...Imagine a world without any emotions. There would be no sadness, happiness, jealousy, pain, or love. Some might think that this would be a perfect society, but as proven in the book The Giver by Lois Lowry everything isn’t as perfect as it seems. In the book Jonas, the boy who was chosen to be the next Receiver, experiences a society that is different from his own. With the help of The Giver, the man who trains Jonas, he learns that “sameness” isn’t exactly perfect. The Community controls emotions in an effort to create a painless society; the result, however, is a society absent of true emotion. Once someone in the Community begins to develop feelings for someone they are given pills to control the emotions that they are experiencing. The...
Words: 1600 - Pages: 7
...Response to Literature Essay for The Giver The Giver is a novel written by author Lois Lowry. In this dystopian reading selection, the setting is a place called the community. The community is a place where everything is the same. Also, everything in the Giver community is safety-proofed. It is ran by a group of people called The Elders. The Elders are considered the wisest and most powerful people in the community. They are in charge of everything, from picking out job titles for the incoming twelves, to keeping track of the newchildren that are born. The setting of the giver affected the citizens by keeping them proctected from dangerous things. In doing so, trial-and-error cannot occur. Also, many of the citizens are used to everything...
Words: 980 - Pages: 4
..."The community of The Giver had achieved at such a great price. A community without danger or pain. But also a community without music, color or art. And books." Lois Lowry once said this. She is saying how the community of “"The Giver"” can be reached but everyone would have to give up books, art, music, and color. Music and color played a big role in both "The Giver" movie and novel. These elements in the movie and book are different and they have an impact on the story of "The Giver" in both the film and novel. "The Giver" book and movie are different because the music in the movie add more of a connection with the story and finding out about the loss of color in the film so soon takes away the insatiable feeling the reader gets in the beginning of the book....
Words: 734 - Pages: 3
...way they live when everything is almost exactly the same around them. In this paper you will find that there is three ideas about the symbols in The Giver that play along with the theme I’m about to reveal. In The Giver, written by Lois Lowry, the theme is to be one that sticks out in a group and be different is explored through the symbols of different vision (seeing red), feeling strong emotions, and powers to transfer memories to others. The symbol of different vision supports this because it tells of seeing beyond the normal. If one was to see into the realm of difference this would make that person different than others because it is not a normal trait of humans so when Jonas does this and sees colors he does not fit in with the rest of his society. Him being able to see “beyond” as the story says allows himself to see past events that relay memories to him until he gives them away, but with this he experiences the emotions that tag along with them. An example of emotions with the memories is when he recalls the war scene and has been shot in the arm, the pain he felt in the memory was excruciating because...
Words: 684 - Pages: 3
...THE GIVER Lois Lowry ← Plot Overview → The giver is written from the point of view of Jonas, an eleven-year-old boy living in a futuristic society that has eliminated all pain, fear, war, and hatred. There is no prejudice, since everyone looks and acts basically the same, and there is very little competition. Everyone is unfailingly polite. The society has also eliminated choice: at age twelve every member of the community is assigned a job based on his or her abilities and interests. Citizens can apply for and be assigned compatible spouses, and each couple is assigned exactly two children each. The children are born to Birthmothers, who never see them, and spend their first year in a Nurturing Center with other babies, or “newchildren,” born that year. When their children are grown, family units dissolve and adults live together with Childless Adults until they are too old to function in the society. Then they spend their last years being cared for in the House of the Old until they are finally “released” from the society. In the community, release is death, but it is never described that way; most people think that after release, flawed newchildren and joyful elderly people are welcomed into the vast expanse of Elsewhere that surrounds the communities. Citizens who break rules or fail to adapt properly to the society’s codes of behavior are also released, though in their cases it is an occasion of great shame. Everything is planned and organized so that life is as convenient...
