THE UTOPIAN IDEA OF SOCIETY REPRESENTED IN THE
SETTING OF LOIS LOWRY’S
THE GIVER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
RATRI NUGRAHENI PERMATASARI
Student Number: 054214117
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
THE UTOPIAN IDEA OF SOCIETY REPRESENTED IN THE SETTING OF LOIS LOWRY’STHE GIVER
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
RATRI NUGRAHENI PERMATASARI
Student Number: 054214117
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
ii
ASarjana SastraUndergraduate Thesis
THE UTOPIAN IDEA OF SOCIETY REPRESENTED IN THE
SETTING OF LOIS LOWRY’STHE GIVER
By
RATRI NUGRAHENI PERMATASARI
Student Number: 054214117
Approved by
Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum January 04, 2010. Advisor
iii
ASarjana SastraUndergraduate Thesis
THE UTOPIAN IDEA OF SOCIETY REPRESENTED IN THE
SETTING OF LOIS LOWRY’STHE GIVER
By
RATRI NUGRAHENI PERMATASARI
Student Number: 054214117
Defended before the Board of Examiners on January 29, 2010
and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name Signature
Chairman : Dr.Fr.Borgias Alip, M. Pd, M. A ________________
Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum ________________
Member : Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari, S.S ________________
Member : Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum ________________
Member : Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum ________________
Yogyakarta, January 30, 2010. Faculty of Letters Sanata Dharma University
Dean
iv
He alone is my rock
and my salvation; He
is my defence;
I shall not be
greatly moved.
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This thesis is very valuable for me. There were so many things that I’ve
gotten during the work. Up and down that I felt, the people behind this thesis
which can make it accomplished and many things that make me realize that I’m
never left alone by GOD. So, first of all, I am so grateful to GOD for what His
doing for me. He always protects me and gives me all what I need. He always
companies me even when I was angry to Him. He guides me with love and
patience. He gives me many people who encourage me and it cannot be forgotten.
I know I cannot finish my study well without Him.
I’ve said before that this thesis will not be done if there were no people
behind me who encourage me; my family, my lecturers, and my friends.
I thank to my Mom for giving me birth to this world and to my Pa who has
already passed away but has given me enough knowledge to pass this life. I thank
to my dear brothers, both who has already passed away and who is now in happily
marriage. Thank you so much for your guidance in this stubborn sister. Without
you I will never be mature girl. I also want to thank to other family who help me
on many things that I cannot provide for myself.
My special thank is given to Mrs. Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S for being
patience in guiding me during this work and for all the explanations and
corrections. I want to thank for all lecturers who have taught me and helped me. I
am sorry for many faults that I have done.
Last but not the least, I want to thank to whole friends, brothers and sisters
in Sanata Dharma; from English Letters, Cantus Firmus Choir and Sekar Jepun
dance community. All of you have been my second family in my heart. All of
them, by their own way, are always be my place to cheer again. I will not forget
and I will keep my memories during my study at Sanata Dharma University.
At the end, I dedicate this thesis for all of them.
vi
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma :
Nama : Ratri Nugraheni Permatasari
Nomor Mahasiswa : 054214117
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :
The Utopian Idea of Society Represented in the Setting of Lois Lowry’sThe Giver
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, me-ngalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal : 30 Januari 2010
Yang menyatakan,
vii
A. Background of the Study ...1
B. Problem Formulation ...5
2. Theory of Society in the Novel...17
3. Theory of Utopian Philosophy ...17
C. Theoretical Framework...24
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...26
A. Object of the Study ...26
B. Approach of the Study ...28
C. Method of the Study ...28
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ...30
A. The Condition of the Social Setting Described inThe Giver...30
B. The Utopian Idea of Society Shown in the Social Setting...51
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION...73
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...76
viii
ABSTRACT
RATRI NUGRAHENI PERMATASARI. The Utopian Idea of Society as Represented in the Condition of Social Setting in Lois Lowry’s The Giver.
Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2009.
The Giveris one of Lois Lowry’s famous works which has been discussed by many people around the world. It is interesting how the novel tells a perfect society which since Plato’s era is known as Utopian society. This thesis tries to understand how the Utopian idea of society can be represented through the condition of social setting in The Giver. Thus, the achievements gotten by The Giver makes it worth to be analyzed. At this time, the discussion is more about how the society in the novel sees the circumstances which is known as their ‘heaven’ or Utopia.
There are two problem formulations, how the condition of the social setting is described in The Giver and how the Utopian idea of society is represented through the condition of social setting in The Giver. The first objective will focus on discussion of The Giver’s social setting. Then, the second one will discuss it deeper in order to represent the Utopian idea of society.
Discussing Utopia, the philosophical approach is used in order to make the discussion not out of context. This approach is an approach which believes that ‘the larger function of literature is to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues’ which assumes the seriousness of literary works as statements of values and criticisms of life, and the philosophical critic judges works on the basis of his or her articulated philosophy of life. In addition, the library research is taken in order to do the analysis with carefully choice of the sources, both the books and the sources from the internet.
In the analysis of first problem formulation, the social setting ofThe Giver
is considered as a structured and prosperous society. It is said a well-structured society as seen from the buildings, the organization and the rules. It is said a prosperous society as seen from the education, the stock and distribution of food, the social relationship and the safety for the entire people inThe Giver.
ix
ABSTRAK
RATRI NUGRAHENI PERMATASARI. The Utopian Idea of Society as Represented in the Condition of Social Setting in Lois Lowry’s The Giver.
Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2009.
The Giver merupakan salah satu karya terkenal Lois Lowry yang telah banyak didiskusikan oleh banyak orang di seluruh dunia. Novel ini menceritakan tentang suatu peradaban yang sempurna, di mana sejak jaman Plato telah dikenal sebagai masyarakat Utopia secara menarik. Untuk itu, skripsi ini mencoba untuk memahami bagaimana ide masyarakat Utopia dapat digambarkan kembali melalui seting sosial masyarakat The Giver. Selain itu, penghargaan-penghargaan yang diterima novel ini membuatnya semakin berharga untuk dianalisa. Kali ini, diskusi akan lebih dititikberatkan pada masyarakat di dalam novel, yaitu bagaimana cara mereka melihat lingkungan yang mereka tempati sebagai ‘surga’ atau Utopia milik mereka.
Ada dua rumusan masalah yang akan dibahas dalam skripsi ini yaitu, bagaimanakah kondisi seting sosial digambarkan dalamThe Giverdan bagaimana ide masyarakat Utopia tersirat melalui hal ini. Rumusan masalah yang pertama akan lebih menitikberatkan pada seting masyarakat The Giver. Kemudian, hal ini akan dibahas lebih dalam pada bagian kedua untuk mengetahui bagaimana ide masyarakat Utopia tersirat dalam novelThe Giver.
