Individuality In The Giver

Have you ever had the thought that your mind and consciousness is the only one you can be sure exists? That maybe everyone else is a figment of your own mind? Or maybe they’re even super high tech robots programmed with a variety of algorithms specifically designed with unique responses to everything you may potentially do. There’s a philosophical idea that follows this train of thought called Solipsism which comes from the Latin root words meaning “alone” and “self”. In my opinion, the notion of this idea is quite sad. You are alone in this gigantic world, where your personal feelings alone are the only ones of importance. Anything you share with anyone no longer matters, because there’s nobody really listening. Individuality is no longer

(Lowry 121). As Jonas rapidly develops he inherits these emotions through the giver. He is presented with the idea of individuality, something that seems almost demonized in the society he resides. He finds that as he continues to grow emotionally he himself becomes more and more isolated from the rest of the community; and, much like a cell going through mitosis, he is completely removed from where he originally came, yet still part of a bigger whole. In the context of The Giver, this is a hard thing for Jonas to deal with. Besides the giver himself, Jonas has nobody to share his newfound freedom with. It would be like waking up one day and being able to see a brand new color, outside the normal spectrum. It would be amazing to explore the world with this newly discovered gift, yet how incredibly frustrating would it be that nobody else could understand what you were seeing? This feeling is part of what makes Jonas leave the only community he’s know; it is no longer a place where a unique person can feel alive. Individuality is what makes us push the boundaries of our human limits. It is what keeps pushing our development as a species forward. When individuality is no longer valued, we no longer feel proud of our accomplishments. And when that happens, we stop accomplishing