Nassos1

Georgios Nassos
Prof. Spitler Lawson
English 113B
25 April 2016
Rough Draft of Project Text
Word Count 780
Too Good to be True
The Giver introduces its audience with a dystopian society taking place in the future. As
described in the back cover of the book the society that Jonas lives in is perfect. Free of all the
fundamental components that identify our modern society or the world as we know it. Free of
conflict of any short. Its free of emotions; free of love, free of sex and sexual drive, free of
experience, free of adequate knowledge other than the assigned, free of critical thinking, free of
choice, even free of color since all the inhabitants are color blind. Such results are achieved in
part from pills administered to the people that deprive them of any emotion and in part from a
faux belief system instilled through years of brain wash by the Elderly. All in the name of safety
and well being. Most importantly, the pre-mentioned characteristics and techniques become the
running gear upon which the overall system functions and ensures its sustainability. It all adds
up to embrace and create successfully the illusion of sameness while eliminating any thoughts
of diversity. Doomed to live as a society of fully programmed robots.
Ironically, the one element that remains untouched despite the many years that the novel
takes place in the future (the number of which is undefined in the book) is the human factor. It
appears that the values and passions by which our human nature is defined and conquered are
timeless. Therefore, much as the setting or the obstacles that Jonas is confronted with may differ

Nassos2
from the norm, the audience can still relate to him. This is also because Jonas is different.
Different from the people in his own community but very much alike the people within our
modern society. Jonas is portrayed as an untamed spirit, a curious soul, a hero willing to sacrifice
all he has ever known for the enlightenment of others. Yet again, in our modern society Jonas
would have been see as a rebel, a psychopath or a fanatic that nobody would be able to
understand or believe.
Diversity can be found all around us. The would we live in has been preconditioned to
breed and uphold a variety of species. Every species is unique holding on to its own identity
while doing what it knows best, being itself and following its own purpose in life within the food
chain. Yet, within every species there are as many differences as similarities not only physical
but also behavioral. Otherwise we would all be clones of one another. However our history has
shown time and again that our social and cultural diversity has been the prime source and main
cause of numerous conflicts. Efforts are being constantly made between countries to minimize
diversity and create a sense of unity amongst nations such as religion, common currency, open
boarders, globalization.
Its been said that based on the way our society is evolving in the future the entire world
will be governed by only one president. While at present such an idea sounds far fetched it might
end up taking place sooner than we think. Still, for nations to give up completely on their
administration, cultural diversity and national identity and become part of a broader community
is unattainable. That was the founding ambition behind Europe and namely Eurozone following
the leading example of the United States. So far it has failed miserably. European countries are
not willing to relieve themselves of their social and cultural identity, what makes special, to
become citizens of Europe or share their country with everybody else. Europe is too broad and

Nassos3
diverse to be considered as a whole. The UK, one of the founding members is currently trying to
exit Eurozone since the countrys benefits are far less that its damages. Every country holds its
own rich history that took a lot of bloodshed to preserve and the wounds are still fresh. Diversity
is a wonderful thing and undoubtably its within our nature.
The problem is that it has been perceived the wrong way. It is a shame that through our
long history we haven't been able to understand our similarities outweigh our differences. If only,
we accepted each other differences instead of trying to impose what one side thinks its right to
the other side and vise-versa. The world would have been a much better place. To think that there
will be a time when we will all be the same is naive and unrealistic and an idea that can only find
shelter in dystopian novels like the Giver.