Dalam membahas Utopia, maka pendekatan filosofis digunakan supaya pembahasan tidak keluar dari pokok permasalahan. Pendekatan ini merupakan pendekatan yang mempercayai bahwa tujuan dibuatnya literatur adalah untuk mengajarkan moral dan filosofi kehidupan. Sebagai tambahan, penelitian ini dilakukan dengan sumber dari buku-buku dan internet dengan pemilihan sumber yang hati-hati.
Dalam pokok bahasan yang pertama, seting masyarakat The Giver
digambarkan sebagai masyarakat yang terstruktur dan makmur. Berdasarkan ulasan mengenai bangunan, organisasi dan peraturan yang ada masyarakat The Giver bisa dikategorikan sebagai masyarakat yang terstruktur. Pendidikan, stok dan pendistribusian makanan, hubungan antar individu dalam masyarakat dan keamanan untuk seluruh anggota masyarakat mengacu kepada masyarakat yang makmur.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
People always want happiness for their life so the way they reach the
perfect life was always searched since a long time ago. That is why the
researchers in many fields try to find out how to make it come true. It is such an
impossible situation where people will never know anymore about war, famine,
sadness, anger, etc, and the only thing is happened just the happiness and joy, but
this imagination has been haunting people for years. This perfect life which has
been dreamt by all people all over the world is known as Utopia.
This idea is like a mirage and better to be said as a fantasy, but the idea
about Utopia has become the one of famous discussion topics between the
scholars to grab the visualization and the realization of the perfect life since
Plato’s era. As stated by Irwin Edman, the first Utopia has been found in Plato’s
central work, theRepublic. It is said that:
The construction of the Perfect City has been praised and dismissed as the poet’s dream. It is rather the vision of the imaginative philosopher who says, as does Socrates, that the Perfect City exists in the sky, that in beholding it men may make their cities on earth more perfect (Edman, 1956: xl).
Plato’s Republicis Plato’s work in 400 BC in the form of a dialogue. In the first part, it tells about the concept of ‘ideal commonwealth’ which is said as
‘the earliest Utopia’. The state in Plato’s concept in Republic consists of three classes: ‘the common people’, ‘the soldiers’ and ‘the guardians’. In this concept,
all citizens must have an equal education, no matter what their gender or class
(Russell, 1945: 108-111). Each class has their own peculiar virtue which should
exist; ‘the common people’, who is called ‘the class of workers’ by Edman,
should have ‘temperance; a control of physical desires’ as their peculiar virtue;
‘the soldiers’, who represents ‘the guardians’ in Edman’s book should have the
peculiar virtue of ‘courage’, and ‘the guardian’ whom Edman calls as ‘the
philosophers’ –for representing the kings or the rulers– should have ‘wisdom’ for
their peculiar virtue. From those three classes, according to Russell, the one who
is deserved as the ruler is ‘the guardian’, or ‘the philosopher’ as quoted from Irwin
Edman, because they should ‘have political power’ (Russell, 1945: 108).
According to Plato, as quoted by Irwin Edman, he said about society that “Cities
will not cease from evil until kings are philosophers or philosophers are kings.” It
is said inThe Philosophy of Platothat:
If the philosophers are truly wise, the warriors loyal and courageous, the workers temperate and disciplined, then the state will function perfectly; justice will appear (Edman, 1956: xli).
Once this kind of idea also has inspired Sir Thomas Moore to make a
novel entitled Utopia, a story about a perfect society, in the earlier 16th century.
Utopia, which consists of two books, is written a year after Sir Thomas Moore returned to England and rewritten in 1515 (Moore, 1957: xl). It is said that:
The first book is critical. It presents a picture of English social life at the beginning of the sixteenth century, on the eye of the Reformation. Tyranny and corruption are everywhere; but the fundamental evil, in Moore’s opinion, is the misuse of private property (Moore, 1957: xl).
According to John Warrington, who states in the Introduction part of
the real society while the second book describes the concepts of ideal life. It is
said that:
In the second book we are shown the opposite picture of an ideal society in an imaginary island. Here tyranny and luxury have been abolished, private property is unknown, and manual labour is looked upon as the sole occupation profitable to the state (Moore, 1957: xl).
Later, this idea makes a philosophy of Utopia as has been written by Jon
Will, ESQ., CPA, MBA in his book entitledUltimate Philosophywhich is divided into three books;A Map to Utopia,The Light of Knowledge, andVision.
In the first book, Jon Will talks about ‘the Infinity Theory of Creation’
which:
[t]here is no beginning since only the third dimension could exist and therefore always did exist (2002: 12).
It is said that all people are the same in their species because all of them are ‘the
third dimension’. For this reason, he states that ‘the only gospel which should be
preached is the true gospel of Humanity’. In this part, Jon Will also says that:
Since every human dreams of a better life, Humanity’s common destination should be Utopia, which is what religion refers to as heaven, and which is the best existence, obtainable (2002: 18).
In the second book, with the subtitle ‘The Light of Knowledge’, Jon Will
talks about the importance of the knowledge in a Utopia. In the third one, he more
focuses on telling about how Utopia can be reached, that ‘[h]umanity will bridge
the gap between reality and Utopia’ (2002: 101).
This thesis will not analyzed further about the Republic by Plato nor
author who lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who writes many popular books,
whose the book is first published in 1993 and reprinted in 2002. Its words are
understandable and the work is not boring to be read. As has been said in The Boston Globe by David Mehegan in his article Lois Lowry: A Children's Writer Who doesn't Talk Down, which is published in April 16, 2008 in http://www.iht.co,/articles/2008/04/05/arts/lowry.php that:
…."The Giver" (1993) - won the John Newbery Medal, the pre-eminent award in the United States for children's chapter books. The latter has sold 5 million books in 29 languages, and a movie version is in development (Mehegan, 2008).
Kathy Latrobe and Trisha Hutcherson also state the similar statement in
World Literature Todaythat ’The Giver is Lowry’s most widely read and studied young-adult novel’ (Latrobe, 2002: 75). In the other words, this novel is known in
many parts of the world.
This novel tells about a life of a boy named Jonas in a community that is
orderly ruled and finely structured so the community never involves with war,
famine, cold season, natural disaster or other things which can make them
uncomfortable with the environment. It is so perfect and so unbelievable that there
is a society which is giving such happiness for the community. Almost all people
in the novel feel happy and satisfied with their life. This condition of the social
setting inThe Giver vividly describes the Utopian idea of its society, a perfection of a society.
The Utopian idea ofThe Giver’s society is interesting to be analyzed so we can understand the concept of Utopia itself. This statement is strengthened by
Utopian novels, thus, do not fall within this sphere because they take, as their primary end, the criticism or espousal of a particular social order. Although utopias do include characters with whom we become involved, they use that involvement to achieve another end, that of focusing attention on some idea or ideas about society (Langland, 1984: 83).
