Sameness In The Giver, By Lois Lowry

The Giver Theme Essay

Don Van Vliet, and American artist, once said: “I’d never just want to do what everybody else did. I’d be contributing to the sameness of everything.” In the book, The Giver, by Lois Lowry, people do not have a choice to do what everyone else did or not. Everyone was contributing to the sameness of the community Jonas, the protagonist, lives in. In this community, everyone was the same. They all had and did the same things and did not get to make choices for themselves. Everyone gets an assignment, like a career, at the Ceremony of Twelve. But Jonas received a special assignment, he had been given the honor to be the next Receiver of Memory, who received and stored all of the memories of the world’s past. Jonas received

memories from the previous receiver, memories that were happy and sad, violent and peaceful, and soothing and horrifying. Jonas’ father was a nurturer and he brought home a baby, named Gabriel. When Jonas heard that Gabriel was going to be released from the community, he ran off with him. Jonas needed to get away from the community of all the rules, release, and sameness. He needed to get away from the society that he knew had many things wrong with it. In the end, Jonas and Gabriel find a new place to live where they know they will be happy. It all comes down to show that a society with sameness is harmful to the people.

In The Giver, by Lois Lowry, the theme of a society with sameness is harmful to the people is explored through the symbols sled, music, and animals.

First of all, in The Giver, the symbol sled contributes to the theme of a society of sameness is harmful to the people in a multitude of ways. To begin with, the Giver, the previous receiver, gave Jonas a memory of a ride on a sled and Jonas wonders why the community does not have snow, sleds, and hills. The book states, “‘Why don’t we have snow, and sleds, and hills?’ he (Jonas) asked. ‘And when did we, in the past? Did my parents have sleds when they were young? Did you?’ The old man shrugged and gave a short laugh. ‘No,’ he told Jonas. ‘It’s a very distant memory’” (83). When the community went to sameness, all of that went away. Jonas wants to know when the sleds went away, and it was a very long time ago. The sled is a memory of the past, before sameness, and without sleds, hills, and snow, there are many enjoyable activities that are gone, and that is not good, and as a result of sameness, climate is becoming the same, and sameness is not good for the society. Second, sledding is a happy memory many people today have, but in The Giver, only the Giver and Jonas have those memories of happiness.

The book illustrates the memory of Jonas riding on a sled and everything that comes with sledding, like the cold temperature, snow, and hills (80-82). The sled provided many happy memories for Jonas, which everyone else in the community did not have. Therefore, as a result of nobody having the happy memories, the people were the same and because of the memories everyone lacked, it damaged the society. Additionally, the sled is one symbol that shows that in the past, not everyone or everything was the same. The text states, “Now he (Jonas) became aware of an entirely new sensation: pinpricks? No, because they were soft and without pain. Tiny, cold, featherlike feelings peppered his body and face… …his face cut thought the frigid air as he began the descent” (80-81). From this memory, the reader can infer that it is cold and snowy, but in the community, because of climate control, there is none of that, no hot, cold, clouds, sun, snow or rain. The weather is always the same, therefore sleds cannot be used. This is one factor that the people of the community eliminated when they went to sameness, and without having seasons and summer and winter activities, society has undergone a change that is not good for the people who live in the community. All in all, the symbol sled helps to convey the theme of a society with sameness is harmful to the people because there are no sleds when there used to be, nobody has the happy memories of a world without sameness, and because sleds cannot be used with the climate control the community has.
Secondly, the theme of the book, The Giver, is also proved by the symbol music. To start with, music is how the Giver first identified that he was different and had the capability of being the next receiver. The Giver states, “‘When I was just a boy, younger than you, it began to come to me. But it wasn’t the seeing-beyond for me. It was different. For me it was hearing-beyond.’ Jonas frowned, trying to figure that out. ‘What did you hear?’ he asked. ‘Music,’ The Giver said, smiling. ‘I began to hear something truly remarkable, and it is called music. I’ll give you some before I go’” (157). Nobody else heard music, but the giver started to hear music, separating him from the sameness of society. One way that the community went to sameness is that nobody can hear music except for a few select people, and without music, something absolutely beautiful, people do not get to fully enjoy the beauty of the world, which is not good for them. Next, when Jonas and Gabriel are heading toward a new community, he hears music. The book declares, “Suddenly he (Jonas) was aware with certainty and joy that below, ahead, they were waiting for him; and that they were waiting, too, for the baby. For the first time, he heard something that he knew to ge music. He heard people singing” (178-179). Jonas and Gabriel were sledding towards the new community they were going to live in, and they heard music and the people sounded happy. This was clearly a community without sameness, and the people got together and sang, which never happened in Jonas’ community. This shows that people are happy in a community without sameness and if Jonas’ community got rid of sameness, the people there would probably be happy too. To end with, Jonas thought he heard music from the community he had left. The text says that from the community he had left far behind so long ago, he thought he heard music, but perhaps it had just been an echo (179). Jonas thought he had heard music from his old community, and it could have been an echo from the other music coming from the other community, or his community was starting to go away from sameness and he was able to hear their music because he was becoming able to hear beyond. But either way, Jonas is still hearing music and he now knows that places with music and other activities make the people happy. To conclude, the symbol music supports the theme of a society of sameness is harmful to the people because normal people cannot hear music and it makes people happy and appreciate the beauty of the world.
Finally, animals also support the theme of a society with sameness is harmful to the people.

