Lois Lowry’s “The Giver”

Would you be willing to give up your freedoms if that meant that you would always be safe? In Lois Lowry’s The Giver, society manages to run smoothly because they have implemented techniques to help keep the order of the community, this community doesn’t really have their own freedom or their own rights. The techniques that society uses may cause people to lose some freedoms, but their goal of maintaining order is accomplished by erasing memories, manipulating words, and suppressing emotions.

This community is not just any other, this community brainwashed their people from knowing the real-life reality. People do not get to choose their own things or get to do their own things. One example is the elders do not let the people choose their own spouse. According to the Giver, “They balanced each other. Their Match, which like all Matches had been monitored by the Committee of Elders for three years before they could apply for children, had always been a successful one.”(pg 62 Lois Lowry). This quote proves how the community maintains control over the people by choosing their own spouse because the elders study the male and female and see if they are a good match and that’s how they control the family units.

The Elders do not let the people of the community make their own choices they have to do what the elders tell them to do. The elders believe that by letting the people of the community decide their own choice between something it will be the wrong thing or maybe lead to a future disaster. According to the Giver, “Oh. Jonas was silent for a minute. “Oh, I see what you mean. It wouldn’t matter for a new child’s toy. But later it does matter, doesn’t it? We don’t dare to let people make choices of their own.” “Not safe? “The Giver suggested.” “Definitely not safe,” Jonas said with certainty. “What if they were allowed to choose their own mate? And choose wrong?.” (Lowry 124). As I was reading the book I figured out that this quote was an excellent thing to put for the reason on how the community maintains control. This quote also tells us that Jonas is not pleased by what the elders are doing to the community. The reason why the elders choose the people’s job is because if the people choose their own jobs they will probably dislike it. For an example when people choose their own job they usually whine about it, hate the job, or even their boss. But in the community the people won’t know what a job really is they will not get to leave because they are assigned to it, so most likely that’s the reason between choosing and getting assigned to a job.

Last but not least the elders control the people’s love life. In the community stirrings are not allowed. When a stirrings occurs to a child or adult they have to take a pill that avoids those love dreams. According to The Giver, “No,no,” she said. “It’s just the pills. You’re ready for the pills. That’s all. That’s the treatment for Stirrings.” (Lowry 48). That quote proves that when a stirrings occurs to a child or adult they have to take these pills that will stop them from these dreams. Therefore, this pill helps stop these love dreams from people, but also it helps the population in the community decline because a man won’t feel sexual to a women and have more kids because after to kids you can’t have no more or they’ll release them, for this reason that’s why they take the pill.

In conclusion the community does a lot of things that controls the people. From choosing their spouse to not gettin to make their own choices to taking pills when having stirrings. This community is a very strict community. The elders don’t let you do anything nor give you much freedom. These are the ways the community runs smoothly they they are given a spouse, they don’t let to get to make their own choices, and they need to take pills when they have stirrings.

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