WHY THE GIVER IS A UTOPIA

WHY THE GIVER IS A UTOPIA

• 1) The giver is considered a utopia because, everything is calm and perfectly ordered.
• 2) Everyone in the utopia makes the "right" decision.
• 3) All the people in the utopia are isolated in a small area.

THE UTOPIA IS CALM AND PEACEFUL

• There is never any conflict because everyone is equal and happy
• All people are assigned a job they enjoy doing and are good at, so they can't complain about their jobs.
• No one is allowed to lie, so there will be no disputes on who is lying or not.

NOTABLE QUOTES

• Jonas one day was walking around in the community and wondering how someone could not fit in, "The community was so meticulously ordered" (Lowery 48).

ANALYSIS

• This quote shows how everything in the community is perfectly ordered. there are no disputes about things because each family in the community is the same. Each person in the community has equal rights and no one in the community is smarter than anyone else. If the community was not perfectly ordered, everything would fall apart.

DECISION MAKING IN UTOPIA

• When making a decision in the community, the people were taught always to make the right decision so they were never conflicted in their minds.
• The people have been taught not to lie or make a bad decision that could get them into trouble or put them in harms way.
• Examples have consequences in the community as seen when Asher had the decision of being late to class. he was late for class one day and had to apologize in front of the class. He also got pulled aside by the teacher and the teacher told him to be never late to class again or he would get another strike. if you get three strikes you are released from the community.

NOTABLE QUOTE

• One day Jonas was wondering how he came to be receiver of knowledge. Did some one make a "choice" to put him in that position because, "... 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"(69).

ANALYSIS

• This quote reveals that people living in the utopia don't have a voice in what they do. The community feels that if people can make choices, they could make a bad decision and everything would fall apart. That's why everyone in the utopia is taught the same thing, so everyone thinks and does the same actions. If they were to make a bad decision they would have to apologize and they could get a strike.

THE COMMUNITY IS ISOLATED

• The community is isolated so the people can't get out and can't see what the real world looks like. The people in the community have never seen mountains or snow. In the community is just flat land so people can't get hurt.
• Exploring could result in people learning things about the environment, things the elders don't want them to know, like the beauty and coldness of snow.
• In the book, only Jonas and the other receiver of knowledge are allowed to experience the environment.

NOTABLE QUOTE

• "When the supplies were delivered by cargo planes to the landing field across the river, the children rode their bicycles to the riverbank and watched, intrigued, the unloading and then the takeoff directed to the west, always away from the community," a community that could be destined to become obsolete. Existence depends on knowledge; Knowledge derives from integration of experiences. You cannot have experiences in a bubble; you must constantly have a new source of stimulation.

ANALYSIS

• This quote is describing how the kids go to the river bank and watch the cargo plane drop off cargo. The kids are not allowed to go beyond the river because if they do they will find out about the real world. The community believes the outside world could bring horror to all the children in the community. In a way, this is true because knowledge of the real world would bring an end to utopia.

Untitled Slide

• Lowry, Lois. The giver. New York: houghton miffflin, 1993.