Another reason that the society in the novel is interesting to be analyzed is
because we can find out what kind of imagination that the author wants to live in
and the idea or point of view about an ideal society according to the author. It is
like learning the sociology but the analyzed object of society is in the world of the
author’s mind, which in this case is represented through the novel.
Because the topic searched in this thesis is more about the idea, this thesis
will talk a little bit about the theme which is always said as the main idea of the
story. As has been stated by some researchers in their works that the theme ofThe Giver is Utopia, which is known as the ideal society, it means this thesis is not only discusses about the theme but also involves the condition of its social setting.
It is said in The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, as has been quoted in http://www.the-thinking-man.com/definition-of-philosophy.html, philosophy is
‘an organized system of ideas and arguments’ (2002). Based on this meaning of
philosophy, the philosophical approach is taken to analyze the questions in
problem formulation. The aim of this thesis is to find out how the idea of Utopia
is represented through the condition of social setting inThe Giver.
B. Problem Formulation
1. How is the condition of the social setting described inThe Giver?
2. How is the Utopian idea of society represented through the condition of social
C. Objectives of the Study
There are two objectives of the study which must be found out in the thesis
in order to answer the problem formulation. First of all, it tries to identify how the
condition of social setting in The Giver is described. In this first objective, the setting in The Giverwill be presented as detailed as possible, especially its social setting. Then, by describing the idea of society from the social setting, it tries to
find out the similarities between the social setting in The Giver and the society condition of Utopia in order to understand how the Utopian idea of the society is
represented through the condition of social setting inThe Giver.
D. Definition of Terms
According toEncyclopædia Britannicaonline in http://www.howhist.com/ fraser/utopia%20definition.htm, Utopia is: an ideal commonwealth whose
inhabitants exist under seemingly perfect conditions. Hence "utopian" and
"utopianism" are words used to denote visionary reform that tends to be
impossibly idealistic (Britannica).
According to John Will in Ultimate Philosophy, ‘Utopia is generally defined as a place of ideal perfection in all aspects of existence.’(2002: 17).
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
There are so many researchers who study, analyze and discuss this novel.
The topics discussed not only include the intrinsic elements but also the extrinsic
elements of The Giver. Those researches study the theme, characters, symbols, structure, and language, even the connection between the text, the author and the
reader.
As example of the research on the extrinsic elements is the research about
the reader of The Giver, that is, how they respond toward The Giver. In a workshop entitled Literary Education and Canon Formation, which was held in 8-9 May 2003 by Professor Michel Hockx (East Asia, SOAS) and Dr George
Paizis (French, UCL), they researched about the attitude of the reader to the novel,
in this case The Giver, especially in France and Burkina Faso. Their respondents were the teenagers who learned in 4th year of secondary school, between 16 until
20 years old, both in France and Burkina Faso. He said that:
‘the interpretations were diverse. Their experiences of life, in a very general meaning, are so different so this diversity was foreseeable … and expected’ (Hockx, 2003).
The teenagers from France and the ones from Burkina Faso have different
circumstances which can make both has different interpretation when readingThe Giver. The writer thinks that it is an interesting work for it tells how the different cultures which have different life can influence a reader to respond a novel so they
can have different perspectives or point of view to the literary work they read. We
can learn not only the literature but also the culture diversity that influence the
reader’s opinion.
The research paper done by Kathryn Prather (2001), entitled Literature – Based Exploration: Efferent and Aesthetic, takes the correspondents who are the students of the researcher in sixth grade of Language Arts class. From three weeks
exploration, she proposed ‘a combination of aesthetic and efferent teaching’ to
reach the goal that students become ‘life-long readers’ (Prather, 2001: 61, 63). Its
aim is to make more people to love reading, especially the literary books, by this
kind of teaching. The work is understandable read and interestingly reviewed.
Jeff Kolose (2005) studied the theme of eight novels as the case studies in
his work entitled Twentieth-Century Science Fiction Literature and the Right to Life Issues of Abortion, Infanticide, and Euthanasia. They are H.G. Well’s When the Sleeper Wakes (1899), E. M. Forster’s The Machine Stops (1909), Aldous Huxley’ Brave New World (1932), Robert Herrick’s Sometime (1933), James Blish’ A Case in Conscience (1958), William F. Nolan and George Clayton’s
Logan’s Run (1967), Lois Lowry’s The Giver (1993), and Mike Resnick’s
Kirinyaga: A Fable of Utopia(1998).
According to his work, there were ‘six common themes in
twentieth-century science-fiction literature concerned with abortion, infanticide, and
euthanasia’ (Kolose, 2005). They are ‘abortion and attitudes toward children’,
‘infanticide’, ‘euthanasia’, ‘loss and distortion of religious values’, ‘tragic
When reading the work, it is said that the three themes at the end is the
findings after the three themes before. From this paper, it is revealed that
sometimes we sacrificed something unintentionally to gain the better life. At the
end, Jeff Kolose said that:
[r]esearching these questions is not merely an academic questions, helping us catalog instances of science fiction’s presentation of the life issues, for answering them may help us determine not only how to respond to, but also how to prevent attacks on human life (Kolose, 2005).
It means that the literary works might be the way to criticize our life. If we
see our circumstances, we find that the free sex is done, many babies who are
abandoned by their parents for they were born outside the marriage and even
many of them are born with the HIV-AIDS disease in their body. Moreover, the
killing people seems to be usual news in the mass media. Jeff Kolose hopes that
by his research, we are not only aware of this matter nor saying easily, “Well, it is
miserable but it doesn’t matter as long as not involve my life”, but also try to
prevent it happened started from our surrounding.
Some literary works such us George Orwell’s 1984, Aldous Huxley’s
Brave New World, Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, Lois Lowry’s The Giver and M.T. Anderson’s Feed, were analyzed together in Lauren L. Reber’s work (2005) as been submitted to the Faculty of Brigham Young University. The
rhetorical approach which had been established by Wayne Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction andThe Company We Keep, were used to examine the problems in the thesis to know ‘the reasons for the inclusion of hope and the strategies by which
hope is created and maintained’ (Reber, 2005). The approach saw the novel as the
The Giver was taken as one of the examples in this paper because of its ambiguous ending. It is said that ‘Lowry’s novel is a perfect exploration of the
centrality of audience’ because ‘[t]he ambiguity of the story allows the reader to
exercise freedom in creating his or her own sense of closure’ (Reber, 2005). The
closure that Jonas and Gabriel is kept alive –just get faint– or died depends on our
interpretation. In the other hand, as the author, Lois can make the readers feel
what the condition in the novel, especially, Jonas’ feelings. It is an understandable
thesis which done by Lauren L. Reber.
