Sameness In The Giver By Lois Lowry
Lois Lowry's award winning novel, The Giver, is set in a futuristic time where everyone lives in the world of sameness.The twelve year old protagonist, Jonas, along with his community, are forced to live in a world of sameness. When the kids in the community turn twelve they will be given jobs by the Committee of Elders. Jonas is given the job of being Receiver- a job in which Jonas will receive memories from the previous Receiver. From the memories Jonas learns colors, emotions and new and descriptive words. He quickly realizes how unfair it is that other people in his community can't see and feel the way he can. Everyone but Jonas and the previous Receiver are unaware on what they are missing out on. Therefore, sameness was a negative choice for the community. Due to sameness,
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If someone in the community gets a scratch on there knee from a fall, yes they will feel pain, but pain isn't a deep or true emotion. People in the community have no concept on what emotion really is. When Jonas is Receiver he experiences the feeling of Love through a memory. From that memory, Jonas starts to get a good conception on what love truly is. That night Jonas asked his parents if they loved him. His parents said love is a "generalized word", that the word is "meaningless that it's become almost obsolete". His parents also said that instead of asking the question of "Do you love me?" you should ask "Do you enjoy me?" or "Do you take pride in my accomplishments?" (129). This specific evidence shows the reader that his parents have no true grasp on what love means. To us, they may even seem heartless.
Therefore, sameness was a negative choice for the community due to the lack of freedoms that they have received. Although there are positive aspects to sameness, the negative ones overwhelm them. When you compare our world to Joan's world, you will see how much sameness really did affect the
If someone in the community gets a scratch on there knee from a fall, yes they will feel pain, but pain isn't a deep or true emotion. People in the community have no concept on what emotion really is. When Jonas is Receiver he experiences the feeling of Love through a memory. From that memory, Jonas starts to get a good conception on what love truly is. That night Jonas asked his parents if they loved him. His parents said love is a "generalized word", that the word is "meaningless that it's become almost obsolete". His parents also said that instead of asking the question of "Do you love me?" you should ask "Do you enjoy me?" or "Do you take pride in my accomplishments?" (129). This specific evidence shows the reader that his parents have no true grasp on what love means. To us, they may even seem heartless.
Therefore, sameness was a negative choice for the community due to the lack of freedoms that they have received. Although there are positive aspects to sameness, the negative ones overwhelm them. When you compare our world to Joan's world, you will see how much sameness really did affect the