The Giver

The giver

By: Lois Lowry

My question is: what are the effects of sameness in The Giver by Lois Lowry. In the book The Giver we learn about their community and about how they have sameness. The effects of having sameness are, people are the same and have the same things, they are boring and have no personality, and people have to look alike so people feel the same.

In Jonas's community the families do the same things and every family can only have one kid. They all have to do the same things in every family unit. For example on page 2 and 3 Jonas and his family share their feelings of the day. When someone gets sad or uncomfortable the family has to comfort that person because that is what they are required to do.

In every family unit the maximum kids they can request for is two. In the community every family unit can only request for two kids because of over population. On page 43 and 44 it talks about the ceremony of receiving new kids and how you can only have two kids. I don't agree with this. I think we should all have the freedom to have as many kids as we want. Also on these pages it talks about how a family unit lost their child in the river and then they got a replacement child. I don't think it is right to get a replacement child and name it the same name. I think it is ok to get a new child but name it a different name.

The community takes away many of the things that people should have like color. It really bugs me that the community would take away color, because they think people would not feel the same if someone had different colored hair or skin. On page 92 and 93 Jonas just figures out what he has been seeing that has been confusing him, First in the apple, then in the audiences faces, and then in Fiona's hair. The Giver shows him what it is by laying him on the bed and making him call back the memory of him on the sled. When Jonas looks at the sled it changes like in Fiona's hair. The Giver tells him he is beginning to see color.

Another affect of sameness is people don't care. When it comes to release they don't know what they are actually doing they just do it, they don't care. On pages 119 and 120 it's when Jonas's dad is releasing one of the twins. He does it like it is a normal thing and its ok to just kill a baby. When he was done he set the baby in a box and pushed it down a shoot he says "bye bye little guy" like he was happy to do it.

There are many effects of sameness like, people don't have personality, they are the same, they don't care about anything or anyone, they can't express their selves, you cant do what you want, everyone has to be equal, etc. I strongly disagree with sameness. And I hope our country never goes to sameness.