Utopia, is it possible?
For the past few L.A. lessons, we have been going through The Giver and about how the people in this society undergo laborious activity to achieve “Sameness” in their community.
In The Giver’s society, the people have been freed from all the suffering and pain of this world and lead rather unfeeling and monotonous lives. However, all these changes they have made to the society have also resulted in the people being deprived from freedom of choice and has caused them to lose their individuality and creativity as well. All these negative aspects to achieving “Sameness” in the society have landed the community in more of a dystopian setting rather than the utopia they were trying to achieve. I feel that it is truly very disheartening to think of human beings, just like us, being barred from the true pleasures of life as well as the deep emotions of this world.
In The Giver’s society, the people have been freed from all the suffering and pain of this world and lead rather unfeeling and monotonous lives. However, all these changes they have made to the society have also resulted in the people being deprived from freedom of choice and has caused them to lose their individuality and creativity as well. All these negative aspects to achieving “Sameness” in the society have landed the community in more of a dystopian setting rather than the utopia they were trying to achieve. I feel that it is truly very disheartening to think of human beings, just like us, being barred from the true pleasures of life as well as the deep emotions of this world.
In The Giver’s society, the people were genetically modified in such a way that they were neither able to see colors nor hear music, and this caused the people to be rather indifferent towards each others’ physical differences. Assignments and spouses were also meticulously selected for the people based on their personalities and talents and even the members of each family unit, carefully observed and handpicked for each unit.
However, despite all their attempts to acquire “Sameness” in this dystopian society, there will always be an unavoidable hierarchy for the peoples’ assigned roles. For instance, even though the people in the society were each assigned their specific roles in the community, of which the chief elder regards as “Honoring their differences”, there was still discrimination against some jobs such as the Birthmother, which Jonas’s mother outspokenly deemed as a “job without honor”.
To achieve a utopian society, memories of the past have been completely washed from the peoples’ minds as well and they are also modified so that they will better conform to the ways of the society. Taking away all the emotions of the people, they live rather cold lives and this I feel is taking away an integral part of a human being’s life.
So, a utopia, is it really possible? Well, in my opinion it is as its meaning clearly describes, an “imaginary island", not possible and will never be .
However, despite all their attempts to acquire “Sameness” in this dystopian society, there will always be an unavoidable hierarchy for the peoples’ assigned roles. For instance, even though the people in the society were each assigned their specific roles in the community, of which the chief elder regards as “Honoring their differences”, there was still discrimination against some jobs such as the Birthmother, which Jonas’s mother outspokenly deemed as a “job without honor”.
To achieve a utopian society, memories of the past have been completely washed from the peoples’ minds as well and they are also modified so that they will better conform to the ways of the society. Taking away all the emotions of the people, they live rather cold lives and this I feel is taking away an integral part of a human being’s life.
So, a utopia, is it really possible? Well, in my opinion it is as its meaning clearly describes, an “imaginary island", not possible and will never be .
Labels: differences, pleasures, sameness
posted by alethea sim @ 3:38 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Hi Alethea!
I enjoyed the way you systematically broke down the themes of a utopia in Jonas’s society and analysed it bit by bit to draw out all your views on his world! It was very well written.
A utopia is indeed, as you say, not possible. When we want to achieve an ideal world based on our values and what we feel is right, there are definitely bound to be elements of dystopia in it. It is impossible for the whole world to have the same ideals as one person. Should a utopia ever exist, it must satisfy the conditions and values of everyone that lives in it. Hypothetically, a utopian community may be created if one gathers people who share the same values and ideals as you to build a world based on those thoughts. However, it will never last as human emotions, like they were meant to, are bound to waver and change somehow, no matter how long it takes. When that time comes, there will be conflict and elements of dystopia, for example chaos, start to emerge. In order to prevent this, human emotions have to be taken away. Once this is carried out, like you mentioned, Alethea, the people lead monotonous and unfeeling lives, robbed of the right to experience the ups and downs of life. A utopia should not exist like such! It should be a paradise where people can live freely and happily the way they enjoy it while maintaining peace and harmony within everyone. Such a world is clearly not depicted within Jonas’s world, where the people are restricted and controlled, uncaring and stiff. Even after the Community Elders’ effort to create what they thought was a utopian society, there are still elements of dystopia in it. Hence, a utopia is not possible.
Hey Alethea!
I really enjoyed your blog post!
I agree with you that a utopia is definitely not possible. This is because nothing is perfect.
Personally, I feel that Jonas' society is not all bad. In the Community, everything is organised and well-planned. Every year, the birthmothers give birth to the same number of children. Spouses are chosen according based on personalities and talents. In addition, there are no choices. Unlike us, people in the community will never make wrong choices that may disrupt their lives.
To the people living in the Community, all these control over them do not matter. This is because they do not even know how to make choices. Thus, they are very happy with their lives right now.
However, in the Community, emotions are diluted. There is no love within a family. Parents are sent to the Childless Adults when their children have grown up. Then, they are sent to the House of Old, where they will eventually be released. Their children would long forget about them.
In our present world, where we have the freedom to make choices, and the freedom to do what we want, we always make mistakes. Also, we are never satisfied. We always want more. Example, we want more money, thus we work so hard. Hence, we are not happy.
However, in our present world, emotions are not diluted. There is love and warmth within a family. We would never forget our parents and grandparents too.
Therefore, we can see that both worlds, Jonas' Community and our present world, are not perfect. There will always be advantages and disadvantages.
A utopia is definitely impossible!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home