The Importance Of Freedom In The Giver Essay Example

In The Giver, Lowry demonstrates how the community members lose more than they gain as for the antagonists in the book taken away the freedom of the community because of their perspective of a Utopian society. Freedom is a vital for a perfect society, as it can provide people not having to follow repressive rules. The community loses freedom of choice and being able to make their own decisions. Also, freedom of Individuality and being able to your own identification. Lastly, being controlled by the committee makes the community live generic lives.

Throughout the novel Lois Lowry unpacks the idea of the lack of freedom of choice in the society, due to oppressive rules of the committee. When Jonas figured out what memory was, he concluded that choice is crucial for a joyful life. “If he had stayed in the community, he would not be. It was as simple as that. Once he had yearned for choice” (page 174). Jonas made a choice of leaving the community because after seeing the video of his Father killing the newborn baby, he starts to fear of going back home, so he plans to escape from the community. The reader here can get an idea why Jonas made a decisive choice to leave the community and Jonas’s new perspective of his Father. When The Giver is talking about his life and family in the he talks about his experience of being the receivers of memory and the hardships of being one. "So, there will be a whole part of your life which you won't be able to share with a family. It's hard, Jonas. It was hard for me” (page 103). The Giver mentions that you couldn’t share the memories with your family. Here the reader can infer that the memories is kept only to the receiver because, so people don’t feel pain. When Jonas felt love during the session with the giver. He decided to not take his pills.” The next morning, for the first time, Jonas did not take his pill. Something within him, something that had grown there through the memories, told him to throw the pill away.” Here the reader can understand that something or someone told to take the pills away. He was in a confused, noisy, foul-smelling place. It was daylight, early morning, and the air was thick with smoke that hung, yellow and brown, above the ground" (Page 118). Lowry’s intended effect of him using Imagery is to express the setting and place. We can therefore see that the lack of freedom of choice is due to the rules of the committee. 

In addition, Lowry uncovers the idea of the lack of freedom of individuality in the society, due to the committee not caring about individual expressions in the community. Individuality is only shown through physical appearance such as how bright or dark your eye colour is. When Jonas and Asher are playing catch together. Jonas feels bored but Asher is being entertained by a basic activity.” It was effortless for Jonas, and even boring, though Asher enjoyed it,” (page 24). Lois Lowry presents Asher in this scene as the example of the society’s flattening community. The reader here can get an understanding of how the community are entertained. Around chapter 3, Jonas realises that he’s one of the few people with light eyes. When Jonas as in the auditorium Jonas explains what parents do when a child misbehaves and irritates. “Sometimes parents used them in irritation at a child's misbehaviour, indicating that mischief made one unworthy of a name.” Here the reader can see that the ones that make mischief is how the child’s get one unworthy of a name.  “Thank you for your childhood.” Lowry’s intended effect is to make the reader think again. Therefore, this suggests that the lack of freedom of individuality, does not give meaning to people having their own identity and enjoying what they want to do.

Lastly, Lowry evaluates the idea of control in the giver, due to the Committee of Elders making the community protected from pain. Everyone in the giver lives a generic life, but in the community members perspective is manipulated to view it as a Utopian society. During one of the interactions with the giver and Jonas, The Giver talks about how the community wanted sameness way back in the past and relinquished colours from the community. “We relinquished colour when we relinquished sunshine and did away with differences," (page 95). Here the reader can infer that how sameness would create painless lives.  When Lily and Jonas’s Mother are talking in chapter 1, Jonas’s mother reminders her of the rules “Two children — one male, one female — to each family unit. It was written very clearly in the rules,” (page 8). Here the reader can get an understanding of how much people must conform to the rules of the amount of people in a family unit. “That Was before We Went to Sameness,” (Lowry, 94). Lowry’s intended effect of using Irony is to make it sound pleasing. As expressed, the idea of control is cause of the committee wanting sameness in the community.

Therefore, Lowry uses the theme of freedom to convey the way that the society in the giver works and how people’s perspectives are manipulated. Notably, the lack of freedom of choice makes the society lose being able to make their independent judgments. The lack of freedom of individuality makes the community individual unique personal traits. The control in the community makes them live robotic lives.