The Giver Project

Thesis

• The Giver by Lois Lowry is an example of a dystopian society because the citizens are under constant watch, individuality is looked down upon, and the natural world is disrupted.

CONSTANT SURVEILLANCE

• In the Giver it is clearly evident that the citizens are under constant watch.

SUPPORTING QUOTE

• When his sisters hair ribbons come untied there is always an announcement that " Females under nine that have hair ribbons are to be neatly tied at all times" (Lowry 23).

ANALYSIS

• The citizens are under constant watch because, the speaker was not in the same area as Lily when he/she made the announcement. Therefore someone or something must be watching her. Also, when Jonas's dad "released" one of the twins he was being recorded to make sure he did his job properly.

DON'T BE DIFFERENT

• Another reason I think the society in the Giver is dystopian is because individuality is frowned upon.

SUPPORTING QUOTE

• In the Giver society when children are young " (You) spend all of your years... learning to fit in ... (and) to curb any impulses that might set you apart from the group"(52).

ANALYSIS

• This shows the society doesn't like differences because, in school children spend a lot of time learning to be the same as their peers. Also, the society considers it rude to ask questions that could fall "into the uncomfortable category of being different" (38). That way no one in the society talks about their differences.

THE NATURAL WORLD IS BANISHED

• In the Giver parts of the natural word are disturbed or destroyed altogether.

SUPPORTING QUOTE 1

• When Jonas and Lily are talking about the visiting kids from another community they described them as animals "Neither child knew what the word meant ... but it was often used to describe someone uneducated or clumsy, who didn't fit in" (5).

ANALYSIS

• Neither child knew what the word "animals" meant because they don't have any alive ones in their society. Later in the story when Jonas tries to tell Lily that her comfort object, a stuffed elephant, is real she laughed and disregarded his statement.

CONCLUSION

• In conclusion, the Giver by Lois Lowry is an example of a dystopian society because parts of the natural world are destroyed, the citizens are under constant surveillance, and no one wants to be different from one another.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.