The Giver #3

"Jonas was silent for a minute. "Oh, I see what you mean. It wouldn't matter for a newchild's toy. But later it does matter, doesn't it? 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? "Or what if, " he went on, almost laughing at the absurdity, "they chose their own jobs?" "Frightening, isn't it?" The Giver said. Jonas chuckled. "Very frightening. I can't even imagine it. We really have to protect people from wrong choices." (pg. 98)

This passage from the book The Giver by Lois Lowry comes after Jonas has accepted the job as the new receiver in the dystopian society. This is when Jonas is talking to the people and speaking out about the fact that he wishes that there was still color so the people could enjoy the color and they could have the pleasure and feeling to chose between different colors. But the government quickly shoots down this idea that Jonas has, this shows the dystopianess of the society. They said that if people were allowed to choose their own colors then they would be gaining too much freedom and then they would want to chose who they marry and they would want to choose their own jobs. The government said that these choices and decisions are a big part of people’s lives and if we let the people have more freedom then their decisions could be disastrous. This shows the power that the government holds over the people in the society.I find this very interesting, because I do not understand how allowing people to pick their jobs or lovers leads to the downfall of their society. I believe this pushes Jonas towards the edge of rebellion, because he doesn't see it the same way as the Giver.