The Giver
Jonas' job is to save memories
Community valued sameness
The only books were meant to enforce the rules/law
assigned families
Jonas
Asher
Fiona
The Giver
Lilly
Mom & Dad
Gabe
book ending is uncertain (cliffhanger)
individuals don't have much choice
only a couple of people can see colour
no such thing as love
Montag
Linda (wife)
Clarisse (friend)
Fabian (nemesis)
Captain
Old Lady
emotionally flat
individuals under surveillance by the state
Had an age limit (carousel, release)
Captain & Father (role models) were "Outside" was a scary place
agents of the state
oppressive government
death is sugarcoated
curiosity and fear about outside
Have concept of family
no family
main characters disobeyed rules
destination (elsewhere, sanctuary, book people)
birthmothers
running away from utopia
had someone that pushed for change (Clarisse, Jessica, The Giver)
Montag's job is to burn books
all male protagonists
death penalty
book outlawed to prevent unhappiness
What they do is all opposite of what we would do
some people died for their values (Rosemary, runners, old lady...)
Video Screen "family"
job related to rebellion
No old people ­ wouldn't be fun
all based on books
individuals under surveillance by each other
CONCEPT OF UTOPIA (Distopia)
Community misled / sheltered from reality
life goal is to have pleasure
faked Montag's death to reinforce community values
Logan's Run
Farenhiet 451
Logan
Jessica
Francis
Old Man
Box
world run by computers
can see colour, allowed to be different
Logan's job is to catch runners (Sandman)
job as enforcers of the law
protagonists killed their co­workers
made into a movie
protagonist is an adult
in "family" relationship
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Opening Paragraph (to compare
three utopian societies)
opening sentence The Giver
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closing sentence
Body
opening sentence Logan's Run
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closing sentence
opening sentence Farenhiet 451
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closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / Giver
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closing sentence
opening sentence 451 / Giver
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opening sentence Logan / 451
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opening sentence ALL THREE
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closing sentence
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Opening Paragraph (to compare
three utopian societies)
opening sentence The Giver
- body
closing sentence
Body
opening sentence Logan's Run
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Farenhiet 451
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closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / Giver
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closing sentence
opening sentence 451 / Giver
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closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / 451
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closing sentence
opening sentence ALL THREE
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closing sentence
Closing Paragraph
Utopia seems like a wonderful idea where everything is perfect and no one suffers. Three stories address this topic and show how even the best ideas have their downside. The Giver tells of a society where everything is the same and no one has to worry about making a wrong decision. Fahrenheit 451 tells of a society that bans book in the interest of preventing unhappiness. The society in Logan's Run is full of pleasure but only for 30 years. In practice though, these utopias present each of the protagonists with a problem where they question how perfect their perfect worlds really is.
opening paragraph prepares the reader for what you are going to say
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Opening Paragraph (to compare
three utopian societies)
opening sentence The Giver
- body
closing sentence
Body
opening sentence Logan's Run
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Farenhiet 451
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / Giver
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence 451 / Giver
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closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / 451
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closing sentence
opening sentence ALL THREE
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closing sentence
Closing Paragraph
Community valued sameness
individuals don't have much choice
assigned families
no such thing as love
only a couple of people can see colour
Jonas' job is to save memories
Jonas leaves his community to find elsewhere
book ending is uncertain (cliffhanger)
The Giver, by Lois Lowry, tells of a society where choices are made by the state in order to create sameness. This is done to prevent unhappiness and to ensure that people don't become jealous or sad about differences. For example children at each age receive the same gift (p.15) and have ceremonies to recognize these changes in age. Families are created when a spouse is assigned and the couple applies for children through a birthmother. Jonas, the protagonist, is assigned the job of holding memories for the community. This is so that not everyone has to experience sad or painful memories. The Giver's job is to transmit these memories to Jonas and, in doing so, reveals the wonders of love, and family, and pain, and sorrow to this young boy. Jonas begins to resent the rules of sameness and wants to share these joys with his community. After receiving his first memory, Jonas says, "I wish we had those things, still." (p. 84)
In the end, Jonas, with the help of The Giver, escapes from the community with an infant new­child at risk of being killed (released) and seeks out a life full of feeling and love. While he does get away, we don't know exactly what happens to Jonas as the story's ending is uncertain.
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Opening Paragraph (to compare
three utopian societies)
opening sentence The Giver
- body
closing sentence
Body
opening sentence Logan's Run
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Farenhiet 451
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / Giver
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closing sentence
opening sentence 451 / Giver
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closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / 451
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closing sentence
opening sentence ALL THREE
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closing sentence
life goal is to have pleasure
No old people ­ wouldn't be fun
world run by computers
people monitored with crystals in their palms
at 30 y.o. go to carousel to be 'renewed'
Logan's job is to catch runners (Sandman)
Logan becomes a runner and seeks "sanctuary"
Closing Paragraph
The film, "Logan's Run" takes place in the 23rd century where computers provide all of life's necessities freeing humans to lead a life full of pleasurable pursuits. Throughout their life, a crystal embedded in their palms changes colour to indicate their age. After 30 years of care­free living, when the crystal starts to flash, citizens are called to Carousel where they have a chance at "renewal" which is the idea of being reborn. Some are not convinced that renewal is true and believe that people are simply killed. Logan, the protagonist, is a "sandman" whose job is to catch and eliminate people who try to run from Carousel. Logan is commanded by the computers to seek out where the runners go and destroy their sanctuary. With the help of Jessica, a younger friend, he infiltrates the runners' network and, in doing so, begins to question the reality of renewal and the promise of sanctuary as he goes outside the walls of his utopian community to seek an escape from the finality of Carousel.
