The Giver: Real World Reflections

One of the biggest conflicts in The Giver, a novel by Lois Lowry, is one which revolves around the theme of "free will". This seems to be something that many people take for granted, and some even appear to be giving it away happily.Why would someone give up something so precious? For security, of course. The security of their physical person or others', their property, their belief system and numerous other things. This is exactly what has been done in Jonas' community. The Elders of the community make the decisions for everyone else (after a consultation with the rule book of course). Well, it may be shocking to hear such a comparison, but many Americans are choosing to do something very similar with the casting of their political vote, though it is true that still many are not. The real life debate, or at least the one that is stirring up the most dust, is whether or not the use of contraception should be legal. It all comes down to with how much liberty one wishes to exercise their free will, and what they are willing to give up for security. Is choice really as frightening as Jonas says it is on page 98? Is choice truly something we need to protect people from, or is it something we need to protect from people? Or better yet, how would you feel, knowing that your grandchild might grow up to ask, just as Jonas did in chapter 13, "what if they were allowed to choose"? (98)?