A World Can Never be Perfect
Would a society that requires it citizens to be “burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot” (Vonnegut 1) be a Utopian society? The Giver, a novel written by Lois Lowry, introduces Jonas, a Twelve, who lives in an idyllic community where everything is planned out. Jonas, as the Receiver of Memory, experiences the memories the Giver transmits to him. He discovers how wrong his community has been. The community failed when Jonas found out what the community had hidden from its citizens. No matter how secretive and protective a society is, it is always destined to fail. When a society forgets the meaning of a Utopia, they fail to keep their citizens aligned to the same goal and often do not permit their citizens …show more content…
As the Giver planned for Jonas’s escape in The Giver he said,“ … community has to bear the burden themselves, of the memories…they will acquire some wisdom ”(Lowry 194-195). The Giver and Jonas discussed the benefits of memories. The community, on the other hand, did not want to bear the memories, so they selected someone, the Receiver of Memory, to hold it for them. They did not want the citizens to experience the memories of the past. Jonas and the Giver, on the other hand, aimed for something else. They wanted the community to learn and gain more wisdom from the memories for the community to improve. Kurt Vonnegut, author of “Harrison Bergeron” wrote, “Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once” (Vonnegut 4). The society in “Harrison Bergeron” was a society in which no one could be smarter, prettier, or better than others. They government aimed for everyone to be treated equally. Everyone who was above average had to wear handicaps and masks, but Harrison felt that the world was unfair and wanted to rule the world. Utopian societies want all their citizens to be at the same pace, so no one would brag or be jealous of someone else. Unlike the societies discussed in the books, many people in our present day world have new ideas that they feel are innovative. They try to aim for something unrelated to what anyone has ever done before. The people who governed the Utopian societies felt that this will lead to debate and
Would a society that requires it citizens to be “burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot” (Vonnegut 1) be a Utopian society? The Giver, a novel written by Lois Lowry, introduces Jonas, a Twelve, who lives in an idyllic community where everything is planned out. Jonas, as the Receiver of Memory, experiences the memories the Giver transmits to him. He discovers how wrong his community has been. The community failed when Jonas found out what the community had hidden from its citizens. No matter how secretive and protective a society is, it is always destined to fail. When a society forgets the meaning of a Utopia, they fail to keep their citizens aligned to the same goal and often do not permit their citizens …show more content…
As the Giver planned for Jonas’s escape in The Giver he said,“ … community has to bear the burden themselves, of the memories…they will acquire some wisdom ”(Lowry 194-195). The Giver and Jonas discussed the benefits of memories. The community, on the other hand, did not want to bear the memories, so they selected someone, the Receiver of Memory, to hold it for them. They did not want the citizens to experience the memories of the past. Jonas and the Giver, on the other hand, aimed for something else. They wanted the community to learn and gain more wisdom from the memories for the community to improve. Kurt Vonnegut, author of “Harrison Bergeron” wrote, “Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once” (Vonnegut 4). The society in “Harrison Bergeron” was a society in which no one could be smarter, prettier, or better than others. They government aimed for everyone to be treated equally. Everyone who was above average had to wear handicaps and masks, but Harrison felt that the world was unfair and wanted to rule the world. Utopian societies want all their citizens to be at the same pace, so no one would brag or be jealous of someone else. Unlike the societies discussed in the books, many people in our present day world have new ideas that they feel are innovative. They try to aim for something unrelated to what anyone has ever done before. The people who governed the Utopian societies felt that this will lead to debate and