Color Free

The livelihoods of the inhabitants in The Giver are rather eccentric in comparison to our own. The background of why they have families, population control, and the ways in which the stereotypical family structure is altered in this book are all pieces to a grand puzzle. A mystery which requires a great deal of analysis in order to understand the purpose of the book.
The domestic structure in The Giver is an exceptionally superficial one. Reason being, although it appears to be a typical family, hence two parents and two children, the fact that these people were jostled together by a council reveals precisely how synthetic their so called families are. The datum that a council makes decisions for these people demonstrates their desire to be controlled and to eliminate pain from their lives. This particular society wants to placate all of the burdens of life and responsibility on a relatively minuscule and select assemblage of people. The council is a rather shadowy aspect of this story. Although they too do not want full accountability and redistribute that burden to the Receiver of Memory which happens to be the main character Jonas.
Referring back to my previous point about family, one must ruminate that the Jonas’s family is a spitting image of this superficial existence. After Jonas begins to experience both pain and pleasure including memories of the warmth which family can bring he realizes the underlying dysfunction of his family. This is a momentous enlightenment for Jonas. In my opinion, one of the most pivotal points in the story is when Jonas asks his parents if they love him, and they reject that particular word. This occurrence demonstrates that their connection to one another is considerably weak as well as imperso...

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... of control I oppose the most is the mandatory medication to prevent stirrings. As humans, we are meant to have sex and choose our partners to procreate with. By taking these elements away we lose an essential part of being human. In this society gender would become irrelevant except for the birthmothers. Sexuality is such a vital aspect of our lives and I reason that people who would give that up are a bit insane.
The Giver is a dystopian book that should be a required reading in high school. It demonstrates that people are at times willing to make great sacrifices in order to have a sense of direction and normalcy which can lead to negative consequences depending on one’s viewpoint. In this case Jonas and the giver are the only living people in this society who are enlightened as to how their lives are dull, and realize pleasure and pain are worth fighting for.