Imagine wanting to learn something, but not being able to. Imagine wanting to share something, while being incapable of doing so. Imagine knowing the truth, while others are dying to find it. In a world of complete equality, traits that create human life are removed in order to create a better society. These are your feelings. Your thoughts. Your emotions. All this is gone for the so-called “greater good”. In both The Giver and “Examination Day,” the main characters differ from other citizens within their societies. However, being different is not always a good thing. Lois Lowry and Henry Slesar signify how a world of complete equality is a world without emotions because a world without emotions is a world without humans. Emotions are the main
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They think about what is best for themselves. This idea is seen throughout “Examination Day” when government officials execute innocent children over acceptable intelligence levels. The first time a lack of humanity was shown in the text was when Richard was about to take the test. The man says, “Now just relax Richard. You’ll be asked some questions, and you think them over carefully,”(Slesar 3). This quote demonstrates how the government official administering the test had no trust in Richard. He doesn’t trust Richard, because if Richard lied, the official might lose his job. This is significant because government agents have no trust in fellow citizens because they could be negatively affected by helping citizens. Trust is a trait that each human should have in each other so that their lives can continue peacefully. Another example of where government agents did not have feelings was when the woman called to inform Richard’s parents about his high IQ. “We regret to inform you that his intelligence quotient is above the Government negotiation….”(Slesar 3) the woman told them. This quote is important because it shows how officials aren’t willing to think about what is happening to other people if they do not have to suffer a consequence. This leads to the idea of how not caring for others, is inhumane and so this so called equal world is actually becoming more unequal. Overall, it is …show more content…
While Jonas lived in a community where knowledge about the world was hidden, in “Examination Day”, it was a society in which knowing more costs your life. The community of The Giver did not ever provide the opportunity of learning the truth, as children were ‘contained’ from their birth. Jonas did not want to keep in the knowledge as Receiver of Memories because he was overjoyed by feelings. One of Jonas’ rules “Do not discuss your training with any other member of the community, including parents and Elders” (Lowry 86). This is meaningful because the communities’ only goal of a Receiver was to prevent information from leaking out to the community. Knowledge leads to power, and when Jonas learned about the actual world, he earned the power to change the world. However, in “Examination Day”, the government wanted to annihilate knowledge before it became too widespread, through an intelligence test. This actually means that the government disposes of all intelligent people, in order to prevent a revolt by citizens. The father says, “The Government wants to know how smart you are, Dickie” (Slesar 2). This demonstrates the lack of understanding of the people in the town. The Dad doesn’t know why Dickie, as well as other kids, died because of this test. The government attempt to create equality involves cutting out people who know too much, in order to prevent information from leaking out. It is impossible to create a
They think about what is best for themselves. This idea is seen throughout “Examination Day” when government officials execute innocent children over acceptable intelligence levels. The first time a lack of humanity was shown in the text was when Richard was about to take the test. The man says, “Now just relax Richard. You’ll be asked some questions, and you think them over carefully,”(Slesar 3). This quote demonstrates how the government official administering the test had no trust in Richard. He doesn’t trust Richard, because if Richard lied, the official might lose his job. This is significant because government agents have no trust in fellow citizens because they could be negatively affected by helping citizens. Trust is a trait that each human should have in each other so that their lives can continue peacefully. Another example of where government agents did not have feelings was when the woman called to inform Richard’s parents about his high IQ. “We regret to inform you that his intelligence quotient is above the Government negotiation….”(Slesar 3) the woman told them. This quote is important because it shows how officials aren’t willing to think about what is happening to other people if they do not have to suffer a consequence. This leads to the idea of how not caring for others, is inhumane and so this so called equal world is actually becoming more unequal. Overall, it is …show more content…
While Jonas lived in a community where knowledge about the world was hidden, in “Examination Day”, it was a society in which knowing more costs your life. The community of The Giver did not ever provide the opportunity of learning the truth, as children were ‘contained’ from their birth. Jonas did not want to keep in the knowledge as Receiver of Memories because he was overjoyed by feelings. One of Jonas’ rules “Do not discuss your training with any other member of the community, including parents and Elders” (Lowry 86). This is meaningful because the communities’ only goal of a Receiver was to prevent information from leaking out to the community. Knowledge leads to power, and when Jonas learned about the actual world, he earned the power to change the world. However, in “Examination Day”, the government wanted to annihilate knowledge before it became too widespread, through an intelligence test. This actually means that the government disposes of all intelligent people, in order to prevent a revolt by citizens. The father says, “The Government wants to know how smart you are, Dickie” (Slesar 2). This demonstrates the lack of understanding of the people in the town. The Dad doesn’t know why Dickie, as well as other kids, died because of this test. The government attempt to create equality involves cutting out people who know too much, in order to prevent information from leaking out. It is impossible to create a