Dystopian: The Giver

Dystopian: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Dystopian's Effect on Characters

1. "Days went by, and weeks. Jonas learned, though the memories, the names of colors; and now he began to see them all, in his ordinary life(though he knew it was ordinary no longer, and would never be again)."(97)

Jonas's job of being the Receiver is bringing many memories and information from the real world into his mind. He is now understanding colors which belong in the real world all thanks to the very old Giver. Jonas is now realizing all the information which belong in nature which no one but him knows about. Also memories such as slight glimpses of color he has seen earlier, is now understandable to Jonas. Since Jonas got the new job of the Receiver, he sees life in a different way and is now more observant in his normal life, because of what he can see now.

The Dystopian Setting

Conclusion

1. "Now Jonas's group had taken a new place in the auditorium...They were arranged by their original numbers, the numbers they had been given at birth."(50)

Jonas is in the auditorium for the ceremony of twelves and the community is so organized that they give each child a birth number and arrange them accordingly. This arrangement people get, makes me feel as though they're in prison, because the community doesn't let them sit where they want and the number they keep from birth, keeps their lives organized as though they were in a prison. This community is very organized in a bad way making it dystopian, but impacts the way people behave, because they've been controlled since they were born.

By living in a dystopian community, there are many ways you can change the way you live, because of the unbalancement of the world creating a dystopian setting. Since Jonas was living in this dystopian world, when he received memories about the real world, he started to act differently than the others in his world. A dystopian setting of these laws, will heavily change the way people live life and behave, which is why Jonas never felt emotions we have and lives his life differently from ours. A dystopian novel, will always create a livelihood different from the real world.

Summary of The Giver

Thesis for The Giver

Jonas, a main character in The Giver, has been changing his attitude towards life and people since he became the new Receiver of memory in his community. Changes are also happening by living in this unbalanced dystopian community where he is receiving memories from the Giver which is changing his way of life in this completely ruined community.

The Giver is a dystopian novel about a family, living in a community where there are no choices, suffering, war, or differences between the people. This family consists of Jonas, Lily, their parents, and Gabriel, a newchild in the family. Jonas also has many close people in his life such as Asher, his best friend and Fiona, the girl he has feelings for. The plot of The Giver, is how Jonas becomes a twelve and receives the job as the new Receiver. As a result, Jonas's lifestyle begins to change which then creates conflict throughout the story. The Giver is a dystopian novel, because the storyline is mainly about Jonas's community where everything has gone wrong which includes the laws and freedom of what you can do as you live throughout your life.

Dystopian Setting

Dystopian Effect on Characters

2. "I certainly liked the memory, though. I can see why it's your favorite. I couldn't quite get the word for the feeling of it, the feeling that was so strong in the room. Love, the Giver told him... It was a word and concept new to him."

Jonas received a memory which was his favorite and made him learn the word,'love'. It is a new emotion he perceived and is probably now really going to impact his behavior. I feel that he is going to stop taking the stirrings so he can experience this emotion in the real world. This proves the story is dystopian, because the Giver gave only Jonas this memory and no one else, because Jonas is the only one in the community capable of receive these memories. This is now going to impact Jonas's behavior in life and how he reacts.

2. "...relaxing the tension in the Auditorium, we are not entirely certain about the Assignments, even after the most painstaking observations."(61)

In the Auditorium for the ceremony of twelves, the Elders are not certain about the Assignment they gave Jonas. I feel worried about Jonas's Assignment, because the Elders made the most painstaking observations and they're still not certain for what assignment he deserves. The system in the community is very organized and carefully planned for every ceremony, creating a dystopian world, because it's changing people's lives. The audience was under tension until Jonas was assigned his assignment, so this is creating a worrying tone in this moment of the story.

Image by Tom Mooring