In Children's Literature in Education, Vol. 29, No. 2, 1998, Barbara A. Lehman and Patricia R. Crook were trying something different with other works
as had been found related to this study. They were comparing between a novel,
The Giver, and a picture book entitled We are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy, by focusing in its themes, language, symbols, and structure. It states that the theme of the works is about the children, We are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy described the children as ‘the society’s victims’ who later ‘they save themselves and create their own “family”’ while The Giverdescribed them as the children with ‘idealized childhood’ which its ‘child protagonist decides to save his
community from a life devoid of decision making or human emotion, the
meaning –the good meaning of The Giverand the bad meaning of We Are All in the Dumps-. They also talked about the difference of ‘the circular narrative’ structure in both works (Lehman: 1998). It is shown by this work that children can
have different personality in order to face on the condition of their life.
It is an interesting discussion written in this work. By comparing between
the novel and the picture book, we can analyze and learn many things from it.
Moreover, the idea of comparing between the novel and the picture book makes it
more interesting to be read.
Jennifer Schröder in her webpage entitled The Conception of Adolescence in Lois Lowry’s The Giver rewrote what had been discussed in The Seminar Fictions of Adolescence in American Literature which was held by Prof. Isensee during the summer semester 2005 for the students of the Institute for British and
American Studies at Humboldt University, Berlin, during the summer semester
2005. It discussed about the maturity of the society in The Giver. As has been written by Jennifer Schröder in her webpage, the topics of the seminar are divided
into 5 subtopics withHistory, Innocence, Eden & Utopiaas the introduction. The subtopics are ‘the community’, ‘Jonas’ –as the main character–, ‘the initiation’
and the relationship between ‘the adolescence and fiction’ (Schröder: 2005).
This event seemed interesting to be followed and the writing in Schröder’s
webpage was interested to be read. It seems that this work is analyzed from the
psychological side for it was revealed that the adult people in this society were
mentally considered as children. It had been stated as seen in the following
Jonas’s community also shows some qualities that symbolize childhood instead of adulthood (Schröder: 2005).
The situations they face in are the situations which never get sad, know the
disaster and so on. Their life is just like a baby or a child who knows nothing
about significant problems that can make them exhausted for their life. It is said
that their initiation to reach ‘whole adulthood’ was begun suddenly after being
abandoned by Jonas.
The discussion written in the webpage is easy to understand. In addition,
each subtopic of this seminar was explained in detail so we can understand ‘the
conception of adolescence in Lois Lowry’sThe Giver’.
New Social Orders: Reconceptualising Family and Community in Utopian Fiction (2005) is different from other works that have been reviewed in this chapter because it is not discussing about The Giver but other Lois Lowry’s novels, which are the second and the third sequel of it –in this work they were said
as ‘loosely connected trilogy’–, Gathering Blue and Messenger, and several novels, which are considered as the futuristic setting novels and ‘the refugee
novels’.
Both kinds of novels have different concept of making a family with our
conception to make family in nuclear family and gather in extended family. While
the families in The Giver was made by applying to the Committee of Elders and each of them considered as nuclear family, which are same with our conception,
although they were not biological family, it was not so with the family in these
novels.
that ‘family structure can be used to model forms of cultural hegemony’, Kerry
Mallan, Clare Bradford and John Stephens come to the final conclusion that ‘[i]f
the family is the cradle of the future, then we need to be alert to the hand that
rocks the cradle’ (Mallan, 2005). In another way, it can be said that our future is
depended on the way we treat and care of our children and shape their personality
in spending their life.
As said before thatThe Giverhas been studied by many people, the writer also found in some thesis which studied the same novel at Sanata Dharma
University Library. They are three undergraduate papers which examined the
problems’ found in The Giver. Pranathalia Bondan Prasnorirni’s thesis which is completed in 2004 is analyzing the intrinsic element of theme, character and
setting. Against the Utopian Mentality: The Importance of History and Individualism as a Social Critique toward the United States of America as Seen in Lois Lowry’s The Giver by Aryo Swastika Nugroho (2005) tells about the social critique for America which is represented by The Giver. The third thesis was found isThe Importance of Memory Relating to Jonas’ Self Actualization through Jonas’ Characteristics in Lois Lowry’s The Giver by Yoseph Hary Wibowo (2008) which analyzed how the role of memory in Jonas characteristics is
important so that he can make a certain self actualization.
The topics of the above papers are very interesting and this thesis will not
argue those conclusions which had been made by them. The aim of this study is
just to reveal what kind of Utopian idea of society in the novel written by Lois
people were presented the characteristic of the Utopian society as what has been
said by Jon Will in his book,Ultimate Philosophy, or not.
B. Review of Related Theories
There are three theories used to help in answering the problem
formulations and to accomplish the understanding of this thesis. They are the
theory of setting, the theory of society in the novel and the theory of Utopian
philosophy.
1. Theory of Setting
Setting is commonly described as time and place of a story such as has
been said by several experts such us Robert Stanton, Sylvan Barnet, William
Burto, William E. Cain, Hans P. Guth, Gabriele L. Rico, X. J Kennedy, Dana
Giola, Addison Wesley, Richard Abcrarian, Marvin Klotz, and Peter Ricardson.
Stanton states ’the visible background’ or the place that we can see such us
the store in Canada, the boutique in Paris, etc, and ‘the climate, or the historical
period’ are some parts of setting (Stanton, 1965: 18). Kennedy said that place of a
story ‘includes the physical environment’ (e. g: the mountain, the river, the house,
even the room) while the time includes ‘hour, year, or century’ (Kennedy, 1999:
92).
These opinions are as we learned at school about setting. We are also
taught that setting is merely about time and place, but when learning deeper about
the setting it is found that it is not so simply to say that a setting is the place and
the time which novel occurred.
Anatomy of Prose Fiction, some experts statement which quoted in his book have their own way to show the deeper meanings of the setting. These experts are
Connolly, Elisabeth Bowen, Marjorie Boulton, Lostracco and Wilkerson.
Connolly said that the setting also involves ‘the concrete situation’, it is
not just the time and the place of the character lives but also moment or situation
that involves the character. Elisabeth Bowen added that setting is also the ‘scene’.
It means that setting also relates to everything which describe the environment
around the character. Marjorie Boulton states that the setting:
…refer(s) to the whole environment: the country, district, urban or occupational groups, buildings, diet, family patterns, religions, politics, moral assumptions, intellectual and cultural life, education, amusements, standard of living and so on (Koesnosoebroto, 1988: 79).
While Lostracco and Wilkerson examined that:
[S]etting refers to the conditions or total environment – – physical, emotional, economic, political, social, and psychological – – in which characters live (Koesnosoebroto, 1988: 79).
