My life is not my own...?

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The Giver, by Lois Lowry is a great story about a boy who lives in a seemingly perfect world where perfection is the main goal of life. The society it depicts seems, at first, a utopia, but Lowry skillfully shifts it, by the end, as something much different. 
The themes in this short novel are circulated around the importance of making connections. One of the themes is choice. Throughout the novel, The Giver points out tht along with the freedom of choice comes the possibility of making the wrong choices. Jonas says that, "We really have to protect people from wrong choices. It's much safer."(90). Although he says this, Jonas really feels almost the opposite. Individual freedom and free will is what makes a "society". If you take away a person's rights, then there is no longer a society of individuals. I feel that we should not sacrifice our personal beliefs and hobbies for a more orderly society. Most people have one thing that helps them get through the day; whether it satisfies them spiritually or sensually. Those experiences are what makes a person unique. Jonas even states that "if everything's the same then there aren't any choices"(87). Jonas is made aware the importance of choices we make when he looks back at the choices the community has made. In a community that values Sameness, there is no room for individuality.  He sees all that has been lost since the community decided to go to Sameness: snow, hills color, and choice. 
Another theme in the novel is freedom versus security. With the loss of choice comes with the loss of freedom. Jonas world is seen as a familiar world. Comfortable, safe and free from violence, prejudice, poverty and injustice. Although this seems like the perfect world, there are certain parts about it that does not sit well with Jonas. Even running away temporarily resolved those uneasy feelings about Sameness. Jonas considers if he made the right choice about running away and cant help but believe that he did. But, sometimes choices are harder than they appear to be. Jonas and Gabe are starving and the narrator states, "if he had stayed, he would have starved in other ways. He would have lived a life hungry for feelings, for color, for love." Throughout the novel we see Jonas struggling with these two warring identities; wanting to keep his humanity while still being a good person and functional member of this society. 
Overall, this novel was a good and thought-provoking one. It challenged my thinking of how I would live in a world like Jonas', and how much I am willing to sacrifice for a more orderly society. 

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