The Cost of Security Anonymous 9th Grade

In a country where many are free to learn what they please, express themselves and feel a vast range of emotions, it is an outlandish thought to have these simple freedoms restricted or even relinquished. Lois Lowry’s The Giver follows Jonas, a boy who begins to question his perfect society devoid of any troubles when he receives memories of the past as part of his job Receiver of Memory. The community gives up the freedom of its people in favor of security, which results in ignorance of the past, and an inability to perceive the future. Relinquishing freedom makes emotion non-existent. It raises the question; is it truly worth erasing the freedom to learn, to experience the world, and to feel emotions in favor of security?

The government of Jonas’ community greatly restricts the range of knowledge that can be acquired within the education system; here, the education of young people revolves around giving up their own individuality in order to retain Sameness and to keep order within the community. Because of their Sameness-centered education, no one learns of the past and no one can think beyond the set parameters of the community. This indoctrination makes sure that everyone has a place in society, and it also makes sure that...