Preview

Dystopia Vs. Modern Society In The Giver By Lois Lowry

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
478 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Dystopia Vs. Modern Society In The Giver By Lois Lowry
Imagine a word with no love, no affection, and no biological families. Well in the dystopian society in The Giver by Lois Lowry. This is their everyday life, which makes the protagonist Jonas wonder why is this the case. Jonas’ society and modern day society have close to nothing in common. While Jonas’ society is emotionless, experiences sameness, and does not have choices, Modern day society consists of love, celebrates individuality, and has freedom to choose. In Jonas’ society they have no emotional connections, whereas in our society where we are free to love. When Jonas asks his parents if they love him, his father responds, ¨Jonas. You of all people, precision of language, please!¨ (Lowry 159). The word love is used so little in Jonas´ society that it has become nearly obsolete. Unlike in modern day society we are free to love as we please. For example, if one asks …show more content…
In Jonas’ life you are given a spouse, given two children, boy and girl, and none are biological.
Shockingly Jonas says, ¨Well if everything's the same, then there aren't any choices! I want to wake up in the morning and decide things! A blue tunic or a red one? But it's the same, always.¨ (Lowry 123). But on the other hand, in modern day society, we make choices every day. As when you are going to school, do you wear blue or khaki shorts or pants, there are so many choices made! We choose our spouse, we produce our own kids, not a Committee Of Elders.
In conclusion, Jonas’ society was striving for a utopian society, but after taking away color, making all the weather the same, and revoking memories all of this turned into a dystopian society so when Jonas finally decides he wants to escape to make it all equal again. While in modern day society everything’s already the same our colors, we all have our own memories, and have bipolar weather, but that’s what makes our society unique. It’s all
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Giver Act 1 Scene 1 Analysis
    • 1062 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Giver Act 1 Scene 1 Analysis

    Jonas is the main character in The Giver by Lois Lowry. In Jonas’s community it’s natural to be doing everything the loudspeaker says, it is the way to surrvive. Only Jonas and the Giver can see in color. Everyone in Jonas’s community thinks it is natrual that the leaders can listen to every conversation. All adults have to apply for a spouse and children. Which means you get assigned to a family unit. Not very many people are even aware there is much life outside of the community because it is so closed. But, most of all no one even knows that when someone is to be released it means you are killed with euthanasia, except for Jonas and the Giver. No one even knows of the concept of death.…

    • 1062 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dystopian Society In The Giver
    • 54 Words
    • 1 Page

    Dystopian Society In The Giver

    The Giver is a book about a totalitarian government that controls its people by outlawing colors, pets and many things we take for granted today. In the dystopian society of “The Giver”, there are many differences from our modern society, some being the age system, the “family units”, and the economy and employment…

    • 54 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On The Character Jonas In The Giver
    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Essay On The Character Jonas In The Giver

    One day while the Giver was giving jonas his favorite memory and was perceiving words from it he, ‘“couldn’t quite get the word for the whole feeling of it, the feeling that was so strong in the room.’ “love,” the Giver told him” (157 Lowry). Jonas had the memory of the feeling and finally realized that he had that feeling for a lot of people in the community that were important to him. For example, he realized that he had the feeling of love towards his Father, his Mother, Lily, Gabe, Fiona, the Giver, and in the beginning of the story Asher. He realized that from just one memory.…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Giver By Ayn Rand: A Literary Analysis
    • 4373 Words
    • 18 Pages

    The Giver By Ayn Rand: A Literary Analysis

    In the book we are introduced to the main character Jonas and his behavior with his family. At first he seems to live a normal life. However, when he describes how his family came together was when he noticed that abnormalities began to appear. Lowry writes, “Two children--one male, one female--to each family unit. It was written very clearly in the rules” (Lowry 14). Jonas describes how his parents were picked to marry by the House of Elder (governing party), and how his sister and he were given to them. In other words, in his community people have no choice in who they marry or who their children will be. From choosing a spouse, to having children, and other factors such as career choice, all were decided by the House of…

    • 4373 Words
    • 18 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Diversity In The Giver
    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Examples Of Diversity In The Giver

    Chapter 1 and 2 in the giver, we found out that Jonas lives in an equal community. Jonas community encourages sameness, and discourages diversity. The community is unfair for the age for someone when they receive items and their family units. On page 13 lowry writes, “Two children — one male, one female — to each family unit. It was written very clearly in the rules.” This is very unfair for everyone because people like to be different, and not the same, but with this rule the citizens can’t. It’s dull being the same, for example, if you meet someone and they tell you about their family, you will already know if they have a brother or sister, depending on their gender. Another way everything is the even and the same is when the citizens…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Giver Community Analysis
    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Giver Community Analysis

    In The Giver, the citizens in Jonas’ community are living in a dystopian world due to the fact that they do not possess any freedom nor rights as a human in the community for the greater cause.…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why The Giver's World Is Called Perfect
    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Why The Giver's World Is Called Perfect

