Conformity

Protection against wrong decisions

In the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry, the community's ancestors adopted something called the principle of sameness. Sameness is supposed to mean that all people are as similar as possible. Their decisions are made by the Elders: Family units, profession, clothing, hairstyle, and daily routine. In this way, they try to create a just and equal society, where all members receive the same and where poverty, hunger, and need no longer exist.

The community is a collective. All goods as well as food are distributed by the state. There is no ownership. Everyone in the community is dependent on each other and each person has to fulfill his or her task. Each profession is given only once at the Ceremony of Twelve. The Committee of Elders determines which tasks must be performed and distributes them accordingly .

The principle is justified by the idea that it would be dangerous for people to make their own decisions . This could lead to wrong choices and conflicts: 

'We don’t dare to let people make choices of their own.' 'Not safe?” The Giver suggested. 'Definitely not safe,' Jonas said with certainty. 'What if they were allowed to choose their own mate? And chose wrong?' [...] 'We really have to protect people from wrong choices' (Chapter 13, 15%).

 Jonas has complete confidence that the Committee of Elders, always makes the right decisions. He has been indoctrinated to believe this all his life.

Climate, environment, and food

The Giver tells Jonas that the principle of sameness was introduced because of economic reasons: "Climate Control. Snow made growing food difficult, limited the agricultural periods. And unpredictable weather made transportation almost impossible at times. It wasn’t a practical thing, so it became obsolete when we went to Sameness" (Chapter 11, 50%).

 To increase food production, the government has changed the environment and altered the landscape. There are no more mountains, as everything has been flattened. As a result of climate control, there are no seasons and no sun, snow, and rain . In addition, animals no longer exist in the community. But with that, there are also no natural disasters.

The food in the community is b...