sameness in the giver essay

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The Giver Sameness

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Sameness in The Giver Essay Example

Sameness is everyone sharing the same things and having the same personal beliefs. The community went to sameness in order to try and reduce conflict. But they were unsuccessful. In The Giver by Louis Lowery, sameness can be shown through ceremonies and rules while Jonas’s conflicts with sameness show how sameness is not something society can achieve and that they need diversity.

The community in The Giver promotes sameness through civilization and community. The first rule introduced is how the characters in the story are required to take a daily medication. At the beginning of the story Jonas has a dream called a sturing. These dreams are not allowed because they can not have emotional relationships and feel love and attraction. Everyone in the community has to take these pills. If everyone in the community has no emotion they can not love different people and love people of different or same sex. This way everyone is the same and they do not have the ability to feel and love because the community wants equality. Along with rules there are also ceremonies. In the middle of the story after a baby named Caleb dies, the community chants his name at the ceremony and the family that lost the baby gets a new baby also named Caleb  to replace him. This ceremony is controlling the people's will to create life, and how they replace it. They are controlling how children are born and how to replace children in order to remain normal and equal. They are making humans into objects. Another rule is Toward the end of the book after Jonas gets to know the giver, a rule is that he cannot apply for release. The reason he can not do this is because the past receiver of memory applied for release because she could not handle the pressure and grief after living her whole life without it. This rule controls the right to their own lives and the right to end their life. The community decides when it is time for them to be born and when it is time for them to die. They take life and death into their own hands. All of these ceremonies and rules define how the community runs and how they control their citizens.

In addition to rules and ceremonies the story The Giver is characterised by the relationships and lifestyles of the stories characters. In the community people do not get to choose their own families. In the middle of the story when Jonas finds out more about the community, Lily wants to adopt a sick baby named gabe. Jonasas parents tell Lily that they can not adopt the baby because it is against the rules. They cannot have more than two children, one son and one daughter. The community's ability to create life in the traditional sense is gone because of how the chief elders run the community. They have birthmothers, babies, and name replacements. They are only allowed two children so that everyone is the same and has the same amount of children. Along with the relationships there are different lifestyles. In the end of the book they see that the community's chief elder uses all of these rules to make sure that the community does not remember the trauma of the past. She makes them take medicine and live according to her rules to try and keep them safe. The community archives sameness by living the same lives from day to day. They eat the same diet, have the same homes, ride the same bikes, and have the same education levels. They are controlling the right to be independent and think for themselves. Along with livestyle another relationship is present, in the middle of the story the giver and jonas bond. The giver shares his past with Jonas and tells him of how the past receiver of memory applied for release and was his daughter. Jonas is confused by the community once he finds out what is going on and the giver helps him to try and make a difference in the community by awakening the people and saving gabe. Jonas and the giver relate and are similar, they both need to deal with the grief and happiness, and boredom of the past. The giver sees himself in jonas. They represent sameness by being different, they choose not to be the same as everyone else and are told not to be. This relationship is controlling whether or not the community gets back their memories. The giver can be defined by its relationships and lifestyles.

While relationships show sameness and community, Jonas’s conflicts show how people can overcome unfair societal standards. In the beginning of the story Jonas is assigned his job, his new set of rules makes him worried He is assigned the job of receiver of memory. The giver introduces him to the color red and the feeling of snow. Jonas is overwhelmed and wants to be able to see more. The giver puts his hands on Jonas's bare back and feeds him the memories. He starts to see the color red in Fiona's hair and in an apple. He wonders why the world is the way it is now and begins to want to change how the community sees it. Jonas decides to keep on looking at his community in a different way and starts to notice things he finds unfair. Later in the story, Jonas watches the kids in the neighborhood playing games, he remembers war and sees the children. He realizes that the game they are playing is based on something that really happened and that people died in war. He knows the game is wrong. He feels upset and frightened because he knows what the game represents, he wants the kids to stop playing the game and realize that what they are playing really happened. A third conflict in the story is, In the end of the story Jonas is told that Gabe is going to be released, By this point he knows what that means so he plots to leave the community with gabe in order to save his life. The giver and him come up with a plan to distract the chief elder and they leave, The giver stays behind to aid the community once they get their memories back. Jonas is scared but brave, he took gabe to help and change something horrible that happens in his community. He wants to prevent a child from being killed. He knows that people are different from each other and values that people should have the chance to live. Jonas holds Gabe and they have the memory of snow to keep them from the heat. The cold over takes them and they hear music from over a hill and see light. Jonas and Gabe are together and don’t know what the future holds.

