Throughout history, people had made numerous futile attempts to create an Utopian society. The term "Utopia" depicts on an imaginary ideal state. Such a state is describe in The Giver. In The Giver, Jonas's community believes in the renunciation of personal properties, rights, one's unique characteristics and of binding personal relationships (such as marriage). This society is believed to be perfect, free of pain and sorrow; everything is under control and "same". This serene society greatly contradict with the one we live in. Our society is furnished with hatred and warfare, yet in return, we are given freedom and the privilege of having distinctive characters. Given the nature of human beings, our society is more idealistic to live in. Utopia is an imaginary state, which consists of people who believe they are more capable to live in a group than alone. In such a community, the welfare of the group is the primary interest comparing to the comfort of individuals. The purpose of this society is to allow people to live in equality and freedom. Their social and economical status would be the same. An example of such a society was established in 1848, by John Humphrey Noyes. It soon dissolved at 1880 because of the oppositions aroused among the people about the system of "complex marriage". This system is different from the one in The Giver, whereby all adults in the community were considered married to one another. The Giver presents a community that appears to be perfect on the surface. Jonas's community is free of warfare, pain, sorrow and other bitterness we suffer in our society. The world seems to be secure and undergoes little conflict. Such a community seems flawless and is the idealistic society that we longed to live in. However , through Jonas's training, the imperfections of the Utopian community are revealed. The community allows little individual freedom and choice. In allowing only one person, the Receiver, to bear the memories of the world, the community frees itself from suffering and conflict. As a result, it gives up the ability to experience true feelings, passion, individual privacy, freedom and knowledge. To maintain the community's order, strict rules are applied to the inhabitants. "Releases" ( a less offensive term for kills) are performed to the citizens who jeopardize the stability and peace of the community. The inhabitants' careers and spouses are chosen by the Elders (or government).
“I knew that there had been times in the past-terrible times-when people had destroyed others in haste, in fear, and had brought about their own destruction” (48). In the old days, when people in Jonas’s community valued individual needs, there were lots of terrible happenings: violence; and then the society ended up with general welfare and safety. It is difficult for us to think of a world without color, freedom, music and love, but in The Giver, the society denounces these things in order to make room for peace and safety. In The Giver, by having a society based on general welfare they gave safety to their people. No violence, no criminal activities, nor homicides.
Living in a perfect world is like living in an anthill. An ant does not think on it’s own, make it’s own decisions, and doesn't really have any own identity, just like the utopians. It is not worth living in a perfect world. The utopian society we are introduced to in the book, The Giver, has many different characteristics that make the perfect life unbearable. Examples of these things are The Receiver, the community, and the chief elders.
The definition of Utopia is, “an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.” The rules and controls listed above and the many more that are in the book “Anthem” describe a society trying to become collective but in a utopian way. The purpose of these rules and controls is to keep the society collectivist. Fear is what runs this society. “.
Lowry writes The Giver in the dystopian genre to convey a worst-case scenario as to how modern society functions. A dystopia is an “illusion of a perfect society” under some form of control which makes criticism about a “societal norm” (Wright). Characteristics of a dystopian include restricted freedoms, society is under constant surveillance, and the citizens live in a dehumanized state and conform to uniform expectations (Wright). In The Giver, the community functions as a dystopian because everyone in the community conforms to the same rules and expectations. One would think that a community living with set rules and expectations would be better off, but in reality, it only limits what life has to offer. Instead, the community in the novel is a dystopian disguised as a utopian, and this is proven to the audience by the protagonist, Jonas. Jonas is just a norma...
One of the various issues that has been an essential part of ethical and legal debate, over the history leaders tried to make Utopia. Every story ends for a reason and death brings an end to an each individual's dreams. Although the short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, aims at presenting an evidently best and perfect world, the anxiety of freedom is abandoned. Basically, the point of Utopia is that it's an impression of 'ideal worlds'. What I believe, the right name ‘Utopia’ itself means "No-place" in this world. Even if we have perfect world; there is always one person who feels that there is something is missing. We are human we are born naturally with imperfection. I believe we are imperfect, utopia is non-existed land and author proves in his work. God has made everything for purpose we cannot do what we want because God has given brains to humans, which makes them unique which leads to think different, act and react different.
society, everyone wears the same clothes, follows the same rules, and has a predetermined life. A community just like that lives inside of Lois Lowry’s The Giver and this lack of individuality shows throughout the whole book. This theme is demonstrated through the control of individual appearance, behavior, and ideas.
