Analyzing The Theme Of Sameness In 'The Giver'

443 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Significance of conformity in social psychology

"Being different is a talent. You illuminate what makes you special in the sea of sameness around you." Imagine being in a society where no choices are made. Your freedom has been taken away from you and replaced with sameness. Caught in a "never-ending cycle of sameness" wouldn't it be unjust?
Sameness means 'lack of variety; uniformity or monotony' for instance the lack of individuality. The lack of individuality means you won't be able to represent who you are. Unable to pick and choose what you want to do, wear, how to style your hair and etc. In the short story, Noting to Envy a man named Chang bo had no basic freedoms with the country of South Korea. On page 4 it states "made sure people aren't violating the dress code by wearing blue jeans or t-shirts…” This quote means that every day they had to were clothes that follow the strict dress code. Obeying the standards to wear the same clothing every day. Furthermore, in the novel 'The Giver' one character named 'The giver' states "Our people made the choice, the choice to go to sameness...We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with difference." In other words, meaning, the people of that society made everything different/unique disappear. …show more content…

People don't question why they have to do a certain activity they just follow the crowd. For example, in the lottery written by Shirly Jackson, it states "Old man Warner was saying ‘Come on, come on, everyone.’” Old man warner is one of the oldest man in the town and was encouraging to sacrifice a person without knowing why. In addition, in the Japanese short story named 'The wise old women,' it tells how an emperor conquered a land and got rid of all the old folk due to being useless. In the land, the elder peoples' sons have to carry them to the woods and let them die. The people don't question why they have to do it instead of the soldiers of the

Show More
Related

  • The Role Of Collectivism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is you’re "in group. " You identify most with your family and other people are not as important to you. When you do this, you form the idea that you are different from everyone else. In this book, the leaders want everyone to be the same so that they will not try to rebel against the society. The leaders want everyone to think the same so that there will be complete social

    Read More

  • The Giver Literary Analysis

    269 Words  | 1 Pages

    In The Giver, a narrative by Lois Lowry, Jonas’s father illustrates his feelings during his Ceremony of Twelve and Jonas tells about his own feelings concerning the forthcoming event. In the text it states, “‘But to be honest, Jonas,’ his father said, ‘for me there was not the element of suspense that there is with your ceremony. Because I was already fairly certain of what my Assignment was to be,’”(Lowry, paragraph 3). This segment of text elucidates the reason of Jonas’s father’s lack of surprise of his Assignment. As stated above, Jonas’s father was already certain of his Assignment, which he continues to explain to be a Nurturer. Jonas’s father explains that as a result of the love he showed all the Newchildren and the time he spent at

    Read More

  • Sameness In The Giver By Lois Lowry

    273 Words  | 1 Pages

    Sameness is the quality or state of being alike or of not changing. Everyone is same in Jonas’s community. Sameness has both advantages and disadvantages, but more advantages in The Giver by Lois Lowry.

    Read More

  • The Giver Compare And Contrast

    102 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Giver and Matched are both futuristic societies with a lot of rules. In The Giver the Elders choose their match as well as their children. Jonas starts loving Fiona but isn’t allowed and stops taking the pill. In Matched the officials choose their match but they can have their own children. Cassia is matched with Xander but also loves Ky and doesn't know what to do. In both story they all get jobs for the rest of their lives but in Matched they just call it vocations. Jonas gets the Receiver of memory and Cassia is supposed to be the sorter.

    Read More

  • Essay On Conformity In The Giver

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lois Lowry describes a futuristic world with controlled climate, emotions, way of living and eliminates suffering in her book The Giver. The main character, Jonas, shows the reader what his world is like by explaining a very different world from what society knows today. Everything is controlled, and no one makes choices for themselves or knows of bad and hurtful memories. There is no color, and everything is dull. As he becomes the Receiver who has to know all the memories and pass them down to the next Receiver, he realizes his world needs change. He starts to believe that a world of sameness where no one can decide or make choices for themselves is boring. Lois Lowry is warning readers that living in a world of sameness is not something to create as it is boring and dull, but if the world follows conformity and does not value diversity and difference enough, society could become that of Jonas’s.