In the story the giver Jonas’s conflict shows why diversity is important.The rules control the right to their own lives and the right to end their life. The community decides when it is time for them to be born and when it is time for them to die. They take life and death into their own hands. The elders control everything about their lives. All of these ceremonies and rules define how the community runs and how they control their citizens. If everyone in the community has no emotion they can not love different people and love people of different or same sex. This way everyone is the same and they do not have the ability to feel and love because the community wants equality. In addition to ceremonies and rules, lifestyle and relationships also promote sameness. In addition to ceremonies and rules, lifestyle and relationships also promote sameness. Jonas and the giver relate and are similar, they both need to deal with the grief and happiness, and boredom of the past. The giver sees himself in jonas. They represent sameness by being different, they choose not to be the same as everyone else and are told not to be. This relationship is controlling whether or not the community gets back their memories. The giver can be defined by its relationships and lifestyles. The community archives sameness by living the same lives from day to day. They eat the same diet, have the same homes, ride the same bikes, and have the same education levels. They are controlling the right to be independent and think for themselves.

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• Literature Notes
• Major Themes in The Giver
• Book Summary
• About The Giver
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Chapters 1-2
• Chapters 3-5
• Chapters 6-8
• Chapters 9-10
• Chapters 11-12
• Chapters 13-15
• Chapters 16-17
• Chapters 18-20
• Chapters 21-23
• Lois Lowry Biography
• Critical Essays
• Style and Language in The Giver
• What Are Utopias and Dystopias?
• A Note about Infanticide and Euthanasia
• Full Glossary for The Giver
• Essay Questions
• Cite this Literature Note

Critical Essays Major Themes in The Giver

Many themes in The Giver demonstrate Lowry's concerns about society and humanity. For example, she concentrates on the tradeoffs involved when Jonas' community chooses Sameness rather than valuing individual expression. Certain themes in the book are familiar because they can be found in other novels by Lowry.

Throughout The Giver , Lowry attempts to awaken each and every reader to the dangers that exist when people opt for conformity over individuality and for unexamined security over freedom. At one time in the past, the people who inhabited Jonas' community intended to create a perfect society. They thought that by protecting the citizens from making wrong choices (by having no choices), the community would be safe. But the utopian ideals went awry, and people became controlled and manipulated through social conditioning and language. Now, even the expression "love" is an empty ideal. For example, when Jonas asks his parents if they love him, his mother scolds him for using imprecise language. She says that "love" is "a very generalized word, so meaningless that it's become almost obsolete." To Jonas, however, love is a very real feeling.

Lowry stresses the point that people must not be blindly obedient to the rules of society. They must be aware of and must question everything about their lives. In Jonas' community, the people passively accept all rules and customs. They never question the fact that they are killing certain babies simply because such babies are different, or that they are killing old people whom they determine are no longer productive to the community. The community members unquestioningly follow rules; over time, because killing has become a routine practice, horrible and senseless actions do not morally, emotionally, or ethically upset them. As The Giver says of Jonas' father's killing the lighter-weight twin male, "It's what he was told to do, and he knows nothing else."

Another important theme in The Giver is the value of the individual. Lowry points out that when people are unable to experience pain, their individuality is devalued. Memories are so vital because they oftentimes include pain, and pain is an individual reaction: What is painful to one person might not be painful to another person. Also, people learn from memories and gain wisdom from remembering past experiences.

Life in Jonas' community is very routine, predictable, and unchanging. So are most of the people who live in the community. These characters are uncomplicated and complacent. They are static, simple, one-dimensional characters. Because the majority of them do not change throughout the novel, we see only one part of their personalities — their surface appearances and actions. Nothing happens within static characters; things happen to them.