Both quotations have same statement that setting involves all things
surrounding the character. These things are related each other to shape a particular
setting of a novel. For the example, the existence of ‘buildings’ in the society
related with ‘occupational groups’ which can shape the condition of ‘intellectual
and cultural life’ and consider as the ‘social’ condition of the society. The ‘social’
condition is also related to the ‘political’ condition in order to know the ‘standard
of living’ in the society, the ‘moral assumption’ of the society and so on.
Lostracco and Wilkerson said that the setting is derived into two varieties.
They are the general setting and the specific one. The general setting is usually
east part of the United States in the last of century. The specific setting is
described in exact place and time, e. g: This story is happened at Texas in 1954
(Koesnosoebroto, 1988: 80).
It is concluded that setting involves not just ‘geographical setting’, but also
‘the time’ and ‘the social situation’ happened in the story (Abcrarian, 1998: 5). It
is also stated in Hans P. Guth that:
A story creates its own world. It takes us to asettingin space and in time. In a successful story, that place becomes a small universe of its own, consistent in itself (Guth, 1997: 35).
It means that to shape or form a particular setting, we cannot separating each of
them -the political condition, the social condition, the economic condition, etc.-.
The intention is each of them cannot be discussed without involving the others to
understand the thing that we want to analyze.
M. H. Abrams states that setting involves ‘the general locale, historical
time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs’ (Abrams, 1985: 192). It
strengthens the idea that setting is more complicated than just the place and time
of a story. Moreover, it also strengthens the theory of setting that setting is about
the ‘whole environment’ (Koesnosoebroto, 1988: 79).
For the setting can be described ‘through descriptive passages’ as what
Robert Stanton states (1965: 18), it leads to Richard Gill’s statement inMastering English Literaturethat:
A word is necessary on just how broad a term ‘setting’ is. It can be used to cover:
the places in which characters appear
the social context of characters, such us their families, friends and class
the customs, beliefs and rules of behaviour that give identity to a society
the atmosphere, mood and feel that all the above elements create. (Gill, 1995: 148)
As one of the intrinsic elements of a story, setting is always related to
other elements such us characters, plot, theme, etc. it can be the device for the
author to reveal what their idea or ‘their views about the world’, although it can
‘create a distinctive world’ of its own reality (Gill, 1995: 153, 154).
2. Theory of Society in the Novel
According to Elisabeth Langland in Society in the Novel, learning the society in the novel is just as learning the society in real world. It deals with a
community and their relationships in daily life in all situations (Langland, 1984:
4). It is also stated that:
A study of the formal roles of society thus provides useful insights into the working of the novel as a genre and facilitates practical insights into individual works (Langland, 1984: 4).
Society in the novel is not only related to ‘peoples and their classes but
also their customs, conventions, beliefs and values, their institutions – legal,
religious, and cultural – and their physical environment’(Langland, 1984: 6). It is
also stated by her that society in the novel can be ‘an antagonist to individual
protagonists’ or ‘as formal protagonist’ which makes ’a human hero moving from
a state of instability to stability’ (Langland, 1984: 7).
3. Theory of Utopian Philosophy
As has been said before, the Utopian idea which has already existed since
Plato’s era, is discussed deeply as Utopian Philosophy inThe Ultimate Philosophy
The first book, A Map to Utopia, is the introduction to Jon Will’s theory about Utopian philosophy. In this part, he explains the tenet and the basic
elements to Utopia.
He said that there is no certain religion in the Utopia but the Humanity. It
is stated that:
The only gospel which should be preached is the true gospel of Humanity, which is that all Humans exist in the common house of the third dimension, where no gods exist (Will, 2002: 11).
The existence of religion is considered makes conflicts, for every religion thinks
that they are the most correct religion and other religions are false, so it must be
uniformity in tenet and the one which can fit to this term is any religion but
Humanity.
This base brings human to their destination that is Utopia which defined as
‘religion refers to as heaven’ and ‘the best existence obtainable’. It is also stated in
the first book at chapter three that:
There are five basic elements to Utopia. These elements are: 1. Everlasting life;
2. All good and no evil;
3. Infinite provision of all tangible and intangible needs and wants for existence, without any required effort to obtain those provisions;
4. A perfect balance between the individual and society; and 5. Complete knowledge
(Will, 2002: 18).
As the ingredients to make the foods or the materials to make buildings, Utopia
cannot be obtained without the existence of these five basic elements. It means
that a society can be said as Utopian society if they have reached these elements.
In the following paragraphs, each of them will be explained further. In
relationship with what Jon Will discussed in his second and third book in The Ultimate Philosophy.
‘The everlasting life’ means there is continuity in life no matter what
where you live in and the death does not exist or known in the Utopian society.
This base has been explained further by the Infinity theory. It is said that:
[t]he only rational creation explanation is that there is an infinite sea of three-dimensional particles, with no beginning or end, both as to time and size (Will, 2002:13).
It means that there is a continuity of creation for there is ‘no beginning or end,
both as to time and size’.
The existence itself is described as the third dimension. Jon Will stated
that the existence of any living creature must always be in the third dimension. It
is not only cannot exist in the first or the second dimension for those dimensions
still lack existence on one or two levels but also in more than three dimensions for
‘a space cannot be overfilled’ (Will, 2002: 11).
He also said that ‘all human are equal in the eyes of society’ (Will, 2002:
19). It is no matter what they are, how their appearance is seen, what they wear,
and so on; all of them are equal because they are the part of the same species, the
race of human. Utopia can be gotten if everyone gets the same rights, so there
must be no ‘negative splashes’ (Will, 2002: 22). Without the existence of
‘negative splashes’, it leads to the second basic element to Utopia, ‘all good and
no evil’. About this part, Jon Will states that:
When all humans are good men, they will reach Utopia where:
….there will be physical immortality through cell generation, memory transfer to a robotic humanoid, or some other method beyond our current knowledge (Will, 2002: 22-23).
The meaning of ‘[t]hose humans who engage evil acts’ is the bad people
who can give ‘negative splashes’ to their circumstances which makes it difficult in
order to reach Utopia. That is why these people must be ‘taken out of society
permanently’ no matter how they are put aside from the society. ‘[P]hysical
immortality through cell generation, memory transfer to a robotic humanoid, or
some other method beyond our current knowledge‘ are considered as important
elements in reaching the first basic element to Utopia that is ‘everlasting life’.
People consider them good things so they must be retained forever.
This base will be related with one of the subtopic in the third book of Jon
Will, Visions, that is ‘Human Duality’ which will be discussed in the later paragraph.
The statement of equality for everyone in the society is the same as what
had been said by Plato that:
In the ideal state, represented in the Republic, measures will be taken to secure for each person the best parentage possible, and an equal opportunity will be given for all to show strength and weakness (Avey, 1954: 25-26).