    Read More

  • The Lack Of Equality In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being unique is a necessary part of life. People are told from being children to adults that they need to be themselves. They are told to do what they love and love what they do. What if the world didn’t allow this? Kurt Vonnegut ponders the idea of a life in which the government enforces complete equality. “Harrison Bergeron” takes place in a future society that hinders people with skills to make everyone equal. This society makes everyone worse instead of better. People having skills and differences is key to life. Equality should be for all in the eyes of the law, however people must be allowed to be unique and have different skills.

    Read More

  • The Effect of World War One on Domestic Life

    2731 Words  | 6 Pages

    they believe it is a brave and noble thing. This was how the war was

    Read More

  • The Sense of Character

    743 Words  | 2 Pages

    The things that make one different are the things that cause the world to change and lead to conformity. Uniqueness is a characteristic that is in everyone; no one person is the same. In this way, Equality 7-2521 from Anthem, a novel written by Ayn Rand, conforms to society on his outward actions to keep him safe, but on this inside, his drive for individuality and not being “normal” allows him to discover a tunnel in which he discovers multiple things like electricity. In a similar aspect, I seek to with my mind, as if a moving vehicle, swerve sharply to the opposite direction to avoid indifference and achieve my maximum potential.

    Read More

  • Theme In Kurt Vonnegut's 'Harrison Bergeron'

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being unique is a necessary part of life. People are told starting as children that they need to be themselves. They are told to do what they love and love what they do. What if the world didn’t allow this? Kurt Vonnegut ponders the idea of a life in which the government enforces complete equality. “Harrison Bergeron” takes place in a future society that hinders people with skills to make everyone equal. This society makes everyone worse instead of better. Complete equality has too many issues for it to be viable. Equality should be for all in the eyes of the law. However, complete equality should not be pursued because taking away the differences between people is a clear mistake.

    Read More

  • Sameness In The Giver

    450 Words  | 1 Pages

    Although sameness has some good factors such as being safe and not feeling pain, sameness lacks emotions, personal expression and being able to make decisions. First off, sameness lacks the qualities a human should have. Sameness means everyone is the same. No religion no emotion, no choices and no individuality.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Essay On The Giver

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the history of the world, there has been many societies. All these societies had similar structures and ideas, but they all are different by their own special traditions and ways of life. Similarly, both our society and the society in The Giver share similar ideas, but they are different in certain areas. For example, they both celebrate birthdays and have family units, but they have their own way of doing so. Based on the celebration of birthdays and the formation of family units, our society is better than the society in The Giver by Lois Lowry.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Giver

    901 Words  | 2 Pages

        The apple in The Giver symbolizes change. In Jonas’s visions he “had noticed, following the path of the apple through the air with this eyes, that the piece of fruit had-well, this was the part he couldn't adequately understand - the apple had changed. Just for an instant.” (21-22)  This shows Jonas has the power to see beyond, he is experiencing  the color red.  Change may happen even by accident but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad.  Such as in this case where changing continuously allowed Jonas to help others constantly by taking the burden of all the pain in the world because of a mistake in genetic engineering.  As you can tell sameness, precision, and indistinguishable people doesn’t mean perfection.  Change is necessary to allow everyone a chance to grow, to experience, to grow as a person and in their jobs, to be unique, and different.  That way

    Read More

  • Sameness In The Giver

    698 Words  | 2 Pages

    First of all, Sameness is a disadvantage in the community because it does not benefit

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Individuality In The Giver

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others” (97). In the book The Giver by Lois Lowry, no one has seen a rainbow after a storm, no one knew what colors were; what choosing was; what it meant to be an individual. Everyone lived in complete Sameness, and never learned what it meant to be an individual. By eliminating as much self expression as possible in Sameness and society, Jonas's community has rejected the individuality of a society where people are free to move society forward. In The Giver individuality is represented by colors, memories, and pale eyes.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Giver And Our Society

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many similarities between the giver and our society. We are all human, both have celebrations, and both have rules we have to follow. We are different in the sense that our family systems are different, the community has no colours and they have no love. They live in a high tech Utopia with different ways while we just live in a middle-aged reality. There are many similarities between the giver and our society like how we both have jobs but there are mostly huge differences like how the community has no colour.

    Read More

More about Analyzing The Theme Of Sameness In 'The Giver'

Open Document