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The Giver Dbq Essay

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Can the society in The Giver be considered an utopia or dystopia? Lois Lowry, the author of The Giver got her idea in 1992 when she went to go visit her father. She then discovered that her father was losing his memory, but her mother wasn’t. This then made Lowry questions if live would be easier if all the painful memories disappeared. Is The Giver's community an Utopia or Dystopia? The Giver’s community is a dystopia because there is limited freedom, people of the community are oblivious to what is happening around them, and the Committee of Elders are abusing their power. First, The Giver’s community is a dystopia because there is limited freedom. I know this because in the Document E it says, “Oh,” Jonas was silent for a minute. “Oh, I …show more content…

It may sound weird but in Document B it says, . “But then everyone would be burdened and pained. They don’t want that. And that’s the real reason The Receiver is so vital to them, and so honored. They selected me — and you — to lift that burden from themselves.” Which means that the people of the community all think that The Receiver does something else, than what he actually does. They don’t realize that The Receiver is the one that lifts that burden of being in pain and having the memories. Another piece of evidence is that in Document D it says, “He killed it! My father killed it! Jonas said to himself, stunned at what he was realizing. He continued to stare at the screen numbly.” Which means that Jonas didn’t know what release meant until he actually saw it, so if Jonas didn’t know, then the rest of the people on the community wouldn’t know either. The only people who would know what really actually means were the people who “released” people, and people who saw it happen. Other than them nobody else knows. As a result, the Giver’s community is a dystopia because people in the community are oblivious to what is happening around …show more content…

The evidence is in Document E where it says, “Or what if,” he went on, almost laughing at the absurdity, “they chose their own jobs?” “Frightening, isn’t it?” The Giver said. Jonas chuckled. “Very frightening. I can’t even imagine it. We really have to protect people from wrong choices.” Which means they're are putting under the influence that they can't have jobs, and that it would be impossible for them to choose for themselves, because even if they did, they would choose wrong. They are brainwashed into thinking that nothing can be changed because that’s the influence that the people in charge are putting them under. Another piece of evidence is in Document D where it says, “Jonas stared at the screen, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did. The little twin lay motionless. His father was putting things away. Folding the blanket. Closing the cupboard… He killed it! My father killed it! Jonas said to himself, stunned at what he was realizing. He continued to stare at the screen numbly.” Which means that normal and common members of the community don’t know what “release” means. The people in charge want the members of the community to not know what “release means. People in the community think that “release” is just people going into an another world, but it isn’t. They don’t know what it really is, and that’s because the people in charge don’t want them to know and

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