The Giver: A Dystopian Novel

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The first way The Giver is a dystopian novel is that information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted. This is an important characteristic of a dystopian novel when the government doesn’t let citizens have independent thought or freedom. This quality is clearly displayed is the novel when it is stated that the society wouldn’t “…dare to let people make choices of their own” (124). This shows an obvious restriction of independent thought from the citizens in society in The Giver. The resistance to allowing people to make their own decisions is demonstrated when the Committee of Elders chooses people’s jobs for them and decides who every person will be partnered with. These are both prime examples of how independent thought and freedom …show more content…

This is a very important part of dystopias as it supports the concept of the idea keeping watch over people making sure they don’t do anything wrong. In the novel, it was stated that there was a “…speaker that occupied a place in every dwelling…” (100). These speakers in every home and building are obviously for the government to listen to what citizens are saying throughout the community and be sure no disobedient things are being said. It is also revealed in the book that there is video of most places in the community too. These kinds of surveillance over citizens in The Giver prove it to be dystopian. The Giver also proves to be dystopian as the citizens have a fear of the outside world. In the novel, the citizens all live in a pretty concentrated community, and everything outside that community is known as Elsewhere. Elsewhere is dreaded by the people in the community, as they all wonder and fear what could be out there. This matches up perfectly with the aspect of dystopian novels that citizens have a fear of the outside world. Therefore, the concept of Elsewhere in The Giver helps prove it to be

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