Utopia Is Unachievable

In Lois Lowry's The Giver, the pursuit of perfection leads to the revelation that by creating a seemingly utopian world by eliminating suffering, more is lost than gained. The narrative traces the experiences of a twelve year-old protagonist who seeks to overcome the control imposed upon him by his totalitarian government and bring back the vibrancy and uniqueness that once existed. By trying to pursue such Utopian ideals, their society is stripped of diversity and individuality. Similarly, Lowry depicts a world that is heavily monitored and regulated. All the citizens are easily manipulated and conform to the numerous rules that they are presented with. Whilst majority of the community is oblivious to the sinister side of their seemingly utopian world, the protagonist has access to memories of the past and is faced with immense pain and the deep knowledge of their dystopian world.

Lowry exemplifies how adhering to utopian ideals strips the community of individuality and diversity and instead results in 'Sameness'. Throughout his time as 'The Receiver', the protagonist learns of the innumerable ways 'Sameness' is applied in his society. Features such as 'Climate Control' and the elimination of natural landscapes result in repetitive, monotonous and predictable days with no aspect of surprise or biodiversity. Similarly, One of the prime ways that 'Sameness' in applied, is by the deprivation of the inhabitants' ability to see colour. This perplexes the protagonist once he is able to see colour. He feels that 'It isn't fair that nothing has colour!' But it is explained to him that, when their people made 'the choice to go to Sameness', they gained numerous things, 'but had to let go of many others'. Another way in which individuality is obsolete, is their failure to recognise and celebrate each individual's personality and character traits. When the protagonist learns about birthday parties, where 'one child [is] singled out and celebrated on his day' he finally understands 'the joy of being an individual. Special, unique and proud.' He soon realizes that his community is far too indulged in the pursuit of perfection to value the special attributes of their people. Ultimately, Lowry showcases that the loss of diversity, individuality and uniqueness are all implications of following Utopian ideals.

Lowry showcases the importance of memory, and how by eliminating the community's ability to have memory, they are unaware of the innumerable experiences they are deprived of and the untold joy and pain they bring. After being selected as the new 'Receiver of Memories', the protagonist is told that he possesses the unique 'Capacity to See Beyond', which in reality is the ability to see colour and hold multi-generational memories. As he undergoes his training, he learns that just as there is no pain without memory, there is also no true happiness. He is exposed to experiences of immense joy when families were bonded by love and warmth. But he is also confronted with 'pain of a magnitude' so large that his entire community '[can't] comprehend it'. He is shown the times of warfare when pain was truly excruciating. Pain he describes as a 'sound of rage and grief [that] seem[s] never to end.' He realizes that the role of 'The Receiver' is to 'lift the burden [of memories] from [the rest of the community]'. He soon discovers the meaning of real emotions. Feelings so deep and passionate that he knows that 'there [is] no quick comfort for emotions like those' The protagonist comes to the understanding that his community 'had never known pain' and that 'he couldn't go back to the world of no feelings that he had lived in for so long.' In essence, Lowry depicts how crucial memories are for the building of true emotions and growing from past experiences.

Lowry highlights how the aspirations of achieving a utopian world result in a sinister level of manipulation and the loss of one's own free will. The Elders ensure that the community continuously learns to submit to their power and comply with the plethora of rules they are confronted with. One way the community is denied freedom is in finding a spouse. 'A Match [has to be] approved and announced' by the Committee of Elders before they can live together. Furthermore, 'all Matches [have to be] monitored by the Committee of Elders for three years before they [can] apply for children.' Showing the degree to which, they are watched and how submissive and oblivious the community is. Similarly, everyone has to take pills for their “stirrings.” In reality, stirrings are strong feelings of love for others, but such emotions are forbidden because citizens would be swayed by their natural impulses when choosing a spouse. By controlling the community's emotions, Lowry reveals how members of the community can be more easily convinced to accept an assigned spouse, but in reality, this is a violation of the freedom of association. Upon realising the true meaning behind many of the rules in his community, the protagonist, in rebellion, '[stops taking] the pills… and the Stirrings… [return]'. Another format of control is the restriction of speech. Every 'Family Unit' has only the 'necessary reference volumes' in their 'dwelling', which are 'A dictionary, the community volume and The Book of Rules'. When the protagonist mentions the concept of love, he is chastised for the usage of 'a very generalized word, so meaningless that it's become almost obsolete'. This shows how much precision of language is required and the level to which it is monitored. A more sinister loss because of the pursuit of perfection, is the loss of one's life. For "people who break the rules three times" they will be "released" which, in reality is being killed. Lowry sheds light on the true totalitarian nature of their society through showcasing the degree of control implied in order to comply with the pursuit of perfection.

Ultimately, Lowry indicates that more is lost than gained in the pursuit of perfection. She highlights how such utopian aspirations lead to the suppressing of individuality and diversity of the community. She also demonstrates the importance of the preservation of memories and how much can be gained from them. Be it experiences both joyful and pain bearing, or the necessity of emotions, memory brings it all. Lowry also reveals that while trying to pursue the perfect utopian world, a sinister level of control has crept into the community, restricting freedom of speech, association and even love. Overall, Lowry showcases in numerous ways that the perfect utopian world only causes more loss than gain.