the battle of utopia

8th Grade LA

4 February 2009



The Battle of Utopia

         

Someone once said, “It is my right to be uncommon.... I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the government look after me.  I choose to take the calculated risk, to dream, to build, to fail, or succeed… I prefer the challenges of life to a guaranteed existence, the thrill of fulfillment to the state calm of Utopia.”  Though their name is lost in history, whoever said this truly understood Utopias and how they restrict you from what is human nature.  A Utopia is a place where there are no flaws and a place without war.  In Lois Lowery’s book The Giver, and in the real life attempted Utopias, New Harmony and the Equality Colony, end up in complete disarray and can hardly be considered a Utopia anymore.  A person cannot live a complete and fulfilled life in a Utopia because they would have to sacrifice bona fide independence, diversity, and feeling.

         The freedom t be able to make choices allows a person to learn through experience and grow into living an independent and fulfilling life.  In The Giver, Jonas and his family were discussing what would happen when he would turn twelve and he would receive his ‘assignment.’  “It was a secret selection, made by the leaders of our community, the Committee of Elders, who took the responsibility so seriously that there never were even any jokes made about assignments.” (Lowery, 15)  Not one person in their community was allowed to choose their own profession.  At the young age of twelve it was chosen for them by people who only know the person by observation and not by personal encounters. Most twelve year-olds are not nature enough o make life long decisions.  Being assigned a job or task does not let a child have experiences to allow them to find their true interests.  Choices that are important to be made by individuals are made by the “committee.” In Jonas’s world, “Even the matching of the spouses was given such weighty consideration that sometimes an adult who applied to receive a spouse waited months or even years before a match was made.” (Lowery 48).  Families were not allowed to develop naturally.  Not only were spouses chosen by the committee, but to keep everything equal, children were not born to their parents but assigned to them.  Being in a family was not a loving growing experience as it should be but more like a job away from your other job.  There is nothing fulfilling in viewing life as one big assignment.  A perfect place cannot be achieved by denying a person’s right to fulfillment by choosing for themselves and being personally responsible for the outcome while replacing it with choreographed solutions.

         Recognizing each person’s diversity and the contribution through differences makes our own experience a rich and fulfilling life.  When Jonas became a Receiver of Memory for his community, he realized that the weird thing he had been seeing when he looked at the apple was the color red.  “…why can’t everyone see them (colors)?  Why did the colors disappear?” …”Our people made that choice to go to sameness,”(Lowery 95).  Jonas recognizes that seeing color would improve and add joy to the community’s life, but the committee worried that colors would be seen differently. Some people wouldn’t like a color and favorites would be picked.  When you have the ability to see color, boredom and blandness would be given up. Artists would want to paint pictures, people would stop to watch the sunsets, and some would plan flower gardens to catch the eye.  Each of the community members would be fulfilled through participating or viewing the diversity of colors in their world.  Robert Owens, the organizer of the New Hope Community, believed that “…everyone should be placed in the midst of those external circumstances that will produce the greatest number of pleasurable sensations…,” (Lockwood 2).  Although Owens ideas were grand, his Utopia was not successful.. It was guaranteed failure because he supported the views of choice and diversity. When people have diverse personalities and ideas they might clash and create havoc but throughout history we have managed to learn to put our differences aside and make compromises. Great friendship can be developed and lessons will be learned that will lead success and fulfillment. Diversity of talent, personality, and the interaction with others is a basis of a rich and fulfilling life.

         The passion and convictions of our own feelings give our lives excitement, dimension, and purpose making them more fulfilling and favorable.  In The Giver Community, the families, as a rule, must share their dreams and Jonas shared a dream he had about his friend, Fiona.  “…I knew that she wouldn’t. And in fact I knew that she shouldn’t.  But I wanted it so terribly.  I could feel the wanting all through me…. A REMINDER THAT STIRRINGS MUST BE REPORTED IN ORDER FOR TREATMENT TO TAKE PLACE,”(Lowery 36).  Worried that he would be taken away for treatment because of his dream, Jonas question his parents who told him that this meant only that it was the time for him to start taking the pills.  The concept of our Utopia cannot tolerate diverse emotions and feelings.  Everyone who wishes to live in a Utopia must conform to the accepted norm to remain. Sometimes the norm will mean destroying normal feelings because they would cause one to stray from the plan of the Utopian community. On Jonas’ first day of being a Receiver, he was given his first memories and felt sensations he had never truly felt before,.  “Sir,’ he said, ‘the chief elder told me …that it would be painful.  So I was a bit scared, but I really enjoyed it….”  “I started you with memories of pleasure,”(Lowery 85).  Jonas was chosen as the new Receiver of Memories because of his strong conformity and acceptance of the community standard; however, he realizes almost immediately how deprived his friends and family have been and he begins to question the old Receiver as to why things had to change.    Jonas has realized that not all memories are painful.  Many that are uplifting can bring comfort, love and safety in times of need.  No feelings mean that there is no sorrow, pain, depression, or anger; but also no love, joy, pleasure, and comfort. Being able to express feelings and emotions add dimension and joy to our fulfilled life.  The memories of sorrow and ecstasy eliminated in the name of perfection have deprived the Utopia of good experiences and memories.

         Those who try to establish a Utopian way of life have the belief that to be happy the community members must live in a world where all conform to a certain standard and the goal of that standard is to make all people equal or the same.  In The Giver, there is no leeway of choice in occupation, family structure, personality differences or desires.  Utopian society tries to limit the experiences that the members may have so that there will be no extremes of emotion or feelings. Treasured independence, diversity, and feelings are major stepping stones to a fulfilled and complete life.  Just as the unidentified speaker said, we have the right to be uncommon and to make our own choice. To take a risk or to stay the on the course; to feel pain and joy, love and grief, to succeed or fail, that is the right of every person.