Could the idea of sameness be harmful? The idea of sameness was presented in Lois Lowry’s novel, The Giver, where Jonas the main character lived in a community that everyone was the same. On the other hand, Jonas became the Receiver of Memory and realized that sameness was not as perfect since they had to give up important things such as love and colours. In the novel, The Giver, the author Lois Lowry demonstrates that sameness could mistreat people rather than benefit them as shown through character, atmosphere and symbolism.
Jonas, the protagonist of the novel, was a twelve-year-old boy who was special, intelligent and courageous as shown through character. To interpret, Jonas received the most important position in the community that was the Receiver of Memory. It was a rare position however Jonas was somewhat more special than others. Therefore, Ceremony of Twelve happened every December. It was the day when every individual’s aged twelve had to attend to be assigned a job by the Elders.
The Chief Elder, who was the leader of Jonas’ community mentioned that “Jonas has been selected to be our next Receiver of Memory” (Lowry 60) and “He has shown all of the qualities that a Receiver must have” (Lowry 62). Jonas also can see Beyond, which in this case was colour. He received various memories from the Giver and figured out that sameness has taken away the colours from the community. Furthermore, Jonas showed his intelligence through knowing and understanding the ideas that the Giver was trying to transfer to him quickly.
As a result, when the Giver explained to Jonas that the community changed to sameness to protect the citizens from harmful things. However, they had to give up other important things such as love and the sight of colour. Jonas disagreed with sameness and stated, “We shouldn’t have!” (Lowry 95). The Giver was surprised at Jonas’ reaction and said, “Maybe your wisdom will come much more quickly tha…
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