Most of the citizens in the community passively follow the rules of the community. They always do what they are told. Nothing has ever happened to them except when an earlier Receiver-in-training, Rosemary, asked for release because she no longer could tolerate living in the community. After her death, the people were in total chaos because they didn't know what to do with the memories that Rosemary had experienced. They were not accustomed to thinking for themselves. Experiencing Rosemary's memories was something that happened to the people. Afterward, they resumed their lives as before, so it is evident that nothing permanently changed within them.

Jonas, on the other hand, is a dynamic character. He changes during the course of the novel due to his experiences and actions. We know how Jonas changes because Lowry narrates The Giver in the third person, limited omniscient viewpoint in order to reveal Jonas' thoughts and feelings. When the novel begins, Jonas is as unconcerned as anyone else about how he is living. He has grown up with loudspeakers, rules, precise language, and a family that is not connected biologically, and he has accepted this way of life because he doesn't know any other type of existence. But as he receives The Giver's memories and wisdom, he learns the truth about his community, that it is a hypocrisy and that the people have voluntarily given up their individuality and freedom to live as robots. Jonas' character changes and becomes more complex. He experiences an inner conflict because he misses his old life, his childhood, and his innocence, but he can't return to his former way of life because he has learned too much about joy, color, and love. Lowry writes of Jonas toward the beginning of Chapter 17, "But he knew he couldn't go back to that world of no feelings that he had lived in so long."

Jonas also experiences an external conflict between himself and the community. He is frustrated and angry because he wants his fellow citizens to change and thereby give up Sameness. He knows that the community and each person's life will benefit if only they would — or could — reclaim their individuality. But the people can't change. Generations ago, they chose Sameness over freedom and individuality. Now, they know no other way of life.

Other themes in The Giver , such as family and home, friendships, acts of heroism, as well as the value of remembering the past, are familiar because they are themes in Lowry's previous novels also. Like Rabble in Rabble Starkey , Jonas has to leave the family that was created for him. Through the experience of leaving, both Jonas and Rabble learn to appreciate what it means to have a family and a home. And like Annemarie in Lowry's award-winning Number the Stars , Jonas lives in a repressed society in which he has no freedom. Both Jonas and Annemarie risk their lives in order to save people they love. Because the conclusion of The Giver is so ambiguous, we don't know how Jonas' experiences ultimately affect him or his community. We do know that he matures and that he feels excited and joyful as he and Gabe ride down the hill on the sled.

Lowry challenges her readers to reexamine their values and to be aware of the interdependence of all human beings with each other, their environment, and the world in which they live. When people are forced to live under an oppressive regime that controls every person's actions, meaningful relationships between people are threatened because they involve individual feelings and thoughts. Only by questioning the conditions under which we live, as Jonas does in The Giver , can we maintain and secure our freedom of expression.

Previous Lois Lowry Biography

Next Style and Language in The Giver

Sameness In The Giver Essay

The idea of a perfect society might sound appealing, but would a perfect society include Sameness? In the novel, The Giver by Lois Lowery, Jonas, the main character, lives in a society where everyone portrays Sameness. Sameness is where everything is equal. For example, every family has four people: a mother and a father, one boy and one girl. Jonas is assigned the job of the Receiver of Memory. The Receiver of Memory holds all the memories, so that the members of the society don’t have to feel pain, or happiness. The Giver, the old Receiver of Memory, and Jonas can have feelings since they have memories.

The Sameness portrayed in the novel would be a negative way of life because it would eliminate choice, there would be a lack of individuality, and it would limit feelings. By depriving citizens of choices, the creators of Jonas’s society eliminate agency. Agency is the ability to choose. If the ability to choose was taken away from today’s society , then nations would cease to develop. Agency allows people to choose to develop and become better. For example, in Jonas’s society, the members are not permitted to choose their job.

Jonas has a friend named Asher, who is free spirited. Jonas tells his mother he is concerned that Asher might not get an assignment because he has no serious interest. “‘The Elders know Asher,’his mother explained. ‘They’ll find exactly the right Assignment for him,” (21). Elders carefully observe the children and then choose a job for them. A citizen’s life is planned out for him or her. He or she don’t get to choose how to live their life and what to make of it. People’s everyday small choices to the bigger life changing choices, like choosing a career, make up who they are.

