The Giver Theme Analysis

Major Themes
Individuality and freedom of choice
By eliminating as much personal variation as possible in favor of
Sameness and a predictable society, Jonas's community has rejected the truly utopian possibilities of a society where people are free to move society forward. The result is a dystopia of conformity. A series of conversations between Jonas and The
Giver shows that the totalitarian rationale for restricting each person's choice of clothing, job, spouse, and children results from the fear of making wrong choices. Yet, as Jonas realizes after he escapes from the community, he would rather be able to choose his destiny than remain in the safety of a community that normally does not even allow its citizens to choose their
In many cases over the course of the novel, Jonas instinctively feels that something is right but allows his intellect to convince him that it is wrong, such as when he takes the pills to counteract the Stirrings or when he tries to argue to The Giver that love and family can be very dangerous. Yet, by the end of the novel, Jonas has learned to embrace the full range of human emotion, including to an extent the negative ones, and he allows his emotions and instinct to inform his actions. In contrast, the other citizens of the community, such as Fiona and Jonas's father, have not learned to allow their emotions to reveal their character and help them develop a sense of right and wrong, so they feel no guilt at delivering lethal injections as part of their jobs.
The relationship between memory and wisdom
As The Receiver of Memory, The Giver has to draw upon his memories of mankind's most terrible experiences in order to advise the Committee of Elders whenever they have an unusual experience, such as that of the rogue plane, or when they want
His memories of tragedies such as war further alienate him from his friends, even as he grows closer to The Giver and to Gabriel, both of whom can share his memories and who thus eventually form two branches of his new de facto family. The loneliness forces Jonas to view his community from a more critical standpoint as he begins to see the weaknesses in the system. Yet, from his isolation he also learns the value of love and belonging as he experiences it through The Giver's memory. In addition, Jonas eventually learns the joys of solitude, which is a positive way of experiencing aloneness.
Death

The concept of release is introduced early in the novel, during
Jonas's anecdote about the Pilot-in-Training who mistakenly flies over the community. The concept is continually and mysteriously mentioned without sufficient explanation until nearly the end of the novel. The mysteriousness of death and Elsewhere echoes the uncertainty about death that humans face during their