The Giver Symbolism

A dystopian society is what all nations are hopeful to find. In the film, The Giver by Lois Lowry, it seems to be what was achieved. This film brings heaps of critical thought with symbolism and imagery thrown at the audience like there’s no tomorrow. Although the society looks perfect, it is actually quite pessimistic and scornful. Right off the bat, the main character, Jonas captures the audience’s interest with his wit and charm. The audience knows right away that something is different about him. In the film adaptation of The Giver by Lois Lowry directed by Phillip Noyce, the symbolism and imagery including the red apple, color and the triangle proves to be some of the most important elements to the story. The symbol of the red apple is very prominent throughout the film and brings critical thought and engagement to the film. The red apple symbolizes the knowledge and realization of what is right and what is wrong. The apple is strategically placed in the film so that it makes sense to represent

The triangle symbolizes hope. Jonas finds himself frustrated frequently in this film. The symbolism is very much present when Jonas kisses Fiona inside of the triangle waterfall structure and again when he is over the edge and finds the rocks shaped like a triangle. In the first instance Jonas is frustrated with the people in the community do to the fact that they are so blind to what is actually going on but once he is in the triangle, he finds peace and hope when he realizes Fiona listened to him and has feelings for him. The audience doesn’t realize that this symbolic until they put both instances together. The second example, the triangle brings him hope when he sees the triangle of rocks because he is one step closer to freeing the memories. Although this symbol is subtle, it is very significant to the