Moreover, in the ideal state according to Plato, ‘[w]omen are to have complete
equality with men in all respects’ (Russel, 1945: 111). Its intention is all people,
no matter what their gender, will get the same opportunity in every chance in an
ideal state.
and arranges all people who live in the society. It is stated that:
There must be a government of some sort for humans to peacefully coexist. Only government can provide mechanisms for peaceful dispute resolution for parties who cannot resolve their disputes. Only government can provide necessary infrastructures such roads. Without governments to enact laws to regulate the various interactions of humans, there would be total chaos (Will, 2002; 27).
With the cooperation between government and civilians, equality state for
everyone will be reached. This equality will lead to ‘a perfect balance between the
individual and society’, the fourth basis element to Utopia. It means that the
individual privacy is as respected as their duty for the society. In addition, Plato’s
statement about the ideal state connecting to this base is that:
The state will be an aristocracy in the ethical, not in the economic sense, and will not sink, as actual states do, to timocracy (based on ambition), oligarchy (based on a privileged group), democracy (the incompetent average), and tyranny (arbitrary power) (Avey, 1954: 26).
The third basic element to Utopia is stated that there is ‘infinite provision
of all tangible and intangible needs and wants for existence, without any required
effort to obtain those provisions’. Jon Will said inUltimate Philosophythat: Once Utopia is achieved, it would be possible for each individual to live in an environment that suits whatever needs and desires that individual has. Everyone would have their own heaven (Will, 2002: 29).
Once again, the relationship between the individual and the government as
one society is told to be one of factors to reach Utopia as in the following:
This united charitable organization could start with the promotion of food, clothing, medical care and shelter for all, which would be a giant step toward Utopia (Will, 2002: 25).
The last required basic element to Utopia is the ‘complete knowledge’.
grabs the world in the hand’. The knowledge is used to understand where right
and wrong, good or bad, how can handle the problem, etc. As has been said by
Jon Will that:
Knowledge is the cornerstone for achieving Utopia. Knowledge permeates the other basic working principles and all the Utopian elements. Knowledge in the hands of good people can stop evil in any of its forms. Knowledge can lead to surplus food supplies and cure illness. Knowledge can stop pollution and create faster and safer forms of transportation. Knowledge can find the means for human immortality. Knowledge can lead to unlimited production capability and therefore a top-of-the-line standard of living for all humans. All of Humanities problems can be solved by knowledge (Will, 2002; 31).
That is why knowledge is very important to reach Utopia and cannot be
separated from other requirements as the ‘basic elements to Utopia’. It means that
‘everlasting life’ and ‘infinite provision of all tangible and intangible needs and
wants for existence, without any required effort to obtain those provisions’ cannot
be fulfill without ‘ complete knowledge’. ‘All good and no evil’ concept also can
be reached if there is ‘complete knowledge’ in the society because we can know
which ones are good or bad so we can avoid the ‘negative splashes’. Thus, ‘a
perfect balance between the individual and society’ also becomes true when
‘complete knowledge’ is reached.
Of course, it cannot be reached without the helping of the government as
the ruler in ‘their charitable programs’ (Will, 2002: 28). In the last word, the first
book tells us how a Utopia is, which represents what had been said by Plato that
‘[a] Utopia, if seriously intended, obviously must embody the ideals of its creator’
(Russel, 1945:115). It means the imaginary of the builders of the Utopian society
As its subtitle, The Light of Knowledge, the second book is discussing deeper about the knowledge. As said before that knowledge has very important
role in reaching Utopia, it is written in Jon Will’s book that ’knowledge should be
the focus of Humanity's efforts, because knowledge is the key to Utopia’ (Will,
2002: 45). In the third chapter, Jon Will states ‘the basic ways of interacting with
knowledge’. They are:
1.) acquisition of new knowledge from research, through experience, or from other avenues of discovery;
2.) dissemination from accessing stored information, through teaching, or from other methods of communication; and
3.) use through actions based on awareness of knowledge (Will, 2002: 45).
The knowledge can be explored by ‘research and development (R&D)’
(Will, 2002: 45). It means there is always continuity in order to fulfill the
complete knowledge. The knowledge is not only researched but also developed in
order to find others inventions.
While the first book is the introduction and the second book is
concentrated to knowledge, the last one tells about the human being as the actor of
the philosophy. Jon Will states that:
The human body (mass) is the tangible physical existence, and thought (energy impulses traveling in that mass) is the intangible mental existence. The duality of mass and energy exist in man as body and thought (Will, 2002: 77).
The above statements are called as ‘Human Duality’. This duality is also
presented by the existence of two tenets in Utopia. First tenet said that
‘[h]umanity's problems can be solved by community level autonomy and
having a community that is properly structured and operated’ (Will, 2002: 83, 84).
Both tenets have the same conception about Utopia philosophy that all are perfect
which there is no evil and the only one which exists is the good things. Once
again, this kind of concept is the same as Plato’s idea about Utopia that ‘[a]
society so structured and characterized be ideal or “completely good”’(Pomerleau,
1997: 22).
This kind image is a perfect picture that is always searched for years by
people. It is said that in this perfect society:
[a]s to the element of all good and no evil, evil will be eliminated because humanity will learn how to discard its negative side (Will, 2002: 95).
In order to its destination to Utopia relating between ‘all good and no evil’
and the ‘complete knowledge’, Jon Will also stated that:
Without a complete understanding of thought processes, and methods to completely control the same, Humanity can never have a true Utopia. Under current circumstances people can be placed in a perfect environment, but there will still be hatred, jealously, and other manifestations or negative thoughts and actions. In short, a perfect environment will not provide a perfect existence for an imperfect being. It is a paradox for an imperfect being to seek a perfect existence by seeking a perfect place. Therefore, Utopia is more than a place, it is a state of being that fulfills both sides of human duality (Will, 2002: 79-80).
C. Theoretical Framework
To answer the problem formulation, the theories which have been
explained before will be used to strengthen the writer’s answers. The first question
will be answered by using the theory of setting while the second question will be
answered by using the theory of Utopia philosophy and the theory of society in
The theory of setting is used to giving explanation how the setting inThe Giveris described. Then, it will be followed by answering the second question of the problem formulation which asks about how the Utopian idea of society is
represented through the condition of social setting in The Giver. This thesis will focus on studying the society in the novel, so the theory of society in the novel is
taken. For the idea is more about the Utopian idea, the theory of Utopia
philosophy is used to analyzed further about the conception of Utopia itself. These
theories are used to understand the similarity the Utopian idea of society and the
condition of social setting in The Giver, so it will be drawn the answer of how the Utopian idea of society is represented through the condition of social setting in
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The work analyzed entitledThe Giveris the novel of Lois Lowry which is published by Dell Laurel-Leaf Books in 1993 and reprinted in 2002. This novel
consists of 23 chapters in 179 pages. The Giver gets a Boston Globe-Horn Book
Honor Book, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and an ALA Notable Book
for Children, the Winner of the Regina Medal, a Booklist Editor’s Choice, and a
School Library JournalBest Book of the Year. In addition, as been said by David Mehegan in his article Lois Lowry: A Children's Writer Who doesn't Talk Down,
in The Boston Globe, which is published in April 16, 2008 in http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/15/arts/lowry.php that ‘[t]he latter has sold 5
million books in 29 languages, and a movie version is in development.’
