The Controversy Of Euthanasia In 'The Giver'

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Controversy of The Giver Joseph Stalin once said, “Death is the solution to all problems.” Lois Lowry seemed to follow this quote throughout the novel The Giver. There has been controversial outbreaks whether the book should be allowed in schools for children to read as assignments, be held in the local library, or even in people’s homes to read. However, this novel is important and should be read by everyone who gets the chance. This novel has such controversy due to its discussion of euthanasia. Euthanasia is the killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease. This act is illegal in most states and is still frowned upon by the citizens in the states that allow it. Euthanasia is still allowed in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Montana. Alabama, Idaho, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming have zero enactments to incriminate someone for assisting their suicide. …show more content…

Lowry does not come directly out to tell us that euthanasia is enforced. Instead, Lowry uses the term “released” whenever someone goes missing. “There were only two occasions of release which were not punishments. Release of the elderly, which was a time of celebration for a life well and fully lived; and the release of a new child, which always brought a sense of what-could-we-have-done” (Lowry 8). This quote describes to us that people in this society get released when they have gone against the society’s rules. The quote also informs the reader that releases occur when children are born unhealthy, the elderly reach a certain age, or when a family has more that one son and one

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