Understanding Of The Rules In The Giver By Lois Lowry

Lowry’s writing, The Giver, published in 1993, reflects on an orderly world where societies live without violence, injustices, and poverty. The author mirrors such a society existing in utopia, not guided by natural laws. While peaceful systems for societal existence are unachieved, institutions with stronger regulations are used by political organisms to shape the behavior of the citizens. Their rigid and omnipresent laws ensure that societies conform to laws and regulations, and this meets the expectations of citizens to obey specific laws. This form of control projects the reality of modern society, which proves the existence of dystopia as a result of societal regulations that complicate the existence of peace and tranquility. Through evaluation, the study will evaluate how The Giver displays the risks of societal control to create comfort and a secure community.

The Purpose and Fabric of the Rules

From the novel, Lowry suggests that regulations are designed to govern human existence, including their personal milestones. The author compares the strict societal framework to the family rituals when members share by "telling of feelings" at dinner (Lowry, 1993). In the context of the family rules, these regulations not only enforce community standards and expectations on individuals, but also control internal emotional state. One of the key aspects that defines the societal framework is that citizens’ language must adhere to the absolute precision set by the state (Lowry, 1993). An example of language control is when Jonas describes that he is “starving” while the state reprimands and reminds him to say he is “hungry”. By correcting even the nature of language used, the state is able to minimize the risks of citizen rebellion as a result of suffering. Lowry parallels the state’s legal control to family values, where the traditional marriage was replaced with the modern 'Matching of Spouses', which is state-sanctioned. Such measures are often imposed by powerful individuals in the community who preside over ceremonies and social events (Anwar & Zaidi, 2025). In this case, Lowry describes how societal laws strip away the reality and organic emotional distress affecting people and replace them with predictable constructs.

The Mechanism of "Sameness"

The author says that the state has designed absolute values and societal regulations to make citizens think that they are the same. Their minds integrate the idea of sameness to think they face the same challenges, and the state uses this to regulate public perception to suppress the risks of unrest (Lowry, 1993). Specifically, the author uses the aspect of human biology to demonstrate the “sameness” perception, which creates no distinction between the whites and the blacks. However, the aspect of sameness was established to minimize the risks of discrimination and ensure everyone has equal rights in the community. While geographical differences influence human diversity, it is engineered to suppress the choice of people in the community. According to novel, when color is suppressed, then the citizens would not give their opinions based on preferences and their perception of what is affecting them (Lowry, 1993).. In this case, the community uses sameness perception to create policies that regulate human behavior and ensure people do not make wrong choices when left to think on their own. While it seems like a good idea, it strips societies of their responsibilities of making better decisions and avoiding failures (Abdeen, 2023). Based on the author’s view, societies make mistakes and learn from their experiences to assist in designing future policies that address their fears. However, the mechanism of sameness suppresses responsibility and creates the perception that everyone has the same problem and that policies are required to shape their actions to avoid radical decisions.

Enforcing the Boundaries: Shame, Apologies, and "Release"

According to Giver, the community is designed to conform to psychological conditioning imposed by institutions. Institutional structures project reward and punishment as a way of suppressing human behavior and causing people to conform to specific norms (Ahmed et al., 2026). For instance, the author uses the example of a student coming late to class and being told to stand before others and apologize. Here, the student waits for the robotic response "We accept your apology" (Lowry, 1993). Since the institutions quickly identify any deviation from the norms, it is easy to impose punishment and stigmatize victims to cause them to think that they have gone against the societal norms.

Since the imposition of punishment on deviants is considered a crime, they state that they punish them through release. They outlive the utility of the state and are considered shameful, which attracts a celebratory transition from the community (Lowry, 1993). This is used especially for the young people who have negated the values and norms of the community. Failure to uphold norms and strict measures set by those in power is considered outcast, and behavior that is not tolerated in the community. Lowry reflects on Jonas' family when she witnesses his father participating in the celebratory release of a fellow newborn who was considered deviant from the community (Lowry, 1993). The release conforms to euphemism which is designed by the state to remove deviants from the community and ensure those who remain are guided by the norms (Campos, 2022). This case projects how authority exists to maintain the status quo rather than protecting human dignity and life.

Conclusion

In the novel The Giver, Lois Lowry uses the story to project reality in the modern society which is designed to model utopia through strict laws. Lowry suggests that the state enforces conformity to norms and individuals negate following the laws, they are considered deviants and eliminated. Those who deviate are imposed with punishment which suggests that they are ot part of the community. These negative rewards suppress any appraisal because, psychologically, people fear punishment. On the same note, the author projected that to prevent further aggression from the people, the systems have also created the perception of “sameness” to bring the essence of people making no wrongs and therefore, they will not engage in activity that causes regulatory struggles to the responsible authorities, all these perceptions describe the typical society where, institutions have power to maintain status quo and does not focus on human existence. From all these experiences, Lowry leaves with a powerful cautionary message that true humanity requires freedom to experience their existence through pain, grief, and errors as they learn. Learning from these experiences allows society to build constructs in aspects like love, joy, and genuine, which are important for human existence.