished a similar concept with genetic science. Unfortunately, this introduces the aforementioned hindrances. Because all of the community's inhabitants are all the same, they know nothing of choices and free will. At one point in the story, Jonas says that they “really have to protect people from wrong choices” because it would be “much safer” (page 128), but this would prevent people from learning from their mistakes. They would simply have to rely on the Receiver's knowledge of past errors. The council that runs the community (a metaphorical Hitler, if you will) only calls on the Receiver of Memory for this reason. They are the people responsible for how their society is run, though they might not be held accountable for the concept of Sameness; because they would not question something that had been a part of their lives for as long as anyone could remember. However, who could they truly
In this story, each citizen has to receive a specialised pill once their Stirrings (which is a euphemism Lowry uses for "puberty") start. These pills, much like many narcotics available today, simply eradicate primal emotions from the person's mind. They take away the unpleasant feelings, but also the ones essential to humans. Because of this medication, they do not know true pain. They know nothing of love. At the beginning of "The Giver," Jonas is unfamiliar with these concepts. He, much like every other citizen, takes this drug everyday without a second thought; believing that it is something he must do because everyone else does it. When he is assigned his duty as the Community's Receiver, Jonas begins to learn about different emotions that affected the citizens from the past. The reader soon realises that the pills are responsible for the Community's lack of feelings. The civilians do not question this, as it had been that way for their entire lives, "and back and back and back" (page 146). Every citizen's indifference towards their medication represents the majority of the modern world's attitude towards the …show more content…
This movement had caused many a hindrance for the community, such as the inability to see colour or the lack of varied skin tones and the lack of opinion. A real life example of this would be Nazi Germany, which lasted from 1919 to 1938. Adolf Hitler wanted to create a master race, which he called the "Aryans." However, he had to eliminate many different ethnic groups (mainly Jews) and citizens he believed were weak to achieve this. The community in “The Giver,” has accomplished a similar concept with genetic science. Unfortunately, this introduces the aforementioned hindrances. Because all of the community's inhabitants are all the same, they know nothing of choices and free will. At one point in the story, Jonas says that they “really have to protect people from wrong choices” because it would be “much safer” (page 128), but this would prevent people from learning from their mistakes. They would simply have to rely on the Receiver's knowledge of past errors. The council that runs the community (a metaphorical Hitler, if you will) only calls on the Receiver of Memory for this reason. They are the people responsible for how their society is run, though they might not be held accountable for the concept of Sameness; because they would not question something that had been a part of their lives for as long as anyone could remember. However, who could they truly