The term dystopia is a society or world where everything is dangerous, scary, or unpleasant, but it can also describe a world presented with flaws. One example of a dystopian society is found in Lois Lowry’s The Giver. Jonas, the main character in The Giver, thinks that he lives in a world that is perfect, but later on in the story, he finds that this is not true. Therefore, Jonas lives in a dystopian society and not in a utopia. In the story, people force all of the memories on one person, have no wisdom, and are euthanized.
One reason why Jonas’ society in The Giver is a dystopia is because all of the memories of the past are forced onto one person. In the story, Jonas is the Receiver of Memory, which meant he had to have all of the memories of the past. Some of these memories had extreme pain, making Jonas suffer. The text states, ““But why can’t everyone have the memories… everyone would be burdened and pained. They don’t want that. And that’s the real reason The Receiver is so vital to them, and so honored. They selected me - and you - to lift that burden from themselves” (Lowry 180). In the story, people do not have the memories from the past, when the society was different.
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In Jonas’s society, The Giver (the one who gives the memories) and Jonas have to receive the memories so they can use their wisdom to advise the Committee of Elders. The text states, “[The memories] gives us wisdom… Without wisdom I could not fulfill by function of advising the Committee of Elders when they call upon me” (Lowry 140). Since the people in Jonas’s society do not have wisdom and rely almost completely on the Committee of Elders to make decisions, they aren’t able to make the decisions themselves. The Committee of Elders might make a mistake, but the people do not know they did make mistake since they do not have wisdom. This puts their community at risk for