Authors and Utopian Themes

by jennysfen
Last updated 3 years ago

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AOI: Human Ingenuity

Click here to discuss any of these questions on the class blog.

If you were intrigued by the themes in The Giver, you may want to try some of titles below. Utopia or Dystopia?

When authors explore utopian worlds we examine our own beliefs and values and look more closely at how we live in our own society.

Is Utopia possible?

Why do people try to create utopian worlds?

How do people use language to manipulate others?

The citzens in Jonas's community are required to use precise language when communicating with each other. Yet, they use terms such as 'released' (p. 2), 'Nurturer' (p. 5), 'Stirrings' (p. 37) and 'Elsewhere (p. 78) that deliberately cloud meaning. * Why do you think the community would use such euphemisms? * When do we use euphemisms in our society? * What is the affect of using such language? * What benefits and/or disadvantages are there to using such languge?

Lois Lowry creates a world in The Giver where people do not experience pain or fear. What ideas do you think she was trying to explore? What did it make you think about? Jonas had some critical decisions to make about life in his community. What would you have done in his place? How does our society impact your decision making?