The Chosen one

Character isolationism and the struggles surrounding solitude are recurring themes in many great pieces of literature . Lowry 's The Giver is an excellent work of contemporary fiction whose main character Jonas , struggles with such a burden . In to properly identify character relationships of isolation , I will compare and contrast The Giver with two other well-known pieces of adolescent literature : The Outsiders by S .E . Hinton and Catcher in the Rye by J . D . Salinger

Jonas , in The Giver , views his hometown as the perfect place , a utopia that is self-contained and free

of ruinous element such as conflict illness , divorce , and inequality . He comes from a loving , demonstrative family unit : father , mother , one brother , one sister . Everyone in his hometown fits this perfectly balanced poster-family mold . It 's a gift-wrapped location to raise a family , or so we are led to believe

His family , as are all families in this utopia-like society , has good communication methods and are supportive of one another . Lowry creates such a background to impact his theme of a protagonist teetering into the realm of isolationism

The author uses the omniscient point of view of Jonas throughout the story . As the reader envisions the story solely through Jonas , we see his family is supposed shares their feelings and emotions when issues arise . It 's almost too perfect . Yet perfection\ diminishes when we discover , through foreshadowing , that a certain pilot who was in a plane crash was to be released from the community ' The speaker 's voice takes the situation lightly , even with a hint of humor - a marker that something is amiss

One of the main themes in The Giver is individuality verses conformity This parallels Jonas 's struggles with isolationism . Lowry leads us to believe in this utopia . Yet , as Jonas and other children freely choose jobs to increase their own knowledge base , it becomes apparent that the Elders have another purpose for them . The Elder will be choosing what direction their future will go once they are twelve years-old

Later , Jonas shares a provocative dream he had about Fiona . Jonas is d with the pleasure his dream brings to him . Lowry wrote , And the nakedness , too . It was against the rules for children or adults to look at another 's nakedness but the rule did not apply to newchildren or the Old (p . 30

This statement speaks volumes about the sexual racism and tensions that were prevalent in the society of The Giver which can be compared to the pressures that revolved around the status of wealth in The Outsiders and Catcher in the Rye . The Giver 's protagonist accepts this rule as Lowry responds to the rule against seeing other people naked . Jonas was glad It was a nuisance to keep oneself covered while changing for games , and the required apology if one had by mistake glimpsed another 's body was always awkward (p . 30

The author gives us subtle hints of Jonas 's isolation that is to come He liked the...