The Giver: Character Analysis

As Benjamin Franklin once said,“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety” (www.NPR.org). In the book The Giver, the society has chosen safety over freedom of choice for its citizens, to try to create a “perfect” utopian world. However, taking away citizens’ ability to make choices about clothing, job and family creates serious consequences that does not make it worth living in a perfect world.
To begin, the Ceremony of Twelve is the graduation ceremony of childhood, and during this ceremony citizens are assigned a role in society, which they are obligated to for their entire adult life. Jonas, the main character in the book The Giver, was assigned the role of The Receiver of Memory, which is considered a position of honor. In his position, Jonas is forced to carry the pain for all of society, which is a tremendous responsibility he never wanted or chose for himself. Later in the story, Jonas thinks,“He didn’t want the memories, didn’t want the honor, didn’t want the wisdom, didn’t want the pain… ordinary lives free of anguish because he had been selected, as others before him had,

to bear this burden” (Lowry 252). In this utopian community, all citizens are free from pain...except for one. Bearing the pain for all of society is an overwhelming burden for that one individual, Jonas, and it is one that he did not ask to carry.
In addition, The Receiver of Memory has the ability to hear and see beyond what others cannot, meaning that Jonas can feel love, see color, and hear music while the rest of the people in his society do not.

During the novel, Jonas gives an example of the unfairness,“‘Why can’t everyone see them? Why did the colors disappear?’”(Lowry 120). For the people in Jonas’ society, the choice to feel love, to see colors, or to hear music was taken from individuals, in order to create Sameness and to keep them free of pain. However, in the absence of pain, people also lessen their ability to feel positive emotions, such as love, joy, and jubilance. In addition, Jonas, the Receiver of Memory, is forced to bear the responsibility of not having the choice of sharing good memories, color, music and love with those he cares

about.
Jonas’ society appears to be a perfect world because it is safe and without worry, which seems like an environment that anyone would want to live in. Yet, the price for this safety is that each citizen is no longer an individual, but someone who is submissive and follows orders without question, even if it means releasing (killing) babies and the Old. After Jonas sees his father’s release the baby twin, he begins to question the ways of the community and The Giver tells him,“‘It’s the way they live. It’s the life that was created for them’”(Lowry 191). The people of the community were obedient and followed the orders given to them even if it included killing an innocent baby, which is a high price to pay to live in a “perfect” world.
In The Giver, living in a utopian society comes at the price of citizens giving up choice. However, giving up personal choices results in serious consequences that do not outweigh the benefits of living in a perfectly safe world. As Jonas discovers, while individuals making choices involves risk, it also allows them to experience love and joy and gives them the ability to choose their own path in life, which is invaluable.