First, elephants and the memory that Jonas receives with that supports the theme of The Giver. The Giver declares, “Going closer, he watched them hack the tusks from a motionless elephant on the ground and haul them away, spattered with blood. He felt himself overwhelmed with a new perception of the color he knew as red” (100). This memory of death gives Jonas a better understanding of the cruelty in the world and helps him understand what happened when he watched his father perform a release. The people in the community have no emotions, so they do not really care that much about anything. For example, Jonas’ father performs a release and pretty much kills an innocent baby, and he thinks nothing of it. On the other hand, Jonas responds with so much passion that he cannot go back to his house that night. Next, horses also support the theme of The Giver because of what happens in a memory Jonas receives. The book says that The Giver gives Jonas the memory that was torturing him that day. It was a memory of war, with soldiers and horses. In the memory, horses were dying and the soldiers were suffering from wounds. Afterward, Jonas could not bear any longer (118-120). Horses are an animal that has been eliminated from Jonas’ community. But, fortunately, there is no war in the community, so in that one way, sameness can be good. However, because there is no war, nobody really

cares about death and knows just how awful it is. Additionally, there are no horses in the community, and horses are animals that can help teach you many life skills. Therefore, a society with sameness is harmful to the people. Lastly, birds also show that sameness is harmful to the people. The Giver states, “Though he (Jonas) had never seen one before, he identified it from his fading memories, for The Giver had given them to him often. It was a bird. Soon there were many birds along the way, soaring overhead, calling” (171). Birds are amazing and beautiful, and Jonas’ community is missing on so many amazing creatures and experiences because of sameness. Without birds, there is nothing in the sky or animals to look at, making everything dull and boring, which describes sameness extremely well. To summarize, many animals in the book, The Giver, such as elephants, horses, and birds, support the theme of a society with sameness is harmful to the people.
In conclusion, in the book, The Giver, by Lois Lowry, the symbols sled, music, and animals, are used to explore the theme of a society with sameness is harmful to the people. First, animals are used to support the theme. The memory of the elephant made Jonas know what death was, the horses made Jonas understand the concept of war and there are no horses in the current community, which means they lack many skills. Also, birds support the theme because without birds, the world can be boring, as there is nothing overhead. Next, music is also a key factor in the theme. The Giver heard music when everyone else did not, and they are missing a lot in the beautiful world because of it. Additionally, the people in the community Jonas and Gabriel are heading towards are singing, and they sound happy without sameness, so if Jonas’ community got rid of sameness, the likelihood of the people being happier is extremely high. Finally, the symbol sled also contributes to the theme of sameness. The community does not have sleds or anything associated with it. Climate is becoming the same year-round, and as a result, many activities, including sledding are not able to be done. Also, people do not have all the happy memories people should have, making everyone the same, damaging the society. Because of these three symbols and many more, sameness is not good for the people living within a society. As Don Van Vliet said, “I’d never just want to do what everybody else did. I’d be contributing to the sameness of everything.”