What would it be like if you lived in a world free of war, fear, or pain? Where everything is perfect and under control? What if you did not have the freedom to make your own choices? What can we learn about the importance of individuality by reading The Giver by Lois Lowry? The dystopian novel follows the life of a young teenage boy, Jonas, and his impact on the area he lives in, called the Community. In the Community, everything is perfect. Jonas’s lives, and all of his community members’, are free of choices. It is free of any memories of the human race’s past, good or bad, except for one person, the Giver. As Jonas grows older, he begins to realize the importance of diversity in life from the Giver, and how his community is not the ‘perfect’
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However, this unfortunately causes him to progressively become depressed around his friends and family due to their obliviousness towards the wonders that diversity brings to our lives. He expresses his frustration about how “That they were satisfied with their lives which had none of the vibrance his own was taking on.” and his inability to affect this “He was angry at himself, that he could not change that for them." (99) Increasingly, Jonas expresses his desire to share his newfound knowledge: "Sometimes I wish they 'd ask for my wisdom more often-there are so many things I could tell them; things I wish they would change. But they don 't want change. Life here is so orderly, so predictable-so painless. It 's what they 've chosen." (103) While life to the people of the Community is full of tedious and predictable events, Jonas comes to realize that the world could be full of colors, vivid in …show more content…
The thought of letting our authorities choose what we do and do not remember about the past would definitely terrify most people. However, the idea is strangely similar to relinquishing any and all rights to freedom of speech one might have, which is the case in some countries even today. Control of essential parts of human nature, like memories, is what emphasises the uniform behavior of the Community. Relating back to the idea of emotional diversity, the Community members lack the knowledge of love. Jonas first discovers the emotion of love through memories that the Giver shows to him: “He felt such love for Asher and for Fiona. But they could not feel it back, without the memories,” (135) Again, without the memories that were robbed from them, members of the Community are blind to numerous things, including
However, this unfortunately causes him to progressively become depressed around his friends and family due to their obliviousness towards the wonders that diversity brings to our lives. He expresses his frustration about how “That they were satisfied with their lives which had none of the vibrance his own was taking on.” and his inability to affect this “He was angry at himself, that he could not change that for them." (99) Increasingly, Jonas expresses his desire to share his newfound knowledge: "Sometimes I wish they 'd ask for my wisdom more often-there are so many things I could tell them; things I wish they would change. But they don 't want change. Life here is so orderly, so predictable-so painless. It 's what they 've chosen." (103) While life to the people of the Community is full of tedious and predictable events, Jonas comes to realize that the world could be full of colors, vivid in …show more content…
The thought of letting our authorities choose what we do and do not remember about the past would definitely terrify most people. However, the idea is strangely similar to relinquishing any and all rights to freedom of speech one might have, which is the case in some countries even today. Control of essential parts of human nature, like memories, is what emphasises the uniform behavior of the Community. Relating back to the idea of emotional diversity, the Community members lack the knowledge of love. Jonas first discovers the emotion of love through memories that the Giver shows to him: “He felt such love for Asher and for Fiona. But they could not feel it back, without the memories,” (135) Again, without the memories that were robbed from them, members of the Community are blind to numerous things, including