By taking away choice, the creators of Jonas’s society prohibit the members of his society to choose who they become and what they develop into. A lack of individuality is the second reason why sameness would be a negative way of life. Individuals in today’s society are honored, but in Jonas’s society, if someone is not the same as everyone else then he or she can apply for release (61). Different individuals bring different perspectives. With different perspectives come new ideas and more options on how to solve a problem.

The Giver is the only person in Jonas’s society who can tell people his ideas and offer advice, because he has memories. The Giver asks Jonas if he remembers the day a plane flew over the community. Jonas replies that he does remember the plane and he was scared. The Giver then continues, “So were they. They prepared to shoot it down. But they sought my advice. I told them to wait… I used my wisdom, from the memories. 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,” (141).

The Giver is the only one who could have known this. The reason the creators of Jonas’s society eliminate individuality is so the individuals would not have different ideas. The creators figured it would be easier to control one person’s ideas rather than a whole society’s. By doing this though, Jonas’s society cannot develop and become better. Third, having sameness would be a negative way of life is that citizens would be deprived of feeling deep feelings such as sadness and pain, but also happiness and love.

It might sound nice not to feel pain and sadness, but without them, people would not be able to experience true happiness and love. In Jonas’s society, the members are taught that love is an inappropriate word. One scene that best illustrates this is when Jonas had just received his first memory of love. When he returned home he asked his mother and father “Do you love me? ‘ There was an awkward silence for a moment. Then Father gave a little chuckle. Jonas, you of all people. Precision of language, please! ” (159). Jonas is confused and wonders what his father means.

He realizes that his father has never truly experienced love because he has never felt pain. Later that night Jonas whispers “There could be love,” (162). Because Jonas has memories of pain, he can feel true love and happiness. Deep emotions are needed because they allow us to feel true joy and happiness. The opposition may argue that Sameness would be positive way of life because people wouldn’t have to worry about making the wrong choice . However, it is commonly said in our society to learn from our mistakes. By making mistakes we learn what to do next time the problem arise .

Also the opposition might point out that there would be no jealousy in Jonas’s society since there is Sameness. While this may be true, jealousy can motivate people to want to work harder instead of just being content with mediocrity. Ultimately, in Jonas’s society, the members are deprived of choice, individuality, and feelings. Choices and individuality allow people to grow and become better. Feeling deep feelings allow people to feel true happiness and love. Sameness limits what the citizens can do. Obviously, it would not create a “perfect” society.

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Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

In Jonas's community, no one makes choices. All choices about the community were made in the distant past when Sameness was created, and any additional changes involve painfully slow bureaucratic procedures. Without choice, no one suffers the consequences that come from making wrong choices, but they also don't experience the joys that come with making right ones. By sacrificing the freedom of choice, community members are guaranteed a stable, painless life. Consequently, the people lead pleasant—but robotic—lives.

When Jonas discovers memory, he realizes that choice is essential to human happiness. Choice, he learns, is power. He makes the first real choice in his life when he decides to escape from the community and take Gabriel with him. In making this significant and dangerous choice, he gives a windfall of pleasure and pain to the people he leaves behind, and gives the freedom of choice back to the community.

Freedom and Choice ThemeTracker

Freedom and Choice Quotes in The Giver

Unraveling the Mystique: Rosemary in “The Giver”

This essay delves into the multifaceted significance of Rosemary in “The Giver,” examining her role and impact within the narrative. As a character intricately connected to the Receiver of Memories, Rosemary’s presence unfolds as a crucial element in the story’s development. The exploration encompasses her connection to the Giver, the weight of her fate, and the broader implications for the dystopian society depicted in the novel. The essay underscores Rosemary’s pivotal role in unraveling the complexities of the story and her lasting influence on the protagonist and the world portrayed in Lois Lowry’s compelling work.

How it works

Within the pages of Lois Lowry’s dystopian masterpiece, “The Giver,” lies a character whose enigmatic presence leaves an indelible mark on the narrative – Rosemary. Amidst the controlled sameness of the Community, Rosemary emerges as a symbol of rebellion, choice, and the haunting consequences of challenging societal norms.

