The Giver Research Paper

A dystopia and a utopia are two very different things. A utopia is a world where everything is perfect and there is no crime or poverty, while a dystopia is the complete opposite. Both of these words have been used to describe Lois Lowry’s young adult fiction novel The Giver. This novel is a very controversial work, with many wanting it to be banned from schools for exploiting bad parts of government, among other things. Specifically, the bad government in The Giver is the Committee of Elders, who made the choice of moving the community to Sameness, which has parallel views to socialism and communism. All in all, people in the novel believe their community is a utopia, when really it is a dystopia, with sameness being more important than diversity

For example, “Asher remained standing to make his public apology as was required” (Lowry 3). Asher, a boy in the book, was late to school that day as he was watching fishermen and got distracted - he was required to make an apology to the whole class, as is required of everyone else. This supplants the idea of a utopia because the community makes people apologize, so that everything is resolved in the moment, and the day may go on without further repercussions (unless it is serious). Additionally, Jonas states, “It was one of the rituals, the evening telling of feelings” (Lowry 5). Family members are required to share their feelings each night to the members of their family units, so that their conflicting feelings may be resolved through discussion. The community members must follow a strict schedule so that everyone stays in line, and the community stays perfectly in order. Also, Father states, “Jonas. You, of all people. Precision of language, please” (Lowry 127). Jonas had been asking his parents if they loved him, to which they lectured him about precision of language. The community has very strict rules on precise language, so everyone understands what each other is saying and there is no confusion. All in all, people in Jonas’ community believe they live in a utopia. However, these positives can quickly turn into negatives as his community is also a prime example of a