Advantages And Disadvantages Of Conformity In The Giver

Much has been written about the negative side-effects of “Sameness”. Conformity is often portrayed as a big and negative obstacle to individuality, thinking for yourself, and living your life authentically. In the dystopian fiction literature, by Lois Lowry, The Giver, the author strongly believed that individuality is the key to a prosperous society, but many sources say otherwise. The protagonist, Jonas lives in a seemingly utopian society where conformity equates to happiness. At the Ceremony of Twelve, where all twelve-year-old children receive their lifelong job assignments, Jonas is surprised to learn that he has been chosen to be the new Receiver of Memory. The elderly Receiver of Memory acts as a reservoir for all the community's memories of the past and Elsewhere, the rest of the world. The Giver begins transferring his memories to Jonas, showing him snow, love, pain, and color. One day, Jonas …show more content…
They have been concerned with the disadvantages of conforming to lower standards of living—which is one of the dangers of conformity; that we’ll conform to people who influence us with their bad attitudes and behaviors. Other claims from these fields have misunderstood the concept of conformity entirely and seen conformity as something that can be avoided and claimed that it should be at all costs. Well that does not make sense since conformity is inevitable. You conform to the rules in your country, at your office, even rules at your house(like wash your dishes after dinner). Also as Dan Chambliss, a sociologist that researched this phenomenon, explains, “I saw new swimmers join teams that did things a notch or two better than they were used to. Very quickly, the newcomers conformed to the team’s norms and standards.” Conformity can elevate the standards because conformity can make you better because you’re both