The Giver Brainwashs

Most People Are Being Brainwashed
In The Giver, just about everyone is brainwashed and in the real world, many people are without realizing it. The Giver, written by Lois Lowry is the story of a young boy named Jonas who lives in a utopian world where the people are oblivious to anything painful or hurtful in any way. Jonas is elected as the community’s new “Receiver of Memory” and discovers the scary truth about his community. He learns what pain is and he learns that all of the good, important memories were taken from the people. He decides to run away, and with him, he takes a child named Gabriel, who was going to be released, or euthanized. Brainwashing is a dangerous act and should not happen because it leads to people being oblivious and to other terrible acts. In The Giver, the community is oblivious to what release is. They have no understanding of how it happens. In the book, when Jonas learns what it actually is, he exclaims, “He killed! My father killed it!”(Lowry, 150) Jonas was speaking about one of the twins in a set, who had to be released because twins are not
allowed in the community. This exclamation also shows that up until that point, Jonas had been led to believe that release was a good thing, and when he saw the child injected with needle even, he thought nothing of it. In fact, he did not realize what had happened until he saw the child go completely still. The rest of the community is the same way. They are totally oblivious to what release and other things really are. They had technically been brainwashed to believe that because the memories of death and ideas of release had been scientifically planted in their minds years before. This shows how large of crowd brainwashing can affect. It also is not just Jonas’s community. The people occasionally visit or have visitors from other communities that think in ways extremely similar to those of the main community in the book. Therefore, anyone could see how drastic of change brainwashing can make. These days, thousands of people are essentially brainwashed by the media. One article stated that, “They painstakingly select images and scenes that will associate their products and programs to desired, pleasurable, and optimum outcomes.”(Media, 1) Many companies use techniques like editing softwares to make people want their products. For example, McDonald’s chooses to show bright colors and edited images of their food to make it look more tempting and desirable. This shows that most people are lied to on many occasions and are subliminally messaged to want a product. Many people have probably watched a commercial and even ordered expensive products because commercials make them seem desirable and that they work flawlessly, when in reality it is completely different. On the other hand, some people believe that it is good to be brainwashed or subliminally messaged because it keeps people in order and safe from danger.
In reality, brainwashing actually leads to much more serious danger. According to a news article by Daily Mail, there was a man named Charles Manson, “who was able to win friends, influence famous people and brainwash his followers into committing murder for him.”(Zennie, 1) This article was talking about a sociopath who would brainwash his friends and others into doing his dirty work, and eventually committing murder for him. Clearly, brainwashing is in fact dangerous. It can lead to broken laws and illegal acts. Also, it causes others to take the fall and not the person who began the dangerous act. The worst part of it is that it was only one man, who was able to easily learn how to brainwash others and it ended with people
dying. In The Giver, the community doesn’t understand many things, including release because they’ve been brainwashed to believe otherwise. Someone chose what everyone in the community was allowed to know and how much they were allowed to do. Today, the media brainwashes thousands of people by sending out hidden subliminal messages. Dangerous people can use brainwashing as a technique to commit serious crimes. As one can see, brainwashing, also known as subliminal messaging is extremely dangerous, unfair, and should never be used or taken part in. It is obviously very wrong, and though most people are aware of that, those who are not should be informed on the extreme dangers and problems that come from brainwashing and/or subliminal messaging.