The Giver: Utopia or Dystopia? In your opinion do you think The Giver society is a utopian or dystopian society? The author of The Giver is Lois Lowry, her inspiration to write the book was her dad. Lois’s dad had forgotten all the painful memories because he was sick and forgot all the painful memories and that made Lois wonder what a world would be like where people had all the painful memories were taken away. Jonas and The Giver are two important characters in this story. The Giver is someone who transmits the memories and passes them on to the Receiver of Memory which is Jonas. Jonas’s community is dystopia because only two people are able to have the memories, lives are taken away from people with no choice (released) and also only …show more content…
In document d “release” it states that Jonas’s father’s job is to choose between one of the baby twins that are newborn and one of them has to be released in order to keep the community small. Some evidence from document d says “As he continued to watch, the new child, no longer crying, moved his arms and legs in a jerking motion. Then he went limp. His head fell to the side, his eyes half open.” This shows that one a twin baby was killed even if the community doesn't see “release” as murder. Jonas’s community is dystopia because it releases one of the twin babies lifes without them having to do anything because in the community they say one baby is always ready for the community also one is always stronger than the other. The babies have no fault of being born the have no choice. Us we see it as murder because being release is letting someone go and murder is defined as when you decide to kill someone or inject them without the person agreeing to it. The weather, Jonas’s community is always sunny and perfect skies they do not see rain or thunder happen like in a regular community. I believe its not fair that the weather is arranged …show more content…
This is dystopia because if it would be a perfect society then everyone would be treated equally and they would know what it's like to have memories. In document b “that burden” it states that Jonas and The Giver have to bear themselves so much and they spend so much time together and if the memories were shared with people then they wouldn’t have to bear so much and they wouldn’t have to worry about the memories. This document talks about how even Jonas and The Giver do not agree with the memories being taken away from the other members of the community. In order for Jonas to receive the memories sometimes we will have to deal with pain so he can feel the experience of the memory. The community members aren’t able to have feelings they have no emotion and don’t know what pain feels like. Jonas is not able to share the memories with any friends or unit family members and he has to deal with the fact that his friends and his family unit always ask him and he has t lie to them tellings them that they just walk all the time and he learns new
Jonas’ community appears to be a utopia, but, in reality, it is a dystopia. The people seem perfectly content to live in an isolated wreck—in a government run by a select few—in which a group of Elders enforces the rules. In Jonas’ community, there is no poverty, starvation, unemployment, lack of housing, or discrimination; everything is perfectly planned to eliminate any problems. However, as the book progresses and Jonas gains insight into what the people have willingly given up—their freedoms and individualities—for the so-called common good of the community, it becomes more and more obvious that the community is a horrible place in which to live. You as a reader can relate to the disbelief and horror that Jonas feels when he realizes
The Giver is considered as a dystopian society because everyone is under the illusion that there is freedom. An example of this is when the text states, “you're ready for the pills, that's all. That’s the treatment for the stirrings.” They can't even have independent thoughts. Medication is given to prevent
If the citizens in the community were to hold their own memories, it would make The Giver and Jonas receive less stress. They would not have to worry about keeping the pain, joy, melancholy, memories that they get to experience each day a secret. The Giver and Jonas would be able to share what they learn and they would be able to teach others as well. “ The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.” (p.193). The Giver and Jonas would not be the only ones who get to see color and feel love and emotions. They would be able to talk to people about what they discovered or what had happened in their memories. The Giver and Jonas would not be alone.
It can be seen as a dystopia because one document talks about release while the other Jonas is watching a release and I don’t think that it is fair how they take the lives of young children and the take the lives of elderly people, but I think the worse part is that the committee of elders hides death from the community. “ ‘You should have seen the look on his face when they let him go.’ Jonas slowed the strokes of his hand on her back thoughtfully. ‘Larissa,’ he asked, ‘what happens when they make the actual release? Where exactly did Roberto go?’ She lifted her bare wet shoulders in a small shrug. ‘I don't know’ ” This quote shows how elderly people are “released” or in other words killed because the committee of elders think that they have lived long enough and that it is time for the next generation. Another quote that is about “release” is “Now he cleans him up and makes him comfy, Jonas said to himself, aware that The Giver didn’t want to talk during the little ceremony. As he continued to watch, the new child, no longer crying, moved his arms and legs in a jerking motion. Then he went limp. His head fell to the side, his eyes half open. Then he was still … Jonas stared at the screen, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did. The little twin lay motionless.” In this scene, Jonas’s dad releases a twin because the committee of elders thinks that they should all be different. As you can
Is Jonas’s community a perfect place to live in, or is a “nightmare” or a not so perfect place to live in? In The Giver, Jonas’s community is a dystopia due to utopian characteristics, dystopian characteristics, and dystopian exceptions. Firstly, I will be
The dystopian novel, The Giver by Lois Lowry is about a boy called Jonas becoming the new Receiver-of-Memories. Throughout the novel, the protagonist, Jonas matures as knowledge is gained, and begins to understand the deepest, and darkest secrets of the community he lives in that is seemly 'perfect'. The author has successfully analysed a variety of social issues present in today's modern world in the novel. Some issues implied are: lack of individuality which allows for easy control, the abandonment of emotions and the importance of memories.
