Theme Of Lying In The Giver

One of the greatest commandments written in history is “Thou Shalt not lie.” From a young age we have been taught of the negative effects of lying. We are taught, as toddlers, not to cheat on tests and punished for our dishonesty when caught. But as we grow older we discover that lying is not as terrible as we were raised to believe. Sometimes lying is safer than the truth. Lying helps us to protect the well-being of family and friends. Deception and secrecy are two major themes of Lois Lowry’s The Giver. While being dishonest is against the rules in The Giver, the survival of the community is dependent on deception and secrecy. Lying is written into the daily lives of the people of the community, and used so commonly that people are not aware

The children of the Community are raised with a set of rules engrained into their brains. The most important rule of the Community is that they are forbidden to lie, with a focus on the younger community members. They are required to share every aspect of their lives, feelings and dreams, with each other. These Rules are enforced by speakers around the Community, in public places and in private homes, to ensure that all members of the society are obeying all the laws. They have no privacy. As the children get older and turn Twelves, they receive their assignments. Many of the Twelves are told that they are allowed to break certain rules in order to successfully complete their daily tasks. The Community is built on the deceit and secrecy of the adults and the Elders, while the children are corrupted and taught to be

The government in The Giver is based on keeping information from the members of the Community and using deception to control the society. Jonas is exposed to the truth through receiving the memories from The Giver. The government relies on The Giver and The Receiver to keep the secrets of the old ways and prevent the members of the Community from rebelling. The Elders do not allow the members of the Community to know the truth of the releasings because it would cause the Community to know too much and have too much power. The leaders of the Community trick the members of the Community into thinking that they are able to make decisions, when in reality they are living a life void of free will. While secrecy and dishonesty are forbidden while growing up in the Community, they are building blocks of the governmental control over the