The Role of Government in "The Giver"

Imagine a place where there is no color, no choice; a place where individuality and freedom have been traded for sameness and security. Lois Lowry is a popular children’s book author, she was born on March 20, 1937. She won two Newbery medal awards for two of her books. She also wrote a famous book called The Giver, and she wrote The Giver because her dad was getting old and his memories were starting to fade away. She also won the Newbery medal award for writing The Giver. The community within the novel, The Giver is not a utopian society because they have no choices, very strict rules, and their government controls everything.

No choices played a large role in the community. The community, within The Giver, can not see color except for the people who can see beyond. For example, Jonas starts to see beyond, he says “ Ash, does anything seem strange to you? About the apple?” (31). Seeing no color is a result of a not so utopian society. Also, the concept of free love and individuality does not exist throughout the highly organized community, which values stability and safety over individuality and freedom of choice. That’s why the community chooses the spouses for each other in the community. Jonas asked The Giver “ What if they were allowed to choose their own mate?” the giver answers “Frightening isn’t it” (124). That’s why they don’t choose their own spouses, there is no love in the community, a community without love is dull that is why it is not a utopian society. And children in the community do not get to choose their own jobs. The assignments are selected for them by a committee. At the ceremony of 12, the chief elder said “Today we honor your differences. They have determined your futures.” The community chooses the right assignments for the right child (65). Everyone’s assignment gets chosen for them. If your community has no choices it, unfortunately, is not a utopian society. Having no choices is a result of strict rules.

There are strict rules inside the community witch limit people’s freedoms. The people of Jonas's community don't understand genuine emotion or pain, because their lifestyles allow no opportunity to experience it. For example, Jonas has to take the pills every morning that is for treating stirrings ( feelings ). If your community commands you to take pills every morning it is not a utopian society. And a family unit must share their feelings at dinner time every day. They also share their dreams in the morning. The purpose of dream-telling is to determine any emotions a person might be feeling that the person does not realize and get rid of them. When it was Jonas's turn to share his dream one morning he was strangely embarrassed as he shared his dream with his family, but must abide by the rule of telling all of a dream ( 44-45). Feelings are important for everyone if your community has no feelings it is obviously a not so utopian society. Doors must be unlocked in the community because it’s really safe. For example, Jonas was surprised when he reached the annex because no doors are ever locked. The attendant tells Jonas the locks are for privacy, which the Receiver needs to do his job. The Receiver is allowed privacy, which is forbidden to all others. Doors should be locked in the community to protect our privacy if they are not it is really weird and leads to it bring a not utopian community. This is why strict rules in the community lead to a not so much utopian society. Having strict rules is not as bad as government control in the community.

Imagine a place where the government controls everything. The government in the community controls everything including the climate. There is no snow, rain or hail. The snow made growing food difficult and limited agricultural periods. Unpredictable weather made transportation almost impossible at times. It was not a practical thing, so it became obsolete (106). That is why there is no weather in the community. Some of the best times people have are in the summer and winter. Without these seasons, life would be dull. There is also no animals. For example, small children are given comfort animals that they are required to give up when they are 8. Jonas' animal is a bear, while Lily's is an elephant. The children speak of these creatures as imaginary, not seeming to have any concept of them being real live animals. Any place without animals could not possibly be a utopia. The government had also eliminated memories. Memories are only kept with the receiver of memory. No one in the community is allowed to have memories because they can be really painful. Some memories are wonderful, like the memory of snow. Jonas wanted everyone in the community to have good memories so that they could all be equal. Life without memories and feelings can be dull. Having a government controlling your community is atrocious, this is not a utopian society.

Based on the above evidence, it is obvious that the community in The Giver is not a utopian society. The community has no choices, which means they can not see color, choose their spouses or choose their jobs. They also have very strict rules they have to follow like, their doors are always unlocked, taking your pills that are for treating stirrings every morning, and sharing their dreams. Their government even controls their community by eliminating animals, weather and memories. All of these contribute to the idea that the community in The Giver is not a utopian society.