In The Giver the leaders in the community are afraid to give people too many choices. They never get go beyond their small community they have never experienced real life or the real world. They have never experienced snow, rain, or sunshine ever. They have never experienced color all they see is black and white. The don’t know what conflict is like because it never happens. I know that my life isn’t perfect and yes, sometimes I have conflict with people, but it makes you a stronger and better person. They are closed off from the world and they will never know what real life is really like.
One of the major ideas about the future of humans has been the utopian society, or simply utopia, which is an ideally perfect world where everyone can live harmoniously together despite different backgrounds, ethnicity, religions, beliefs, and so on. However, the idea of such a society is bombarded with many arguments, most of which point out to that, considering the current and harsh conditions that the world is facing, the perfect and dreamed world cannot exist or be realized. To elaborate the utopian society topic, this essay will explore the progress of study of a utopian society, the important characteristic of a utopian world, and investigate the probability of a reality where such a world may exist in mankind’s
The short story Harrison Bergeron helps support the idea that all Utopias are going to fail. In Harrison Bergeron characters like him find flaws in their “perfect” community and do something about it. In the Giver, Jonas is the character that rebels against the community because he is able to see past the lies set up by the elders and see the bad parts of it. Another reason it failed was because of the pain from the handicaps. Jonas’s community doesn’t experience any pain,except for Jonas and the Giver, Jonas makes a stand by escaping and leaving the memories of pain for the rest of the community.
“The vision of one century is often the reality of the next…” (Nelson 108). Throughout time, great minds have constructed their own visions of utopia. Through the study of utopias, one finds that these “perfect” societies have many flaws. For example, most utopias tend to have an authoritarian nature (Manuel 3). Also, another obvious imperfection found in the majority of utopias is that of a faulty social class system (Thomas 94). But one must realized that the flaws found in utopian societies serve a specific purpose. These faults are used to indicate problems in contemporary society (Eurich 5, Targowski 1). Over the years, utopian societies have been beneficial in setting improved standards for society. By pointing out the faults of society, improvement is the most likely next step. Citizens should take advantage of utopian literature in order to better future societal conditions (Nelson 104). Because it is impossible to create a perfect society in which everyone’s needs can be met, society must analyze utopias in order to improve their existing environment.
“Utopia is that which is in contradiction with reality” (Albert Camus).A utopia is an abstract society or community that possesses nearly perfect qualities that are greatly desired for its members. Utopia can be said as the perfect abode that has been designed so that no issues exist there.
Utopia is a society that you really can’t wrap your head around. In Utopia it talks about Thomas, Raphael, Peter how they met and what they think they about the society. It ask you questions that really makes you think, would I want to live in this society? Utopia talks about how they are a perfect society but it makes you wonder if they really are. (More, 2011)
The book The Giver is a dystopian book because you don’t get to make any of your own decisions. You would never know the truth about release. You would never experience life how you should experience it. The world may seem perfect from someone’s view inside the community, but from the outside it is harsh and horrible. Their world could be turned into a utopia eventually, but as of right know it is a
In Utopias, as in the Garden, one must give as much of oneself as possible to the society so that there is plenty to distribute to all members. The fall and the subsequent banishment from the perfect existence within the Garden serves as an example of how corruption has removed humanity from its golden age, or the “original period of human felicity, [the] idyllic state of ease, harmony, peace, and plenty” (Murfin and Ray 205). Humanity, having been educated in the perfection of the past, and the possibilities that morality, tolerance, and communitarianism can offer us for future betterment, continues to seek redemption to this lost age. Utopian philosophy and literature has served as the tool with which humanity can explore the possibilities of these preferable existences.
Peoples’ views of what the perfect society would look like have changed because of a few cultures in history. This “perfect society”, also called a utopia, can be found within many different religions, mythologies, cultures, and more. These change us to think differently about what we would call perfect. For example, everyone works together, everyone for themselves, isolation from the rest of the world, and so on. A few generalizations have been made about utopias. “Man strives to create his own personal and societal utopia.” “Man has been searching for or trying to create a utopian society since time began.” “Man corrupts his utopia after finding it or creating it.” “Dreams, memories, nature, emotions, and time help shape man’s ideas regarding utopia.” “Individuality may be lost I man’s quest for utopia.” These apply to most, if not all utopian situations throughout fictional societies and history.