The Giver: Power in Relation to Good and Evil Essay

           Power is unequal and relative to certain quarters in the book “The Giver”.  Power is enjoyed by a specific group in the community where Jonas lives, and the rest are to follow a given set of rules. The paper adopts the thesis power is necessary to discern good and evil.

            The community that Jonas lives in is controlled by set rules that guide each household. The rules affect the community member’s life directly ranging from the number of children, who to marry among many other factors. Every family is given a set of rules that it is to control their every activity.  Children are denied the power to think and discern right from wrong by being taught not to lie and only be honest.  In chapter one a strange plane appears, the shape of the plane perplexes the community. There is a voice in the loudspeaker that orders Jonas and his fellow pears to leave their bicycle were they are and enter the nearest building. Clearly, Jonas is a subject to a higher authority that orders what he should do.

            Marriage is not normal in the community, for one to marry he has to apply to the committee. Clearly, the power of whom is to be your spouse rests with the committee of elders. The committee decides which people set off people rhyme and join them. The couple is denied the power to choose their spouse as this union is not initiated by love but by rules. The couples are then monitored for three years before they may apply for children a male and a female (Lowry 11). Couples in the “The Giver” have no feeling, they are just joined by a set of rules. The children that they get are born in a birthing place then raised in a confined area referred to as a nurturing center. Clearly, the inadequacy of this system is because members of the community lack the power to choose good and evil. The family unit lives more of a programmed life as they have no choice but to follow rules. The parents are childless and are taken to live with other childless adults once the children are grown up.

            When Jonas interacts with the giver who gives him memory, the author initiates the process of giving back power to the community.  It is clear now through Jonas that the system adopted by the community is inhuman. The system propagates evil with the people who commit the acts, unfortunately, are unknowing participants. The above fact is evident when Jonas observes his father to insert a needle into the head of one of the twins to kill him. Jonas is disturbed by these images and feels betrayed by his father who always taught him to be honest. The previous night Jonas’s father had explained about the release of the child whom according to the rules was not wanted. Jonas remembers the account of the previous day that worsen the situation as he sees his father a liar. The lack of power and memory clearly depicts the worst in the system to a point that a child is killed.

            Jonas holds the key to the community and the ability to give them power that will enable them to discern good and evil. “The Giver,” tells Jonas that the memories re withheld from the community to protect them from the pain of some of the memories. However, the evil that Jonas has seen happening in the community makes him decide to give back memory to his people.  The act of running away takes back the power that was restored solely in the committee of elders and back to the people. The act ensures that the people are now in a position to discern good and evil, make a decision for themselves and have a choice in life. In the last chapter Jonas almost gives up as he walks through the thick snow. Power is demonstrated in this chapter as Jonas decides to soldier on despite the hardship. Clearly, there are no rules in this decision and he now has the power to choose.

Works cited: Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. Print.