The Giver

The community in The Giver is an example of a dystopia, or anti-uptopia. It is governed by a set of rules and regulations that seemingly promote peace and order by removing freedoms and independence. The citizens of this world are unaware of the negative effects of such government--to them, it is a good thing.

Jonas has lived his entire life beside his community's citizens. He was constantly receiving instruction, support, and guidance from his family and peers. When he becomes "The Receiver of Memories," however, Jonas suddenly finds himself secluded because only he holds the gift of the past.

The theme of "choice" strongly influences the direction of plot. For his entire life, Jonas has been taught that he cannot be trusted to make his own choices. He has constantly been given instruction from his parents and elders, removing any right to the freedom of choice. After Jonas assumes responsibility of the collective memories, however, he begins to realizes that if everything is the same, there leaves no room for choice. As Jonas morally transforms , his desire for freedom of choice begins to take hold.

In this society, "precision of language" is extremely important. An example that attests to the magnitude of seriousness that society gives to language is when Asher misspeaks and asks for "smacks" instead of "snacks." His punishment, naturally, is to be given smacks. Additionally, certain words, such as "love," have no meaning in their community, which expresses how truly meaningless and hollow their language is to the reader.

In the novel, pain and suffering is a part of collected memories of which the elders wished to rid the community. The book argues, however, through Jonas's inner conflict, that without pain and suffering, the human experience is limited. Addionally, without remember the suffering that one has gone through in the past, it is nearly impossible to make informed decisions in an effort to prevent repeatition of such suffering in the future.

A central theme in The Giver is "memories." At some point in the community's past, they decide to rid themselves of their collective memories in an effort to free them from pain and suffering. This came with a cost, however, because ridding themselves of their memories also purged each citizen from their ability to see color, feel emotion, and engage in any activity that may result in the experience of pain. The elders understand the importance of memories, however, because without an understand of the past, you may repeat the same mistakes in the future. Because of this, Jonas is assigned the task of "Receiver of Memories" in which he alone is able to access every memory of the past. Jonas understands the reason for creating a new world without pain, but also comes to realize that without pain and suffering, one can never truly understand happiness.