The Giver

Imagine living a numb, meaningless life with no emotions. A life filled with boredom, discipline, and rules. While this might be our worst nightmare, the people in The Giver enjoy it quite well. They feel like discipline and Sameness is the best way of life unlike us, who see differences as something to be proud of and know how to have fun and be free-spirited. Even though it’s unbelievable, both of the societies are alike and different. The similarities and differences between the society in The Giver and ours are the rules, families, and jobs.

First of all, the rules in our society and the one in The Giver have many similarities and differences. Almost everything they do depends on their age. It’s mandatory because it’s supposed to help them learn important skills and for Sameness. For example, everyone starts volunteering at the age of eight to prepare them for work. Another example is stated on page 40, that is,¨Fours, Fives, and Sixes all wore jackets that fastened down the back so that they would have to help each other dress and would learn interdependence.¨ In our society, all dangerous things have an age limit for children’s protection because they can get seriously hurt if they make one mistake since they are not mature enough to do hazardous things. For example, people could get killed or seriously hurt if they crash into something while driving. In addition, Sameness doesn’t exist in our society. We are allowed to do different things. Everything and everyone is different, there are colors, weather, and music. No one here cares about what other people do, they encourage differences, unlike the other society. The society in The Giver uses physical punishment to discipline children and the Old. “The punishment used for small children was a regulated system of smacks with the discipline wand: a thin, flexible weapon… a quick smack across the hands for a bit of minor misbehavior; three sharper smacks on the bare legs for a second offense.” This shows how they punish misbehaving children. Also, apologies to the community are required when someone makes a small blunder. They will get released (killed) after three strikes. This is used to instill fear in all the citizens, to discipline them, and to bend them to the government’s will. To conclude, the rules in both of the societies are similar but extremely different.

Secondly, families in our society and the one in The Giver are similar and different in many ways. Everyone in The Giver has an assigned family unit. One mom, one dad, and two children, one boy and one girl are mandatory. The children are adopted. No one except the Birthmothers are allowed to give birth to children. In our society, we have grandparents and huge families with uncles, aunts, and cousins. We have the choice to give birth to our kids and it’s mandatory in many cultures around the world. Also in the Giver’s society, people have to apply for a spouse and children. No one gets a choice in who they get to marry. The Elders observe all the candidates to find the perfect match, people who balance each other out. They observe the candidates´ disposition, energy level, intelligence, and interests. Once they find their spouse, they go into three years of intense observation before the couple can apply for children. However, in the society we live in. We get to choose our spouse and possibly get divorced if it isn’t the best match. In addition, we get the choice to date people before we get married to them, if we choose to. That helps us get to know them before we commit to them and saves us from a lot of divorce paperwork. In addition, the author states in page 102, ¨When adults of the community became older… They no longer needed to create family units… would go live with the Childless Adults¨ After the adults go live with the Childless Adults, they never talk to their children again and once they are old, they go to the House of the Old until they get released. According to page 5, it states, “It was one of the rituals, the evening telling of feelings.” Just like the telling of feelings, there is another ritual but the ritual of dream telling in the morning. It’s telling their dreams they had the night before to their families in detail. Most people in our society do not tell their family everything they feel since they might feel uncomfortable sharing everything with them in detail. Everyone is busy with their responsibilities, and many families don’t have time to talk about their feelings. To add on, everyone feels a variety of emotions daily and it’s quite difficult to find an emotion to describe how they felt the whole day. In conclusion, there are similarities and differences between our society and the one in The Giver.

Last but not least, the jobs in our society and the Giver’s are different and similar. Page 15 states, “During the past year, he had been aware of the increasing level of observation…the Elders watching him and the other Elevens… noticed them taking notes…that the Elders were meeting for long hours with all of the instructors….” People get assigned jobs at the age of 12 by Elders after being observed their whole lives. They are required to work the same job until they’re old and aren’t allowed to quit. There is one person assigned every year for one specific job. For example, only one person was assigned to be a nurturer in the year Jonas got his assignment, one person before that, and so on. On the other hand, in our society, we get to choose our career and can choose another one if the current one doesn’t work out. We have the choice of doing whatever makes us happy, even if it means switching jobs when we’re 40. An example of a job in The Giver is one person holding all the bad memories for the whole society to protect them from horrors like war, agony, and suffering. However, that deprives the citizens of happiness, love, and colors because where there is happiness, there will always be pain. One cannot exist without the other since no one will know the true value of both. So to protect everyone from anguish, they must eliminate delight. Another example of an Assignment in The Giver is Birthmother. Each Birthmother has to give birth to three new-children and work as a Laborer until they’re old. According to page 53, “When Two, a female named Inger, receives her Assignment as a Birthmother…She would enjoy the three years of being pampered that would follow her brief training; she would give birth easily and well; and the task of Laborer….” Some examples of jobs in our community include doctors, lawyers, software engineers, and more. Most jobs require us to go to university and get a degree. There are specific degrees that the employee has to get for each job. Also, we can change our degrees midway if it doesn´t turn out to be perfect for us. To conclude, the jobs are similar and different in both societies.

In conclusion, the similarities and differences between the society in The Giver and ours include, rules, families, and jobs. The rules in the Giver are strict and there are intense consequences like release and smacks with a rod for misbehaviour. We also have harsh punishments but they’re only for people who steal things, kidnap people, or take someone’s life. The families here are loving and diverse. However in The Giver, the families are structured the same way, one father, one mother, and two children, a boy and a girl. Finally, the people in The Giver get assigned jobs for life. But, we get to choose our career and choose to change it if it doesn’t work out. So do you want to live in the Giver’s society after knowing all of this?