Rosemary, the Receiver-in-training before Jonas, encapsulates the dichotomy of a society that suppresses individuality in the pursuit of harmony. Her mysterious disappearance and the pain she experienced during the failed training contribute to the novel’s exploration of the cost of preserving a seemingly utopian existence.

In Rosemary’s fate, readers are confronted with the poignant reality that defying the predetermined path comes at a price.

Her role as the failed Receiver adds layers to the narrative, revealing the intricate web of memories and emotions that the Community seeks to erase. Rosemary’s brief tenure becomes a cautionary tale, challenging the very foundations of the society that strives for an emotionless equilibrium. Her memory, like the scent of rosemary, lingers as a reminder of the fragility of a system built on the suppression of human experience.

Rosemary’s character is a catalyst for Jonas’s awakening. Her absence and the gaps in his training propel Jonas to question the Community’s values and the true purpose of the Receiver. Rosemary becomes a silent mentor, guiding Jonas toward the realization that a life without pain, love, and choice is a life devoid of genuine human experience.

In a world where conformity is paramount, Rosemary’s rebellion is a testament to the innate human desire for autonomy. Through her character, Lowry prompts readers to reflect on the importance of embracing the full spectrum of human emotions, even the painful ones. Rosemary, in her defiance and sacrifice, becomes a symbol of the inherent need for individuality in a society that seeks to erase it.

The symbolism of the name “Rosemary” itself adds a layer of complexity to the character. The herb, traditionally associated with remembrance, serves as a metaphor for the enduring impact of individuality and the memories that refuse to fade away. In Rosemary’s story, readers find a powerful commentary on the consequences of sacrificing diversity and the richness of experience in the pursuit of an illusionary utopia.

As we traverse the corridors of “The Giver,” Rosemary remains a poignant figure, challenging the very essence of the Community’s existence. Her legacy is not one of defeat but of resilience, a silent rebellion that echoes through the corridors of the dystopian landscape. Through Rosemary, Lowry invites readers to question societal norms, cherish the complexities of human existence, and recognize the enduring strength found in the pursuit of true individuality.

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What is the difference between a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse?

It almost time! Millions of Americans across the country Monday are preparing to witness the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse as it passes over portions of Mexico, the United States and Canada.

It's a sight to behold and people have now long been eagerly awaiting what will be their only chance until 2044 to witness totality, whereby the moon will completely block the sun's disc, ushering in uncharacteristic darkness.

That being said, many are curious on what makes the solar eclipse special and how is it different from a lunar eclipse.

The total solar eclipse is today: Get the latest forecast and everything you need to know

What is an eclipse?

An eclipse occurs when any celestial object like a moon or a planet passes between two other bodies, obscuring the view of objects like the sun, according to NASA .

What is a solar eclipse?

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes in between the Earth and the sun, blocking its light from reaching our planet, leading to a period of darkness lasting several minutes. The resulting "totality," whereby observers can see the outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere, known as the corona, presents a spectacular sight for viewers and confuses animals – causing nocturnal creatures to stir and bird and insects to fall silent.

Partial eclipses, when some part of the sun remains visible, are the most common, making total eclipses a rare sight.

What is a lunar eclipse?

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon and the sun are on exact opposite sides of Earth. When this happens, Earth blocks the sunlight that normally reaches the moon. Instead of that sunlight hitting the moon’s surface, Earth's shadow falls on it.

Lunar eclipses are often also referred to the "blood moon" because when the Earth's shadow covers the moon, it often produces a red color. The coloration happens because a bit of reddish sunlight still reaches the moon's surface, even though it's in Earth's shadow.

Difference between lunar eclipse and solar eclipse

The major difference between the two eclipses is in the positioning of the sun, the moon and the Earth and the longevity of the phenomenon, according to NASA.

A lunar eclipse can last for a few hours, while a solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes. Solar eclipses also rarely occur, while lunar eclipses are comparatively more frequent. While at least two partial lunar eclipses happen every year, total lunar eclipses are still rare, says NASA.

