Dramatic Irony In The Giver

Throughout history, there have been times where society has tried to improve itself by forcing its members to conform and live in unison. This, however, did not turn out to improve that society but only make it worse. People did not seem to learn from that as now there is still a pressure to conform to the ideas of society. In the movie The Giver, directed by Phillip Noyce in 2014, audiences are able to see how society is pressuring those who live in it by using dramatic irony and flashbacks. In this movie, viewers are able to see what it costs in order to be in conformity with others by seeing a society where everyone acts and is treated equally. In this society, they took away all individuality because it caused a divide between its

One of these is dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows a piece of information that one or more of the characters does not. This can be found when the Chief Elder mentioned, “Jonas was chosen for the most important position in our community. He was asked if he was strong enough. It turns out he was not. Instead, he is a rebel; he must be stopped” (Noyce). Here, the Chief Elder is explaining how Jonas must be stopped for going against what is the normal. However, he is only doing this to save his friends and family from the grip that society has on them. He wants them to be able to break free, like him, from the conformity that they live under every day. The Chief Elder and her assistants do not know that, however, due to their small-mindedness and desires for everyone to be equal with no deviations. Another example of a literary device used is the use of flashbacks. A flashback is when the author writes about events that took place before what is happening currently in the story. In the movie, this can be seen when Jonas explained how they created “a new society, one of true equality. Rules were the building blocks of that equality…rules like: use precise language, wear your assigned clothing, take your morning medication, obey the curfew, never lie” (Noyce). This flashback was used to explain to audiences the ways of their society and how they forced their members into living in conformity with one