Symbolism In The Giver By Lois Lowry

Words: 806
Pages: 4

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson. Jonas, dreams, and light eyes are three main symbols in the novel The Giver, written by Lois Lowry, that contribute to the theme of individuality is more important than sameness. The Giver was loaded with symbolism and that helped it make this book more meaningful. The first symbol is the character Jonas. In the book, he symbolized differences, which perfectly went with the theme. Jonas lives in a utopian community. Everyone looks the same, follows rules that the community has set, expresses no emotion, and sees no color. The community controls everything, from what the wear to the weather. (83-84). If someone had broken a rule, they would be punished, and sometimes released. (8-9). Jonas lives in a community full of people that are the same. There are no individuals, but that changes when
December comes along. When you become a Twelve, you are assigned a job
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This was his first sexual desire, or stirring. Right after he had said this, a speaker that the whole community could hear reminded the citizens that stirrings must be reported in order for treatment to take place. (37). Jonas then was told he must take the pill everyday so that the dreams would not come back. (37-39) Later in the book, Jonas decides to stop taking the pills. He wants to feel the emotions and he doesn’t care if he is different than everyone else. Finally, the last symbol that contributes to the theme is light eyes. The Giver, Jonas, and Gabriel all had light eyes. The rest of the community had darker eyes. The light eyes made them stand out from all the others in the community, they showed that they were different. Lily points out how Gabriel has funny eyes just like Jonas does. (20). Jonas didn’t like it when Lily pointed out his eyes. It was inappropriate in the community to talk about other people’s