A tALE OF TWO SOCIETIES
There are many examples of text from our media that parallel the book, the Giver. Some of these examples are articles about Edward Snowden, U.S. incarceration rates, Arizona’s ban on books, and songs such as Uprising. All of these texts contain strong evidence of how our society parallels the Giver society.
The Edward Snowden situation and article corresponds with The Giver society. Both of these societies contain surveillance and invade our privacy. In our society the government watches you. In the Giver society there are also cameras that watch you. The government also keeps secrets from you. In The Giver everybody thinks that release is someone sending you to elsewhere, but it’s really someone giving you a shot that’ll kill you. Lastly, both of these societies contain control.Our society permits us from doing certain things or makes us do certain things. In the Giver society you are not allowed to choose your spouse or job. Who knows, what if you’re being watched right now?
Similarly the article about incarcerating the U.S. population parallels the Giver society. People in both of the societies are prisoners in different ways. Both of these societies explore control. Just like prisons, the Giver society has population control. Prisons must maintain a low population because they’re expecting more prisoners. In The Giver birthmothers are only allowed to have two babies. Everyone in The Giver is a prisoner; they’re prisoners in their own community. “No country incarcerates a higher percentage of its population than the United States.” This quote proves that prisons are controlling massive amount of people. We’re all prisoners in at least one way.
Likewise the Arizona banning books article relates to the Giver society.Both societies want their people to be ignorant. They don’t want people to have knowledge. Why would someone take something from you without a reason. There is a reason, they don’t want people to know the truth about their past and who they are. The Giver society also hides books from it’s people so they don’t know the truth. “She unabashedly told the students that racism has nothing to do with color, and Mexico is where Mexican studies is taught, not America.” This is just like The Giver because they’re only taught about their community, and nothing about elsewhere. In the article said that they confiscated the books, and they didn’t ban them. In the Giver society the giver has all of the books, but it’s not against the rules to read his books. Books are being banned or confiscated because they are your most powerful weapon.
Lastly the song, “Uprising” parallels the Giver society. They both talk about the truth being hidden. It says, “They’ll try to push drugs that keep us all dumbed down.” In The Giver everyone is given a pill for stirrings. These are basically pills to hide and conceal your emotions. “And all the green belts wrapped around our minds.” The green belts are money. It means that people care about money way too much. In the Giver society they take away the concept of money so that there is no greed. It also says, “Rise up and take the power back.” Jonas is trying to take back the power, and reveal the truth to the people. Diamonds are like the truth, you have to dig for them to find them.
All of these examples are very related to The Giver. They talk about surveillance, control, and the truth. An article about Edward Snowden is about surveillance, an article about U.S. incarceration is about control, and an article on the song, “Uprising” is about the truth.All of this text helped me open my eyes, and notice what’s happening around the world. Is this a tale of two societies, or a tale of two corrupt communities.
The Edward Snowden situation and article corresponds with The Giver society. Both of these societies contain surveillance and invade our privacy. In our society the government watches you. In the Giver society there are also cameras that watch you. The government also keeps secrets from you. In The Giver everybody thinks that release is someone sending you to elsewhere, but it’s really someone giving you a shot that’ll kill you. Lastly, both of these societies contain control.Our society permits us from doing certain things or makes us do certain things. In the Giver society you are not allowed to choose your spouse or job. Who knows, what if you’re being watched right now?
Similarly the article about incarcerating the U.S. population parallels the Giver society. People in both of the societies are prisoners in different ways. Both of these societies explore control. Just like prisons, the Giver society has population control. Prisons must maintain a low population because they’re expecting more prisoners. In The Giver birthmothers are only allowed to have two babies. Everyone in The Giver is a prisoner; they’re prisoners in their own community. “No country incarcerates a higher percentage of its population than the United States.” This quote proves that prisons are controlling massive amount of people. We’re all prisoners in at least one way.
Likewise the Arizona banning books article relates to the Giver society.Both societies want their people to be ignorant. They don’t want people to have knowledge. Why would someone take something from you without a reason. There is a reason, they don’t want people to know the truth about their past and who they are. The Giver society also hides books from it’s people so they don’t know the truth. “She unabashedly told the students that racism has nothing to do with color, and Mexico is where Mexican studies is taught, not America.” This is just like The Giver because they’re only taught about their community, and nothing about elsewhere. In the article said that they confiscated the books, and they didn’t ban them. In the Giver society the giver has all of the books, but it’s not against the rules to read his books. Books are being banned or confiscated because they are your most powerful weapon.
Lastly the song, “Uprising” parallels the Giver society. They both talk about the truth being hidden. It says, “They’ll try to push drugs that keep us all dumbed down.” In The Giver everyone is given a pill for stirrings. These are basically pills to hide and conceal your emotions. “And all the green belts wrapped around our minds.” The green belts are money. It means that people care about money way too much. In the Giver society they take away the concept of money so that there is no greed. It also says, “Rise up and take the power back.” Jonas is trying to take back the power, and reveal the truth to the people. Diamonds are like the truth, you have to dig for them to find them.
All of these examples are very related to The Giver. They talk about surveillance, control, and the truth. An article about Edward Snowden is about surveillance, an article about U.S. incarceration is about control, and an article on the song, “Uprising” is about the truth.All of this text helped me open my eyes, and notice what’s happening around the world. Is this a tale of two societies, or a tale of two corrupt communities.