Madeleine L’Engle once said“Because to take away a man's freedom of choice, even his freedom to make the wrong choice, is to manipulate him as though he were a puppet and not a person.” In Lois Lowry’s The Giver a dystopian community, a futuristic reality in which oppressive societal control and illusion of a perfect society is maintained by the government, is stripped of its right to freedom of choice and there is only two people strong enough to take action. The Giver features a so-called perfect community in which poverty, war, and hunger are eliminated. Everyone is content with their lives and when a boy named Jonas receives the honor of becoming the Receiver of Memory he gains wisdom and knowledge through the memories of the past given to him by the Giver. Gradually, Jonas realizes the the false ideals of happiness and goodness throughout the story and in return learns the importance of freedom, choice, and love. Jonas leaves the community in hopes to save his community and find a new one where he could experience a life with meaning. The Giver is a dystopian novel because it exemplifies features of a dystopian society and characteristics of a dystopian protagonist.
The Giver demonstrates numerous features
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In the novel The Giver society is under constant watch and their individuality and choice is revoked. With these aspects, the government is able to have total control while citizens happily in their safe world maintaining the image of an utopia. The main character, Jonas’s inquisitive behavior and strong beliefs of right and wrong allow him to learn more knowledge and gain wisdom of his community. All in all, The Giver resembles all the aspects of a dystopia and through the societal elements and protagonist the author is able to shine light on the apparent flaws and imperfections of their society in their “perfect