Casey Clark
Mr.Gowans
12 LA
12/11/12
Giver/Anthem Essay
This essay explains two books, The Giver by Lois Lowry, and Anthem by Ayn Rand. The Giver has a utopian society; the rules control the people in such a way that if you are to screw up you may be killed aka released. The Anthem has yet another utopian society, were the idea is that there is no “I” just a “We”, of the people, for the people, you are the people nothing else. They have strange rules, like the word ego is forbidden. As for the punishment you are whipped and lashed for every mistake you make, even if all you do is out smart someone. This essay is in end going to prove that, human nature is destructive, and to rid a society of individuality is to lessen that destructive nature.
For example “I apologize for interrupting” (Lowry 77). They literally fear hurting someone even in just a small way. The way they are raised makes them the same as everyone else. Individuality is considered a transgression, a sin that should not be committed. They even put a few insane punishments, on the rules their corrupt leaders made up. In the giver they kill people when they make a costly mistake and in the anthem the whip people, burn them at the cross if they were to break a bad enough rule.
Another proof is, “it was a sunburn” the old man told him. It hurt a lot “Jonas said” (Lowry 86). They couldn’t even have experiences that would be individual. They didn’t let them feel pain, and pain is destructive, therefore their lessening of individuality lessens their destruction. Jonas was a special kid the only one that got memories and experiences of pain or loss, he was the only one to see color, and have feelings that are natural to the human society .A simple sunburn was almost more than Jonas could bear.
“The community was extraordinarily safe, each citizen watchful and protective of all children” (Lowry 44). Everyone protects the children, not like today’s society with our rape artist, and child molesters. It’s extremely safe, means people probably don’t have very many accidents and that means for sure that there are no murders. Every time they follow a rule, they are indirectly lessening the destructive human nature. In this book they forsake all human nature by creating an extremely strict base of rules.
Not everyone has their own, “nature” or choice to make. For example “He would receive his assignment fourth” (Lowry 51). They don’t choose a job, they receive an assignment. They don’t even get to choose what order, they are just told what to do and everyone follows like a bunch of sheep. Life in their community is chosen for them; people are told what to do and can’t exercise their opinion on the matter. In our world we are tossed in to reality, forced to survive our hectic lives. In reality many people make bad choices; because that is the only choice they have left. In their society that is impossible, their live are easy and they don’t even know that if they mess up they are going to be killed.
“For men are forbidden to take notice of women” (Rand 381). They are forbidden to even admire women, even in just the smallest ways. People can’t even look at women, thinking wow she is attractive, less they be whipped and tormented for the transgressions. Men won’t every fight over women; there is simply no reason in their mind that would lead them to do so. Women are not worth much to them; they wouldn’t see them as very valuable.
“What is the unspeakable word” (Rand 51). In case you were wondering what in the heck the unspeakable word is, it is “I”. This means that there are words no one in this community can even speak, could you imagine never being able to say even just one word. They burned somebody, at the steak, for saying a word; the guy never even had a freedom to speech!!! You could never say I am hungry; you would have to say we are hungry. I would hate having to under mind myself, for the sake of someone else’s ego.
“It is forbidden not to be happy” (Rand 45). People in Anthem could not just have a bad day and feel sad. It was forbidden for them to feel sick or tired or even just bored. They just have to be happy all the time, and for what to spare another person the feeling of being inferior. Happiness is their only option, you wake up and you’re sore; be happy, you break your arm; be happy. The only feeling any one would feel is to be happy!!!
“So we were taken to the Stone Room under the Palace of Corrective Detention” (Rand 64). People are taken to a chilled stone room with no windows and lashed when they sin or trangress. It was so bad that the leaders had to take, this guy in to the other room just to punish him. The punishments vary so that no one will make the “wrong choice” or the choice that the world counsel doesn’t like to be chosen. The leaders don’t truly give you a choice, because they have you so scared to do something wrong that no one would ever rebel.
In conclusion both society’s keep such control over the community that no group of men is able to rebel and to make the utopian society crumble. The leaders of those community’s are intelligent people leading a groups of uneducated being's. If one person makes all these rules that you have to follow and they are designed to keep you safe; then in turn your community the society you live in is going to be full of people that naturally they just aren’t destructive. In a utopian society people are often extremely uneducated in turn they can’t put their will above someone else’s.