A utopian society is to be though of perfect or idealistic. The charcters in the book have no feelings, no choices, and no memories other thhan their own life. The Giver and Jonas are the only two with memories since their job is to be the holder of them and Jonas stops taking his medication to no longer interfearing with his body that gives him feelings. All others do not have any emotional attachments. The community decides all of your life’s plan. They choose your spose, your career, and you are not able to have your own children. If you want children you have to apply and a child will be given to you if you are accepted. The Giver and Jonas are the only ones with memories from the past that go back hundreds before the community was a utopian societ and other communities and how they live. The only memories the people in the community are allowed to have are their own lives but thneir lives are controlled by the committee of elders. This give the people of the community teh benefit of never feeling pain but they have no freedom which is almost as if they live in a comunity with a dictatorship.
In this story a young boy named Jonas becomes the next receiver within his utopian society. The Giver takes place in a society with the government having a totalitarianistic approach to life where the Committee of Elders is in control. The society is like a heaven on earth; referring to the Garden of Eden from the religious perspective. At first look, The Giver is displayed as the perfect utopian society upon further inspection it is identified as rather a dystopian
President Ronald Reagan once said that,”Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in our bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and passed down for them to do the same.” President Reagan would have been miserable living in the world as it is portrayed in “The Giver” by Lois Lowry. In the book there has been a utopian community built for people so that they have no freedom and no individual thoughts. Everyone is exactly the same. Everyone takes a daily pill which eliminates any memories, pain or stress. The protagonist named Jonas is chosen to receive all the worlds memories and figures out that everyone he loves has no feelings or independence. He decides to risk everything
In Lois Lowry’s The Giver, the biggest flaw in Jonas’s community is their awful idea of hiding the past from the citizens to create an unreasonable world with no disappointments. They almost never admit that a mistake had been made, and they wiped away memories of the past, like war.
Would you want to live in a perfect society? Where you never go hungry or feel pain? Then you should live in Jonas’s society. Jonas’s society and the American Society have different way of life; however, also has some similarities. Jonas’s society has limited freedom and is controlled by the government, while our society has full freedom and doesn’t depend entirely on the government.
You could argue that this book is a dystopia because they aren’t free and can’t make their own choice but the problem is a lot of the time we choose wrong and it affects our whole life. For example, what happens if someone choose to not go to college and end up working at a fast food restaurant for half of their life. Then they can’t support their family if they were even lucky enough to have one without a descent job and they could end up going to college when their 40 or 50 trying to get a descent job. Be honest though no one wants to do that. In Jonas’s community people watch over other people and assign what they think is the right job for them for the rest of their lives and not have to worry about putting food on the table
Clearly Jonas lives in a dystonia because throughout the community everyone having a “family unit” and not a real family with biological family members. Where in the book it states each unit consists of one male,one female child and two parents. This Part of the book emphasizes on how much this is a dystonia because when the giver transfers the memory of grandparents to Jonas, Jonas elaborates
In the book The Giver, it tells the story of a perfect world. Everyone there is happy and feels no pain. As the story progresses, the society appears more and more dystopian as the main goal of the society is revealed, which is sameness.() The community is constantly observed and controlled by every aspect in their lives. The committee assigns jobs, housing, husbands, wives, and children. If found breaking any of these laws, people are “released”, an indirect term for murdering. When Jonas is 12 years old, he 's chosen to be the community 's Receiver of Memory. Once he enters into training with an old man called 'The Giver ', he begins to receive memories of the real world that the rest of the community is hidden from. As the giver begins to show Jonas the important memories, he learns not only of love and family, but also of pain, war, and all the unhappy
Jonas’s father and many other doctors release the elders and many week and ill babies. In Document D it states "