Words: 18773 - Pages: 76
...How can you get a “perfect” society, when there is no such thing as “perfect”. Without the pain and suffering in life, it is impossible to enjoy and have happiness in life. A Utopia is impossible because everyone's opinion and needs are different. With no sacrifices there will be no joy. There needs to be bad things in life so people learn and gain knowledge and wisdom. We need to appreciate the simple things in life. We need to experience events such as Having to make sacrifices like warfare, feeling good and bad emotions, we also need to appreciate the events that life throws at the. the Giver they get rid of these problems but they also get rid of your rights, such as freedom of choice, ability to see colours. In the Giver they get rid...
Words: 450 - Pages: 2
...community Jonas is exempt from the rules of the utopian society he is living in, which scares him. Even with this new great power Jonas possesses he continues to be a sensitive, kind, and humble boy. The Giver- The Giver who is the current Receiver of Memory before he transfers it to Jonas. The Giver and Jonas are alike in various aspects.Where Jonas is sensitive, the Giver is tough. Also he has an anger built up inside because he has held onto the memories for so many years and now at a very old age is finally able to transfer them to the new Receiver. The Giver is a wise old man who believes the memories being withheld from the community belong to them and they should know what happened in the past....
Words: 1489 - Pages: 6
...Another possible outcome of our society could turn out like the the motion picture of The Giver. The “community” in The Giver “lived in tranquility without the existence of emotions or color, as these would produce conflicts. The citizens have also had their memories wiped” (IMDb). The people were also “assigned their positions in the community” and were always watched by the Elders. Children were similarly brainwashed by the government to obey the rules and suppress emotion and free thought. People could not choose their own fates which were assigned by the Elders and children were born almost genetically perfect after selective breeding. Similarly, citizens were not allowed to hold differing views and feelings towards the state. The people...
Words: 1590 - Pages: 7
...Imagine a society where everything was perfect, where everything would always go exactly according to plan. Such a society exists in Lois Lowry’s The Giver. In the society, multiple systems are set up so that order can be maintained. While starting with good intentions, the societal systems eventually become a machine that rips humans of basic emotions, and hunger for these emotions eventually leads to the destruction of the society. In The Giver, Lois Lowry uses the systems of Sameness, the Ceremonies, and Releasing to maintain order; however, these same systems ironically also lead to the downfall of the society. The system that the society prides itself most on is the system of Sameness. Sameness was originally intended to bring about order...
Words: 877 - Pages: 4
...Topic: In both The Giver and The Chrysalids, the communities strive to create utopias in their own ways. Discuss how memories are forgotten and/or emphasized to achieve this. In the novels The Chrysalids by John Wyndham and The Giver by Lois Lowry, both authors illustrate how, when communities emphasize or forget memories from the past, it will result in a dystopia. Further, it will also affect our future generations and the way people choose to live. In the Waknuk community of The Chrysalids, memories are recalled, emphasized, and then used to threaten and control the society. The leaders rule the community using fear as a weapon, forcing the people to believe what they want them to believe. The Waknuk community’s idea of a utopia is to have the people obey the rules, and to live under the will of God. A citizen of another community criticized the Old People, “If they had not brought down Tribulation which all but destroyed them” (Wyndham 157). The memory of Tribulation is constantly discussed, repeated and emphasized throughout the novel. The community believes that if they break the laws and rules of The Bible and Nicholson’s Repentances, their two only and sacred books, they will be faced with consequences like how the “Old People” of the past did. Tribulation is believed to be a period of time where the people of earth made too many mistakes, broke too many rules, that angered God, causing Him to destroy all of earth to give people a chance to start a new...
Words: 1036 - Pages: 5
...Live, Laugh, Love. Or live in a world of peace.. You must decide The Giver is written by Lois Lowry. In this book the main character (Jonas) is introduced as an 11.(grouping according to age) All Jonas can think about is becoming a 12. He's worried about whether or not he shall receive the job that best fits him. However he fears what matters least, and will eventually find out the truth of his societies horrid past, and come to find out the reality of the masked society. Jonas is trapped in a society where no one knows as he knows. He's forced to break the rules in an attempt to make others see as he sees. Jonas and the giver are the only ones who knows the true meaning of "release". They're the only ones who see the faults in their...