Another major difference between the two is that for lunar eclipses, no special glasses or gizmos are needed to view the spectacle and one can directly stare at the moon. However, for solar eclipses, it is pertinent to wear proper viewing glasses and take the necessary safety precautions because the powerful rays of the sun can burn and damage your retinas.

Contributing: Eric Lagatta, Doyle Rice, USA TODAY

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Creating a Permanent Record

In 1860, Warren de la Rue captured what many sources describe as the first photograph of a total solar eclipse . He took it in Rivabellosa, Spain, with an instrument known as the Kew Photoheliograph . This combination of a telescope and camera was specifically built to photograph the sun.

Forty years later, Nevil Maskelyne, a magician and an astronomy enthusiast, filmed a total solar eclipse in North Carolina. The footage was lost, however, and only released in 2019 after it was rediscovered in the Royal Astronomical Society’s archives.

Telescopic Vision

For scientists and astronomers, eclipses provide an opportunity not only to view the moon’s umbra and gaze at the sun’s corona, but also to make observations that further their studies. Many observatories, or friendly neighbors with a telescope, also make their instruments available to the public during eclipses.

Fredrik Hjalmar Johansen, Fridtjof Nansen and Sigurd Scott Hansen observing a solar eclipse while on a polar expedition in 1894 .

Women from Wellesley College in Massachusetts and their professor tested out equipment ahead of their eclipse trip (to “catch old Sol in the act,” as the original New York Times article phrased it) to New London, Conn., in 1922.

A group from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania traveled to Yerbaniz, Mexico, in 1923, with telescopes and a 65-foot camera to observe the sun’s corona .

Dr. J.J. Nassau, director of the Warner and Swasey Observatory at Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, prepared to head to Douglas Hill, Maine, to study an eclipse in 1932. An entire freight car was required to transport the institution’s equipment.

Visitors viewed a solar eclipse at an observatory in Berlin in the mid-1930s.

A family set up two telescopes in Bar Harbor, Maine, in 1963. The two children placed stones on the base to help steady them.

An astronomer examined equipment for an eclipse in a desert in Mauritania in June 1973. We credit the hot climate for his choice in outfit.

Indirect Light

If you see people on Monday sprinting to your local park clutching pieces of paper, or with a cardboard box of their head, they are probably planning to reflect or project images of the solar eclipse onto a surface.

Cynthia Goulakos demonstrated a safe way to view a solar eclipse , with two pieces of cardboard to create a reflection of the shadowed sun, in Lowell, Mass., in 1970.

Another popular option is to create a pinhole camera. This woman did so in Central Park in 1963 by using a paper cup with a small hole in the bottom and a twin-lens reflex camera.

Amateur astronomers viewed a partial eclipse, projected from a telescope onto a screen, from atop the Empire State Building in 1967 .

Back in Central Park, in 1970, Irving Schwartz and his wife reflected an eclipse onto a piece of paper by holding binoculars on the edge of a garbage basket.

Children in Denver in 1979 used cardboard viewing boxes and pieces of paper with small pinholes to view projections of a partial eclipse.

A crowd gathered around a basin of water dyed with dark ink, waiting for the reflection of a solar eclipse to appear, in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 1995.

Staring at the Sun (or, How Not to Burn Your Retinas)

Eclipse-gazers have used different methods to protect their eyes throughout the years, some safer than others .

In 1927, women gathered at a window in a building in London to watch a total eclipse through smoked glass. This was popularized in France in the 1700s , but fell out of favor when physicians began writing papers on children whose vision was damaged.

Another trend was to use a strip of exposed photographic film, as seen below in Sydney, Australia, in 1948 and in Turkana, Kenya, in 1963. This method, which was even suggested by The Times in 1979 , has since been declared unsafe.

Solar eclipse glasses are a popular and safe way to view the event ( if you use models compliant with international safety standards ). Over the years there have been various styles, including these large hand-held options found in West Palm Beach, Fla., in 1979.

Parents and children watched a partial eclipse through their eclipse glasses in Tokyo in 1981.

Slimmer, more colorful options were used in Nabusimake, Colombia, in 1998.

In France in 1999.

And in Iran and England in 1999.

And the best way to see the eclipse? With family and friends at a watch party, like this one in Isalo National Park in Madagascar in 2001.