THE GIVER

MAIN ARGUMENT

WHY IS IT A DISTOPIA?

• A leader has all power and controls the society and decisions
• Information, personal thought and rights are restricted
• Citizens are constantly watched and rules are strictly followed

A Leader Controls The Entire Society

• The Chief Elder makes all community decisions; she is all powerful.
• The Chief Elder/Elders determine each citizen's role in the society at the age of twelve.
• At the yearly community ceremony, the Chief Elder announces every what job every Twelve will have, "the initial speech at the Ceremony of Twelve was made by the Chief Elder, the leader of the community who was elected every ten years" (Lowry 51).

QUOTE ANALYSIS

• The citizens have no concept of government. They believe that electing a leader every ten years is normal, but in reality, it isn't. They have never perceived the outside world or made any decisions for themselves. The common people do not get to vote or have any say at all.

PERSONAL RIGHTS ARE PROHIBITED

• People in the society are assigned their jobs, they do not follow their own individual interests.
• Only one member of the community is allowed to have memories of the past (The Receiver of Memory)
• Jonas is assigned a special role in his society which leads him to become apprehensive about the future and roles of his society, "he is to be alone, apart, while he is prepared by the current Reciever for the job which is the most honored in our community" (61).
• Jonas is assigned to become the society's Receiver of Memory

QUOTE ANALYSIS

• When Jonas is assigned to work as the Receiver of Memory, he is very apprehensive. The role seems daunting to a twelve year old, and his job must come with "physical pain" (62). Not a single civilian has experienced the pains of receiving a memory, with two exceptions, The Giver and the previous failed Receiver of Memory.

CITIZENS ARE ALWAYS WATCHED

• An example of the society being a dystopia is when children are closely watched from a young age and are judged closely. This is a major issue brought up in the society, "in school, at recreation time, and during volunteer hours, he had noticed the Elders watching him and the other Elevens" (15).
• All members of society are constantly watched; "release" ceremonies are recorded on film.
• "All private ceremonies are recorded. They're in the Hall of Closed Records. Do you want to see this morning's release" (147)?

QUOTE ANALYSIS

• In chapter 19, Jonas discovers that his father, a Nurturer, kills a baby by injecting it with a lethal dose injection. Jonas is upset by this and says, "I won't! I won't go home! You can't make me" (152). Jonas and The Giver discuss the release. Jonas flees to a far away land. I believe Jonas made a smart decision to escape the society and live his own life. He realizes the community is a dystopia.

Credits:
Lowry, Lois: THE GIVER. New York: Houghton Mifflin,1993