(Mehegan, 2008), makes this novel worthier to be studied.
This novel tells the story of Jonas, a boy who lived in a community which
seems perfectly in order. The society never recognizes the famine, war,
destruction, or even death. There is a group of people called the Committee of
Elders, whose the leader is elected every ten years, governs the society.
Jonas, as a citizen in the community, must follow many rules and
procedures which are written in the Book of Rules, such us the citizens are
forbidden to leave the dwelling at night except for anyone who is in duty,
Stirrings –in this novel is described as pleasant dream of another gender– must be
treated by pills, two children in each family unit – one male and one female–, etc.
If someone break the rules, for three times, he or she will be released
which is a terrible punishment. If someone feels not fit in, he or she can apply for
Elsewhere, the place where all released people live. There two occasions of
release which are not a punishment, the ceremony of Release for elderly and the
new children who the committee feels not having a good quality.
There are also the rituals and traditions which must be followed by every
citizen, such us morning ritual of telling dreams and evening ritual of telling the
feeling of each member of family unit or the importance of precise language.
Every year, there is a big ceremony which is held for two days in
December and followed by all citizens. This ceremony is such a public birthday
party which important for their next step of life in the community; for example:
the Ceremony of One is the ceremony for one year old toddlers to get name and
be put in a family unit, and the Ceremony of Twelve where the twelve year old
children get their assignment and trained for certain time to be the official one
later.
The Ceremony of Twelve is the last ceremony of this big ceremony and
the most important for it is decided their real future. As other eleven year old
children, Jonas was worried about the Assignment he would get.
He was surprised and he never thought that he is chosen as the next
Receiver of Memory who is the most important elder, whose the duty is giving
advices everytime the Committee asks.
The Ceremony of Release, which has been said as beautiful ceremony, actually is
a ritual of killing people by injecting a syringe filled with deadly liquid. Jonas
realizes that this ‘perfect community’ has made people have no feeling. By the
Giver help, the previous Receiver of Memory, Jonas escapes and runs away to the
outer community, to the Elsewhere.
B. Approach of the Study
To accomplish the thesis, philosophical approach is taken so the analysis
might not be out from the problem formulation. Philosophical approach is an
approach which believes that ‘the larger function of literature is to teach morality
and to probe philosophical issues’ (Guerin, 2002). The approaching is done by
comparing a particular philosophy with the literary work whether the literary work
represents the philosophy values or not. This kind of approaching is not only
analyzing ‘the character and passages’ but also ‘the totally of the work’ (Guerin,
2002).
It is most suitable with this thesis because this thesis wants to reveal the
Utopian idea of society of a literature work, which in this case is the novel of Lois
Lowry,The Giver, and this idea is considered as the value of life that is owned by a society.
C. Method of the Study
The method of analyzing the work is literary research, in which will be
done both by books and the sources from the internet. The primary source is the
is chosen whether the sources are trustable or not. This study will follow these
following steps to complete the analyzed of the work. First of all, the work which
will be analyzed was read carefully. Then, the topic was drawn from it. Third, the
problem formulation was made from the topic. After that, the related studies and
the related theories were searched for answering the questions of the problem
formulation.
The analysis was done after it as follows; first, the theory of setting was
used to answer the first question of the problem formulation. The answers of the
first question would be used to answer the second problem formulation. Then, the
second one was using the theory of society and the theory of Utopian philosophy.
The theory of society in the novel was taken because the thesis studied is more
about the society which is described in the novel while the theory of Utopian
philosophy was taken because the purpose of this study is to learn deeper about
the Utopian philosophy. The last but not the least, the conclusion was derived to
accomplish the curiosity how the Utopian idea of society can be represented
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
A. The Condition of the Social Setting Described inThe Giver
As said by M. H. Abrams that one of the intentions of the setting is the
‘social circumstances’ (Abrams, 1985: 192), this analysis will focus on the social
setting or condition although it might be related with other segment of setting like
what have been said by Abcrarian (Abcrarian, 1998: 5) and Hans P. Guth that:
A story creates its own world. It takes us to asettingin space and in time. In a successful story, that place becomes a small universe of its own, consistent in itself (Guth, 1997: 35).
The condition of social setting in The Giver is described as a well-structured and prosperous society. It has been stated in the novel by Lois Lowry in
this novel through what the Giver’s saying that ‘Life here is so orderly, so
predictable – so painless’ (Lowry, 1993: 103) for the society. In the other words
the society in The Giver feels happy because there is no pain, the life is predictable and all things in good order.
1. Well-Structured Society
A well-structured society means the structure of the society is in a good
order. It can be seen from the buildings that are built according to the contribution
to the society, the organization which governs the society and the rules which
completely influence the society’s life.
It refers to what has been said by Marjorie Boulton that setting refers to
‘urban or occupational groups’, ‘buildings’, and ‘politics’, the following
sections will be explained further about the three groups mentioned earlier
(Koesnosoebroto, 1988: 79).
a. The Buildings inThe Giver
‘Buildings’ relate to ‘occupational groups’ which exist in the society
(Koesnosoebroto, 1988: 79) because they –‘occupational groups’– need a place to
do their activities which is called the building. The buildings are considered as
one of the characteristics of a well-structured society through the function of each
building as mention in the following. The function of each building which is built
inThe Giver’s society represents how is this society is orderly structured. In other words, generally, it can be said that a well-structured society has buildings with
exact role or function for each of them in order to fulfill the needs of a society. In
the novel, it can be found several buildings which have relationship with the
governmental activities, the buildings in order to fulfill the supplies for the
community, and the buildings which the functions are for caring the people.
i. The Buildings for Governmental Activities
There are several buildings which are needed for governmental activities,
which are said as ‘political’ activities in Lostracco and Wilkerson’s theory
(Koesnosoebroto, 1988: 79), in The Giver’s society. They are 'the large Auditorium', 'the Hall of Open Records', 'the Hall of Closed Records', 'the Annex'
and 'the Department of Justice'. ‘The Department of Justice’ will not be explained
further because its function is generally the same that is to keep the people stay
The large Auditorium is the place where people usually hold meetings,
especially the annual ceremony which is held every December (Lowry, 1993: 27,
41). Its function is a little bit different with the Auditorium in the general sense.
