How Does The Giver Contribute To A Dystopian Society

In 1516 the first dystopian literature was published, Thomas More’s “Utopia.” This created the idea of utopias and dystopias. Over 200 years later during WW2 the United States government gathered all Japanese Americans in the west coast and sent them to internment camps. The treatment of innocent people being sent to camps can also be seen in the “Diary of Anne Frank.” But unfortunately in the case of those who were sent to the camps run by nazi Germany the occupants were not just imprisoned unfairly, they were killed. Those who also lived in the fantasy book The Giver were also living in a dystopia since they lived in a world with no history or choice. Saying that leads me into the two main elements that contribute to a dystopian society,

An example of this can be seen in Farewell to Manzanar and The Giver. One example from the giver can be seen when the giver said,”Life here is so orderly, so predictable, so painless. It's what they've chosen” (Lowry 103.) This shows a corrupt government because the citizens were never given a choice. This is important because a corrupt government which is controlling is demonstrated by the fact that the citizens never made a choice to have their emotions hidden from them as well as the government chosening when people die. Similarly to the giver the United States during WW2 was also a dystopian environment due to the same reason of a corrupt government. For example,”We didn’t know where it was or what it was. We went because the government ordered us to” (Houston and Houston 15.) This demonstrates corrupt government because the people who were forced into internment camps were never given a choice whether or not they went to the camps. This is important because it shows that the government abused their power to order citizens around. This shows that a controlling and manipulative government is one most prominent elements in a dystopian

For example in “The Diary of Anne Frank” Mr.Dussel said, “Right here in Amsterdam everyday hundreds of jews disappear…They surround a block and search house house.Childern come back from school to find their parents gone”(Goodrich and Hackett 530.)This shows that the characters in Anne Frank are living in a dystopia because Nazi Germany was attempting to erase a religion. This is important because the erasing of a religion or culture is one of the main elements of a dystopia. The characters in Farewell to Manzanar also unfortunately went through a similar experience of being persecuted because of their religion or culture. An example of this can be heard from Jenne when she pointed out that her papa “had become a man without a country… yet after thirty five years here he was still prevented by law from becoming an American citizen” (Houston and Houston 7.) This shows that during WW2 the United States was a dystopia for asian-americans who were persecuted by the government simply because of their race. This is important because it shows that just like in Nazi Germany persecuting individuals solely based on their culture or religion is grounds for a dystopia. That is why the altering or erasing of religion or culture is one of the main elements of a dystopian