The Giver Essay

Roes
Isabelle Roes
Mrs. Symczak
ALA 7
27 October 2016
The Giver Final Essay
Love, sadness, happiness, anger they are all emotions that everyone has each and every
day. Sometimes they are a good thing, sometimes they are a bad thing. Imagine a world without
feelings/emotions, choices, and colors. In exchange for these things, there is total peace and
safety. But every perfect world has its secrets. In the book The Giver, by Lois Lowry, she
creates a dystopian society in which the main character, Jonas, learns about the true darkness of
what he thought of as a flawless world. Jonas learns that it was wrong for the people of his
community to relinquish feelings/emotions, choices, and color.
Imagine it: living in Jonass society sounds great. No worries, no lies, no pain, no
conflict. Anyone in their sane mind would want to live there. But nothing comes free, and in this
society, prices must be paid. If a rule is broken, there are severe consequences. Most likely, the
offender will be released. Release is one of the ways the community makes the people perfect.
Many of the citizens do not truly even know what release really is. It is death by a form of
euthanasia. When Jonas learns what releas is from the Giver, he feels a whirlwind of emotions
like pain, anger, and deception. Although Jonas thought his life was flawless before, he is now
learning how deceiving the community really is. Jonas stared at him. Release is always like
that? For people who break the rules three times? For the Old? Do they kill the old too(Lowry
141)? Jonas now knows that it was wrong and inappropriate for his people to live like they are.
Jonas and his mentor, who is called the Giver, are the only two people in the entire community
Roes
who know what feelings and emotions are and are the only ones who experience them. The
people of the community have instilled in themselves a fear for life and anything that is deemed
unsafe is shunned, ignored, or feared. There is no love, or family, or feelings in general. Jonas
nodded. I liked the feeling of love. I wish we still had that Of course I understand that it
wouldnt work very well And that it is much better to be organized the way we are now. I can
see that it was a very dangerous way to live(Lowry 116).
Making choices can be very hard sometimes. Whether its everyday little choices, or big,
life altering choices. In the community, everything is decided for everyone, thus there is no
controversy in the morning over which shirt to wear or what to have for dinner that night. With
no choices though, there is no freedom, with no freedom, there is no happiness, and with no
happiness, there is no purpose to life. The people of Jonass community wake up every day, go to
work, come home, eat, go to their sleepingroom, and then repeat the cycle every day for the
rest of their lives. Living a life without ever being able to make a single choice, would be pure
torture for most people.
We dont dare let people make choices of their own.
Not safe? The Giver suggested.
Definitely not safe, Jonas said with certainty. What if they were allowed to choose their
own mate? And chose wrong?
Frightening isnt it? The Giver said.
Jonas chuckled. Very frightening. I cant even imagine it. We really have to protect
people from wrong choices.
Its safer
Yes, Jonas agreed. Much safer(Lowry 90).
Roes
Because these people are devoid of any feelings, choices, color and knowledge, they do not
know that the way they are living is wrong and inappropriate.
Although it often goes unnoticed, color is one of the greatest gifts to mankind. Everything
seen has different colors in it. Living in Jonass community is the exact opposite. There are no
colors due to Sameness. Sameness is what the community did to ensure that everything would be
safe, orderly, and controlled. To the people of the community, all things are seen as black and
white, devoid of all colors. The only two people in the entire community who even know what a
color is are Jonas and the Giver. They would be as oblivious as everyone else if they had not
received the memories of the world in which they learned things such as what colors are, what
emotions are, and what freedom is. Jonas is talking to Gabe, a toddler who is staying at his
familys dwelling, when he reveals that he now wants things to be different and that he hopes
that there can be colors one day. In the book The Giver, Lois Lowry shows some of the happiness
that is taken away since there are no colors. In one scene while Jonas is talking to his friend
Asher, he tries to give him a memory of red so that Asher can share in the memory of color and
the happiness that it brings. Unfortunately though, the people of the community are too oblivious
to receive memories and remember them.
It is hard to even try to think like Jonass community. Forever am hoping that a world like
this does not exist. Jonas learns that it was wrong for the community to give up
feelings/emotions, choices, and color. Although Jonas eventually found a way to give the
memories back to the community, he learned much about the inappropriateness of his
community. He learned that exchanging feelings/emotions, choices, and colors for peace and
safety was wrong. Maybe it was safer, but what is safe, is not always right.
Roes
Works Cited Page

Lowry, Lois. The Giver, Dell Laurel Leaf. New York. New York, 2002.

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