This Auditorium is only used for the formal meetings and usually followed by
many people. It cannot be found about the music event like a concert, or wedding
ceremonies during the story. Music is never known by the society as stated
indirectly from the Giver's special skills -the Capacity Hearing Beyond- (Lowry,
1993: 157). It means that almost everyone in The Giver does not know music as our society does. The wedding ceremonies are not held is derived from the way
the society make a family unit, by applying the spouse and the children (Lowry,
1993: 12, 43, 48, 102, 124). There is no particular celebration to form a family
unit but application is needed.
The Hall of Open Records is the place where everyone can go freely to see
the records related to their life such us how much time they have done the
volunteer hours, which will be the decisive factor whether the Elevens get their
Assignment or not (Lowry, 1993: 28), and how old they are, because after they
reach twelve years old, age is no longer important as Jonas’ mother said. She says:
“Well, it’s the last of the Ceremonies, as you know. After Twelve, age isn’t important. Most of us even lose tracks of how old we are as time passes, though the information is in the Hall of Open Records, and we could go and look if up if we wanted to. What’s the important is the preparation for adult life, and the training you’ll receive in your Assignment.” (Lowry, 1993: 17)
The aim of this building may be for keeping the people from loosing their track of
In the opposite, the Hall of Closed Records is the place for the secret
records of the entire member of The Giver’s society’s life. It is said that the Hall of Closed Records is restricted area for the citizens and the one who has the access
to open it is the Receivers of Memory. In addition, they do not know whether it
was recorded. One of the examples of these records is the recording of the private
ceremonies, such us the Ceremony of Release (Lowry, 1993: 147). There is a
secret that must be hidden from the society such us the process of the Ceremony
of Release so they never know about the Elsewhere, the place where the releasing
people are said live (Lowry, 1993: 32). These secrets are still kept in order to keep
the memories which can be seen anytime, especially by the Receiver of Memory.
The Annex is the official place where the Receiver of Memory is going to
work. It is also the place for the new Receiver of Memory to get the training.
Annex consists of two rooms, the lobby and the work room of the Receiver of
Memory.
The lobby was very small and contained only a desk at which a female Attendant sat working on some papers. She looked up when he entered; then, to his surprised, she stood. It was a small thing, the standing; but no one had ever stood automatically to acknowledge Jonas’s presence before (Lowry, 1993: 73).
The work room for the Receiver of Memory is placed behind the lobby.
Both rooms are separated by the locked door. This is unusual known by the
society because ‘[n]o doors in the community were locked, ever’ (Lowry, 1993:
73). This door will be opened if the Attendant pushes a particular button. The
work room is described as:
sturdy, the function of each piece clearly defined. A bed for sleeping. A table for eating. A desk for studying.
All of those things were in this spacious room, though each was slightly different from those in [Jonas’s] dwelling. The fabrics on the upholstered chairs and sofa were slightly thicker and more luxurious; the table legs were not straight like those at home, but slender and curved, with a small carved decoration at the foot. The bed, in an alcove at the far end of the room, was draped with a splendid cloth embroidered over its entire surface with intricate designs (Lowry, 1993: 74).
There is a difference between the citizen’s dwellings and the Receiver’s
room. The dwellings for the citizens are not contained the books as can be found
in the entire room of the Receiver. It is said that:
…this room’s walls were completely covered by bookcases, filled, which reached to the ceiling. There must have been hundreds–perhaps thousands–of books, their titles embossed in shiny letters (Lowry, 1993: 74).
ii. The Supplies Buildings
The supplies buildings relates to Marjorie Boulton statement about ’diet’
which refers to how the food are produced, stored and distributed
(Koesnosoebroto, 1988: 79). The buildings in this novel which are necessary for
supplying the community are ‘the Store House’, ‘the Food Production’ and ‘the
Food Distribution’. The function of each building is vividly known from its name
such us ‘the Store House’ for storing the things, ‘the Food Production’ for
producing the food and ‘the Food Distribution’ for distributing the food.
In reality, there are no certain buildings to fulfill the production and the
distribution of foods. There are factories but not all foods are made in the factories
as in The Giver’s Food Production. The foods in The Giver can be consumed without being cooked further in each dwelling. The prepared foods are distributed
must be packed first in ‘the Food Distribution’ before they are distributed.
iii. The Buildings for Social Activities
‘The Nurturing Center’, ‘the Childcare Center’ and ‘the House of the Old’
are built in order to take care of the people and ‘the Rehabilitation Center’ is built
in order to treat them healthy. These buildings are considered as the buildings for
the social activities to show that the ‘physical’ and ‘psychological’ condition,
which is mentioned by Lostracco and Wilkerson (Koesnosoebroto, 1988: 79), are
kept well.
‘The Nurturing Center’ is the place for ‘the Nurturer’ to treat new born
babies until they are ready to be put in a family unit, while ‘the Childcare Center’
is the place for children to spend their rest time after school. ‘The Childcare
Center’ characteristic is presented by the existence of the play areas which are
built surrounding this place (Lowry, 1993: 2). ‘The House of the Old’ is the place
for the elder people to live for the rest of their life until they get the ‘Ceremony of
Release’. It is said that in ‘the House of the Old’:
Each room was comfortably furnished, the floors covered with thick carpeting. It was a serene and slow place, unlike the busy centers of manufacture and distribution where the daily work of the community occurred (Lowry, 1993: 29).
The last building in this category, which is also important, is ‘the
Rehabilitation Center’. It is the place for sick people to get treatment. In other
words, ‘the Rehabilitation Center’ is the hospital for this community (Lowry,
1993: 26). The difference between the hospitals in real community with ‘the
b. The Organization Structure inThe Giver
As said by Marjorie Boulton that setting also refers to ‘politics’ and
‘occupational groups’, in the following paragraphs will be discussed further about
the ‘occupational groups’ which refers to the organization structure of this novel
(Koesnosoebroto, 1988: 79). The organization structure also represents how a
society is considered as a well-structured society because if it is well-ordered, the
society which is ruled will be good as well.
People in The Giver’s society are governed by ‘the Committee of Elders’. This Committee is led by ‘the Chief Elder’ who is elected every ten years (Lowry,
1993: 51). There is an advisor called as ‘the Receiver of Memory’ who always be
asked whenever the Committee needs an advice (Lowry, 1993: 14), although the
frequency is rare. Usually, the Committee asks ‘the Receiver of Memory’ when
they are confronted with something new which they never have experience in it
before (Lowry, 1993: 103). ‘The Receiver of Memory’ is also commonly said as
the Receiver during the story.
It is not like other ‘Assignments’, ‘the Receiver of Memory’ has particular
characteristics. Some of the characteristics which described that ‘the Receiver of
Memory’ is special, for it is one of the important positions in the society, are
listed as follows:
1. It is not a kind of job or assignment. It is more like a duty or a burden that
must be lifted from society to a special person who considers can handle
the task (Lowry, 1993: 67).
