Behind a Perfect World

Can you imagine a world without pain, sorrow, hatred and fear? The Giver is written about a utopian community where there are no conflicts, frustration or sadness. Everyone, and simply everything, is equal, the same, and in perfect order. In this serene world, everyone is assigned a job and appointed to an ideal family; everyone behaves obediently and seems to enjoy their peaceful and tranquil lives without any sufferings, or even challenges.

However, things turn sour for Jonas, the twelve-year-old protagonist who is assigned a very special role of “The Receiver.” Trained by a wise old man known as “The Giver,” Jonas’s duty is to learn, receive, and keep “memories” and “feelings” of the community that are kept from others. As Jonas is fed more memories and has no alternative but to know more closely guarded secrets of the community, he learns about elements residents are stripped of in the community, such as color and love. On the other hand, however, Jonas also learns about the concepts of pain and sorrow for the first time. With a deeper understanding of the community, Jonas finally comes to realize that he is not cut out for the job as the receiver, and decides to initiate a change in his community.

The Giver is a brilliantly crafted book, dealing with a rather rare topic with the setting of a perfect utopian society; as a page-turner, it is not only captivating, but also quite controversial and even agitating. Personally, I find myself subliminally attracted to Jonas’s seemingly flawless community. In fact, there has been multiple times when I have imagined what a world would be like without sufferings; if Pandora had not opened the box, and released all the hardships, would we be immune from all the harsh realities we are confronted with in the real world?

Yet, it wasn’t until I laid my hands on The Giver that it dawned on me once and for all, that there can simply be no pleasure without pain. Without feeling the depths of sadness, we can never know happiness. Lurking in the perfect world of Jonas’s is a chilling portrayal of an idealized but meaningless world, where one is free of making choices and experiencing emotions. In addition, acknowledging differences is another moral brilliantly hidden in the novel. Apart from pain, differences are also eliminated in the community. In order to create the perfect serene world, the community irons out all the differences between people. Individuals that are significantly different would be “released” by the community, in other words, killed, to maintain the balance of the utopian world. This is not only an inhumane act but also an absurd action, wiping out diversity and what distinguishes us from one another. Unfortunately, the innocent members of the community fail to even realize the miserable reality they are trapped in because they have been confined to this dull, colorless world throughout their lives, without any memories of the past. The Giver serves as a cautionary tale to the human race, portraying the presumed moral sacrifices that man would have to make in order to create and maintain a Utopian society.

All in all, though having read the book several times, the book still never fails to leave me breathless and even a bit flustered whenever I recall the storyline. The story is mind-blowingly powerful, thrilling and haunting. Moreover, I strongly suggest this masterpiece to teenagers of my age. As teenagers, we are constantly battling with frustrations and grappling with challenges. We are under smothering pressure from academic performance, relationship issues and parents’ expectations. Suffocated by various sources of stress, many of us might wish to have a temporary escape from realities or even dream of living in a world like Jonas’s. The book sheds light on many of the challenges we encounter as teenagers, and therefore reading it would surely benefit us by teaching us important lessons and furnishing us with courage to move on.