“Ignorance is bliss.” This famous saying portrays ignorance positively, though this is a debatable fact. In the novel, The Giver, Jonas lives in a safe and tightly knit community where everything is closely regulated and everything is chosen for a citizen before hand, from their job assignment to their family unit. At the job ceremony, Jonas is assigned to be a Receiver of Memory, the person who keeps all the memories of life before. Because of this, the people in Jonas’s community Everyone but Jonas and the Giver do not know the truth about love and loss. In Lois Lowry’s novel, The Giver, Jonas’ community is a dystopia because they chose to be ignorant, and in return, sacrificed wisdom about warfare, nature, love, and loss.
One aspect
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At one point, the Giver shows Jonas a live video of a newchild being ‘released’ by Jonas’ father. Jonas does not yet know what realease actually is, and is eager and curious to find out. When he finds out what release actually is, a glorified version of death, he is horrified and greatly saddened, for he alone knows the pain and sorrow of death from the memories. Jonas is convinced that his father is evil, and the Giver tries in vain to console Jonas: “‘but he lied to me!’ Jonas wept. ‘It is what he was told to do, and he know nothing else’” (144). This illustrates just how much Jonas’ father lacks knowledge and wisdom, to the point where he does not know if killing an innocent baby is morally wrong. This means that Jonas’ father as well as everyone in the community will never know what is really right or wrong, nor will they know what to believe. It matters because people in Jonas’ community might think killing is a normal action, or even worse, good. People in Jonas’ community might never know what love or loss is because they won’t know when they feel it. Again, the ability to have emotions is valuable, and strong aspect that is a big factor in making us