Words: 355 - Pages: 2
...The Whole World? Why did they pick Jonas? The Giver is full of amazing scenes but some increase the symbolism, conflict or some other items of literature which strengthen the description of the story. I will be talking about a scene that i think is filled with all of these things. On page 98 in the book “The Giver” written by Lois Lowry there is all of the sensory detail that is good for a book so that the reader feels the sentiment that the protagonist is feeling. When Jonas the main character that was selected to be the new “receiver of memory” which is the job of the one who takes care of all the memories of the world from the past and future so that no one else would have the pain of war in their memory, is...
Words: 685 - Pages: 3
...metrics, givers did worse than others. Becoming a doormat is one of the worst things that can happen to a giver. The author has suggestions in this portion of the book how givers can use the otherish approach to escape the trap of being too trusting. They do this by becoming highly flexible and adaptable in their reciprocity style. This also helps givers sidestep the issues that come with being too empathetic and too timid by repurposing some skills that come naturally to givers. Trust is one of the main reasons givers are susceptible to the doormat effect. They tend to mistakenly assume that everyone is trustworthy. People also rely on personality cues that can be misleading, especially those that are agreeable. Agreeable people tend to appear cooperative and polite, they come across as warm and welcoming. People that are disagreeable tend to be more critical and competitive, they seem to be more comfortable with conflict. We tend to stereotype agreeable people as givers and the disagreeable people as takers. Empathy is also something spread throughout givers behavior and another major source of vulnerability. When a giver empathizes they focus on the counterparts emotions and feelings, this puts them at risk of giving away too much. If we engage in perspective taking, where we consider a counterparts thought and interests, they are more likely to find a way to make a deal which will satisfy our counterpart without sacrificing our own interests. Givers...
Words: 406 - Pages: 2
...reasons, and another reason as well. He wept because he was afraid now that he could not save Gabriel. He no longer cared for himself.” Sometime in the future in a community a boy named Jonas receives memories from The Giver. The memories he received made him start to doubt the things he was taught and where he lives. Having a biological family, love, and celebration would’ve been important to make The Giver community more positive. The first thing that would’ve been important to make a more positive community is having a biological family. One detail to support this is on pg.124 and it states, “Grandparents. It meant parents-of-the-parents, long ago.” This detail supports the claim because nobody in the Community has grandparents, even though grandparents are loving and they make you feel special. Another detail to support the claim is on pg.22, “Three births, and that’s all. After that they are Laborers for the rest of their lives.” This detail supports the claim because the Birthmothers give birth but they do not keep the child, the child goes to another person, even though mothers are loving. This is why having a biological family would’ve been important to make a more positive community....
Words: 533 - Pages: 3
...In “The Giver”, we are introduced to Jonas, the eleven-year-old protagonist of the story, as he struggles to find the right word to describe his feelings as he approaches an important milestone. He rejects “frightened” as too strong a word, recalling a time when he had really been frightened: a year ago, an unidentified aircraft flew over his community; it was a strange and unprecedented event, since Pilots were not allowed to fly over the community. As Jonas remembers the community reaction to the event, we learn more about the society in which he lives. It is extremely structured, with official orders transmitted through loudspeakers planted all around the community. As a punishment, the pilot was “released” from the community, the worst fate that can befall a citizen. Jonas decides he is apprehensive, not frightened (Jonas and his society value the use of precise and accurate language), about the important thing that is going to happen in December. Jonas thinks he lives in a perfect world. He lives in a highly ordered community where there is no pain, but he learns that there is a price to pay for this kind of life and discovers humanity’s long forgotten pains and joys. He finds out that he is living in a twisted messed up imperfect “utopia”. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true...
Words: 3632 - Pages: 15
