The Giver Society Quotes

“The even the matching of spouses was given such weighty consideration that sometimes an adult who applied to receive a spouse waited months or even years before a match was approved and announced. All of the factors-disposition, energy level, intelligence, and interests- had to correspond and interact perfectly” (Lowry 48). This quote expresses the absence of choices, freedoms, and self-rule in Jonas’s community. There is so much control that the community members don’t even know the essential parts of a good life are missing out on things such as colar,love, family, and education. As I showed in the quote above the community members don’t even have the choice to pick who they love. Is a utopia prying people’s basic enjoyments of life from

Jonas’s society has no idea what the true meaning of family actually is. Family is more than just living together under one roof and sharing meals. Family means love! “Do you love me?’ Jonas asked. ‘Jonas,you of all people. Precision of language please!’ ‘Your father means you used a very generalized word, so meaningless that it's become obsolete,’ his mother explained”(Lowry 127). This quote further explains that their idea of family does not even include love meanwhile in our society when you think of family love is one of the first things that pop into people's mind. Family is founded around love, trust, and feelings. On the contrary, in both Jonas’s society and ours, Moms, dads, brothers and sisters are still a part of the family. “At dinner that night, Jonas's family—his father, mother, and seven-year-old sister Lily—participate in a nightly ritual called ‘the telling of feelings”(Lowry 12 ). Jonas refers to his parents as mom and dad just as we do. Also, he refers to his siblings as brother and sister. Children are also different in the novel The Giver. If two people want a baby in the Giver they have to apply for one and wait and see if they are aloud to. On the other hand, in our society a couple can have a baby whenever they want and however many they want. If we had to apply for a child today it would be totally outrageous and shocking. The fact that their children could not even carry on the legacy of their last name or their looks is terrible and almost defeats the whole purpose of having children. “Two children--- one male, one female-- to each family unit. It was written very clearly in the rules”(Lowry 8). In this society families are chosen for them, not made from two parents like our society. Lastly, in both societies people chose weather or not to have no children or spouses. In Jonas’s society groups of people are all grouped together and singled out in one