    Jonas’s world is called perfect. No feelings, no real knowledge, no animals, nothing special; that is the “perfect” world that Jonas lives in. Would one consider that perfect? After receiving memories from the Giver, Jonas learns so much about life he did not know, and he no longer thinks of his world as perfect. In the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry, Jonas learns the power of pain, sorrow, and joy through memories he receives from the Giver.…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Conformity In The Giver By Lois Lowry
    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Conformity In The Giver By Lois Lowry

    Lois Lowry's The Giver is a book about a twelve year boy named Jonas who lives in a futuristic society. In Jonas's society there is little choice. Everything is controlled, from what they wear to their job. People are all the same and lack individuality. Lois Lowry warns her readers that too much conformity is not a good thing. Differences are what make people unique and what makes life interesting.…

    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Giver and Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry Comparative Essay by Aannievu
    • 1757 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Giver and Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry Comparative Essay by Aannievu

    The setting incorporated in The Giver demonstrates that it is clearly a dystopian fiction as it presents an alternative version of our society. Jonas’ world made the choice of living in Sameness – a place where neither warfare, starvation or poverty, emotions, nor freedom exist. Sameness without a doubt restricts one’s diverse individuality, coloured visuals and emotions. This is shown through the extract, “Our people made that choice to go into Sameness… before my time… we relinquished sunshine and did away with differences… but we had to let go…

    • 1757 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Conformity In The Giver
    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Conformity In The Giver

    In Lois Lowry’s dystopian work The Giver, she stresses the point that people should not recklessly comply with the rules of society. They must be aware of their surroundings, the people around them, and must question everything about their lives. Jonas said, “He was so completely, so thoroughly accustomed to courtesy within the community that the thought of asking another citizen a question was unnerving.” At first, the author’s clear and exact descriptions shows contentment of the community members in their perfect, utopian society. However, as the author starts to unravel that Jonas’ community was not what it appeared to be, it creates a stronger message…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Giver
    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Giver

    In this community scientists have erased all pain, fear, war and hatred. There is never any racism because basically everyone looks and acts the same. The society has also eliminated choice including where they work, who they love, and who gives birth to the children. When people get to old to be active members of society they are “released” from the society. There are ceremonies once a year for all of the children and Jonas is doing the ceremony of the twelve. The ceremony of the twelve is where the kids are assigned their careers one by one in alphabetical order. When it comes to Jonas he is skipped and starts to worry why. At the end of the ceremony jonas is finally called and his job is to become the next “Giver”. This job is not called every year the last time it was called was 10 years ago.…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Giver by Lois Lowry Essay
    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Giver by Lois Lowry Essay

    In Jonas society they get a certain gift that symbolizes something significant. For example when the turn 9, they get their own bicycle (They don't have cars, only bicycles), and they can also start doing their volunteering hours. Another example is that when they turn 12 they get assigned their job in the community and immediately start their training the next day. After they have turned twelve, they say in the book that their age doesn't matter anymore and one of the reasons would be that they are considered adults after 12. I also know this because in the book the Chief Elderly said to Jonas friend, Asher “Thank for your childhood.” (Lowry, 56) after getting his assignment in the community.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Giver In A Dystopian Society
    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Giver In A Dystopian Society

    "The giver" takes place in a dystopian society where everything is regulated, no one does or says anything without the Council knowing; Their jobs, spouses, and children are all chosen for them, everything is on a schedule everyone is on a routine, get up go to work come home eat sleep repeat every single day. There is no time for recreation or anything of the sort.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Giver Utopian
    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Giver Utopian

    When Jonas finds out that his community enforces Sameness as an attempt to make a perfect world, he begins to believe that the rules of the Community are unfair because it eliminates individuality, emotion, freedom, and experience from the citizens of the Community. “By removing their memories and giving them all to The Receiver of Memory, the society refuses to acknowledge human emotions and consequently its own humanity. As a result,…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Imposture Of Freedom In Louis Lowery's The Giver, By Lois Lowery
    • 1342 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Imposture Of Freedom In Louis Lowery's The Giver, By Lois Lowery

    The career and family structure is decided by the government, which does not give the citizens the opportunity to make decisions about their own life. Strong emotions are forbidden and taken away, which makes it difficult to express ones true feelings. The truth is taken away and hidden from the people, not allowing the people to know about specific things and gaining antigovernment thoughts. In the end, Jonas leaves his community as a price for changing the system of the community, causing the other civilians to reclaim the pain and horror, a situation the government did not want to face. It once again explains to the reader that it is very important to stand up and fight for your belief. Not only does it do so, it also warns us that excessive managements only cause harm to the society itself. The true way in taking care of the society is to allowing people to accept the difference and to enjoy its own life as a human…

    • 1342 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics