The Giver Community

"We fear rejection, want attention, crave affection, and dream of perfection," said Anonymous. The community in Lois Lowry’s The Giver wants to have perfection — a utopia — and they have achieved it. Their ideal society has citizens that never had the pain of war, never had to go hungry or homeless, and consequently, they never have experienced any emotions. Jonas has grown up in a community without memories of pain, poverty, and war. Growing up without these memories, the community’s citizens do not know how to fight back for themselves or disagree with its leaders. Does this lead to perfect community? Yes, it does. Without the memories, all the people in the community will follow any directions that their leaders give them. An example
of this is Jonas' father. He follows his orders to release (kill) children, and he does not tell anyone what actually happens. Another example in the book is the community’s leaders picking your job, your spouse, and your future. Citizens are to agree with their choices and not to complain, disagree, or even offer a different choice. Jonas does not believe that the community should choose your life or make choices best left to the individual. He also thinks that not only one person should have the responsibility for all the memories of their world. For these reasons, he chooses to leave the community behind and live his own life his way. Everyone member in the community has all they would ever need in life. They will never need to steal from each other since everyone has the same things. There is no need to be jealous when everyone eats, grooms and wears the same type of things. However, does this lead to a perfect society? It does lead to a type of perfection because the community never has disagreements or violence of any type. Citizens only get what they need if they give back to the community. If they work, they are allowed to to apply for a spouse and two children, and they are then given enough food and necessities to support the family. Since community members are also able to live a life to the “perfect” old age, there is no aging illnesses or burden on family members and society to care for its older and weaker members. Without violent citizens in the community no one will get hurt or have to be restrained. No one has the memories of pain. Past experiences have taught The Giver’s society that people who have suffered loss and mental or physical pain lash out and attack other people. Violent and unhappy people generally cannot live within a quiet, peaceful society. Jonas was raised in a society without emotion.
Although the community cannot feel the lows of depression, they also cannot feel genuine happiness either. How can avoiding all emotion lead to a perfect community? Many emotions exist that can be harmful to a happy community. Some examples include hate, confusion, anger, unrest, and sadness. These emotions must be removed for a perfect community. In The Giver, Jonas’ has parents who say that they take pride in him, but they do not feel any love toward him. Although this does not surprise Jonas, it is Jonas’ own reaction of hatred and anger toward his father that burden him through the rest of the book. On the other hand, Jonas comes to see that by taking away the good emotions, like love that families have for each other and happiness, the community can never feel something deep and personal for anyone else. He also sees there are no lasting bonds to hold families and friends together. The community in Lois Lowry’s The Giver wants to have perfection, and they think they have accomplished it. They believe a utopia is a place without pain, suffering, and war. They accept not having any feelings for one another as an consequence. This lack of emotion shows that the community actually fears attention and affection as these are the things they end up rejecting for a perfect place to
live.