The Theme Of Inequality in The Giver By Lois Lowry

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, a Russian novelist, “Human beings are born with different capacities, if they are free, they are not equal”. The author of The Giver, Lois Lowry, displays this message across the whole book.

The main character, Jonas gets the job of the receiver, he has to replay messages. There are many dangers of seeking a perfectly equal world, In the book, Fiona’s hair is different, Jonas’s dad does not know what love means, and kids are not allowed to choose which job they want.

By seeking a perfectly equal world, people lose individuality. By losing individuality, someone loses how to express themselves. In The Giver Fiona’s red hair sets her apart from everybody else. This is considered “different” because people living in this community don’t see color. The community focuses on being equal, Jonas notes that: “We’ve mastered Sameness. I suppose the genetic scientists are still hard at work trying to work the kinks out. Hair like Fiona’s must drive them crazy. ” Clearly, the community wants everything the same. Individuality is important for people to express themselves. Expressing yourself is important because then one will be different than everyone else

The poem by Julio Noboa Polanco expresses the importance of individuality by expressing, “I’d rather be unseen, and if shunned by everyone, than to be a pleasant-smelling flower. ” By seeking a perfectly equal world, people lose independence. It is clear that a loss of individuality would occur by seeking a perfectly equal world. Wanting an equal world results in people having no freedom, which leads to a loss of choice. In The Giver the kids in the community can’t pick which jobs they want. People in the community don’t get choices. The narrator says this quote: “Jonas shrugged. It didn’t worry him. How could someone not fit in? The community was so meticulously ordered, the choices so carefully made. ” This quote shows the reader that choices are made for them. If the people in the community can choose what they want to do, then they would be happier.

Lastly, people who want the world equal have no feelings. By losing feelings, one doesn’t know how to react to situations. In The Giver when Jonas asks his dad if he loves him, he asks him to use precision of language. In the Giver, people in the community don’t have feelings. “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!”. This quote shows the reader that people in the community eliminated all feelings. By having the feeling of love, people would be able to express how they love someone.

By seeking a perfectly equal world, there are many disadvantages therefore it is a bad thing. The author, Lois Lowry, wrote this book to show people that we don’t all have to be the same. Everyone is different which is a good thing. Being equal does not have to mean everyone has to be the exact same person.