Mr. Gowans
L. A. 12
12/12/12
Title
In The Giver, Jonas (the main character) becomes the new receiver of memories; the receiver of memories, get this, receives memories from the past, when they could still see colors. As the new receiver of memories, he witnesses the pain and anguish along with the joyful and happy memories. He learns to love and wishes that upon the rest of his community but they cannot comprehend. The Giver comes up with a plan for Jonas to leave the community, because when he leaves all of his memories come back to them.
In Anthem, Equality 7-2521 (the main character) is born different than the rest of his brothers. He comprehends and learns faster than his brothers, which in this community is a sin because he could know more which would not be equal. In the story Equality wishes to be a scholar, because he believes that he could bring more help to the community, but in a community that is afraid of change, they designate him to street sweeper. He sees this as a way to repent for the great “sin” but in turn he becomes more knowledgeable because of a tunnel from the past he found while on the job. He discovers a light bulb which he later figures out how to work. This drives him to want to learn more, to want to bring knowledge to his community for the better of it. But they do not see this, they see someone who has broken every rule for some lost cause. He escapes from the community later on, and decides that he will create a community better, one that lets a person be a person.
Both these communities have one thing in common, they want to promote equality. This, however, is impossible. They cannot stop one person from thinking different from another, although they can get close there is always something or someone to break the rule. Therefore, true equality can never be achieved.
In The Giver, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories, this means that he gets memories from the past, when people could see color, know what love and hate meant, and know pain. In his community they have effectively removed these memories from the population, except there is a catch, someone has to know about them, that’s where The Giver and Jonas come in.
The Giver has to bear the weight of all the memories of the past because the community decided that those memories in the hands of the people, they chose to let live, would give them the means to be an individual, which would not be equal by any means. Yet they have to have these memories somehow, somewhere, and even if it is just with one person it could not be considered true equality.
In a world where equality rules, there is still some things the community couldn’t get a handle on; unexpected events that the community cannot deal with because they do not have the wisdom, that’s where The Giver comes in. He uses his vast knowledge of the past, that the community has taken away from the minds of all individuals, to help come to a resolution. In a sense he is above all, because he has more wisdom, more experience than all other men or women in his community, thus it cannot be true equality.
“And that’s the real reason The Receiver is so vital to them, and so honored. They selected me-and you- to lift that burden from themselves.” (Lowry 113). In a supposed perfect community, why do they need the Receiver or the Giver? It’s because they couldn’t technically achieve equality. There are still unexpected events that they have no control over. In looking to prevent that they have technically ruined their shot at true equality, by giving memories (that not all people possess) he becomes different than the rest.
In Anthem, there are people that take on the role of Scholar, which is like a researcher. They come up with all the technology that the rest of the community uses, but technically doesn’t that make them more knowledgeable than their brothers? And being more knowledgeable than their brothers would mean that they are more of an individual. And being an individual would mean they are breaking the rule of equality. “We were born with a curse. It has always driven us to thoughts which are forbidden.” (Rand 18). Equality is born with the capacity to be different, he learns and comprehends better than any of his brothers. He also wants to know more but is made to believe that this is evil, to be different from his brothers in any way. He figures out that there is more to the world than what his brothers lead on to, but he still feels that what he is doing is wrong, yet he continues to pursue these thoughts. In this sense he is the rule breaker, but nonetheless he is clear evidence that equality cannot truly be achieved because there is always going to be someone or something to break the rule.
In both the stories, the main characters both leave their communities.They are both born with a certain difference, which drives them to leave. Although if the communities they lived in were truly equal, why were they born different in the first place and why were they allowed to live in a community that saw them as different? Even in a “perfect” society they cannot stop one person from thinking, which is their downfall, because it is human nature to be different, it might be in just small ways but different nonetheless.
A community can only hold us back if we choose to let it, there are those of us who will choose to fight it, even when they stand alone. Even when they face uncertainty there is always going to be someone that will be different from the rest and stand up against all odds for it. There is always someone or something to break a rule, that is why true equality can never be achieved even under the best conditions for it.
Works Cited
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Print
Rand, Ayn. Anthem. New York: Dutton, 1995. Print
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