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Opening Paragraph (to compare
three utopian societies)
opening sentence The Giver
- body
closing sentence
Body
opening sentence Logan's Run
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Farenhiet 451
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / Giver
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence 451 / Giver
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closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / 451
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closing sentence
opening sentence ALL THREE
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closing sentence
book outlawed to prevent unhappiness
Montag's job is to burn books
individuals under surveillance by each other
Video Screen "family" instead of books (substitute) keep people busy, PROPOGANDA
Montag leaves his community
faked Montag's death to reinforce community values
Closing Paragraph
Farenheit 451 presents another utopia in which unhappiness and pain is controlled through the elimination of books. Montag, the protagonist is a fireman whose job is to search homes for illegal books and then burn them. Citizens are encouraged to report illegal activity by turning in a picture of the offender. A wall screen in each home is similar to a television where the state encourages compliance with the rules, and entertains viewers with bland stories of little consequence. Montag is approached by his neighbour Clarisse who asks him if he ever reads the books he burns. This sparks some curiosity in him and he begins to steal, read, and then hoard books. His wife Linda is furious and turns him in. Montag is forced to flee his community and seek refuge with other book people where he can live the life he desires.
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Opening Paragraph (to compare
three utopian societies)
opening sentence The Giver
- body
closing sentence
Body
opening sentence Logan's Run
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Farenhiet 451
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / Giver
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closing sentence
opening sentence 451 / Giver
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closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / 451
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closing sentence
opening sentence ALL THREE
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closing sentence
Closing Paragraph
PEOPLE
both chosen for their jobs
The Giver & The Old Man ­ helped the protagonist, hold knowledge and wisdom
Logan seemed happy with his life, Jonas felt there should be more to life
Jonas left to save Gabe, and find love in elsewhere
Logan ran to find sanctuary, and to avoid carousel
UTOPIA
state controls all parts of people's lives
birthmothers
"Outside" was a scary place
Had an age limit (carousel, release) Death was formalized
death is sugarcoated
individuals under surveillance by the state
Examining these stories more closely reveals many points of comparison. In Logan's Run and The Giver, for example both of the protagonists were chosen for their jobs by the state, Jonas to hold memories, and Logan to chase runners. While Logan found life in his community enjoyable and happy, Jonas had more questions about life in his community. While they both fled from their communities, their reasons were slightly different ­ Logan left to avoid dying in Carousel, and Jonas left to save the new­child, Gabe, from being killed in the Ceremony of Release. Both Logan and Jonas found older citizens who helped them understand what more there could be to life outside their respective utopias. The Old Man in Logan's Run told Logan and Jessica about love and families just as The Giver shared memories with Jonas about just the same thing.
The utopian communities Logan and Jonas inhabit are both controlled by the state. Logan's world is run completely by machines that manage births and deaths, food supply, and recreation. Jonas's world is managed by an extensive set of rules that spell out exactly what citizens do throughout their lives. For both these protagonists, the community is a safe haven and the concept of "outside" for Logan, and "Elsewhere" for Jonas are worrisome. The state in both of these communities regulate death but have sugar­coated the idea through vague language or ceremonies that promise rebirth. Logan and Jonas begin to see through the deception and rebel against it by opposing the rules and escaping from what seemed to be perfect communities.
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Opening Paragraph (to compare
three utopian societies)
opening sentence The Giver
- body
closing sentence
Body
opening sentence Logan's Run
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Farenhiet 451
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / Giver
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence 451 / Giver
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / 451
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence ALL THREE
- body
closing sentence
Closing Paragraph
People (Montag & Jonas)
in "family" relationship
characters are emotionally flat
Captain & Father (role models) were agents of the state
Have concept of family ­ long­term attachment to people
protagonists escape and don't return
Utopia
access to books is controlled
in the future, but realistic
people have productive jobs
The only books were meant to enforce the rules/law
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Opening Paragraph (to compare
three utopian societies)
opening sentence The Giver
- body
closing sentence
Body
opening sentence Logan's Run
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Farenhiet 451
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / Giver
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence 451 / Giver
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / 451
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence ALL THREE
- body
closing sentence
emotionally flat
Captain & Father (role models) were agents of the state
Have concept of family
protagonists killed their co­workers
protagonist is an adult
Closing Paragraph
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Opening Paragraph (to compare
three utopian societies)
opening sentence The Giver
- body
closing sentence
Body
opening sentence Logan's Run
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Farenhiet 451
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / Giver
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence 451 / Giver
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / 451
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence ALL THREE
- body
closing sentence
Closing Paragraph
oppressive government
curiosity and fear about outside
main characters disobeyed rules
destination (elsewhere, sanctuary, book people)
running away from utopia
had someone that pushed for change (Clarisse, Jessica, The Giver)
all male protagonists
death penalty
What they do is all opposite of what we would do
some people died for their values (Rosemary, runners, old lady...)
job related to rebellion
all based on books
CONCEPT OF UTOPIA (Distopia)
Community misled / sheltered from reality
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Opening Paragraph (to compare
three utopian societies)
opening sentence The Giver
- body
closing sentence
Body
opening sentence Logan's Run
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Farenhiet 451
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / Giver
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence 451 / Giver
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence Logan / 451
- body
closing sentence
opening sentence ALL THREE
- body
closing sentence
Closing Paragraph
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