The Giver: Genre 1 key example

True to the conventions of the dystopian genre, the Community in The Giver at first looks like it might be a utopia, or "good place" in which all of society's problems have been solved. No one goes hungry, everyone has a job to do, and crime is almost unheard of. However, as Jonas learns more about his society through his work with the Giver, he comes to see that all this peace comes at a high cost. Community members have a muted, depressed outlook on the world. They do not see in color. Their lack of intense feelings like love even leads them to practice eugenics, murdering babies and elderly people who require high levels of care. Jonas's discovery that his father sometimes kills the babies he cares for is what helps him conclude that something must change. Dystopian fiction often turns on this kind of horrifying revelation that some people must suffer so that others can live happily. Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Ursula LeGuinn's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" are just two major examples of dystopian works where characters also must decide what to do when they discover that their comfortable lives have been bought by human suffering and cruelty.

There is plenty of dystopian literature that is not aimed at young readers. However, especially since the 1990s, there has been a great deal of overlap between dystopian literature and young adult literature. This overlap is partly related to marketing: publishers have found that dystopian books sell a lot of copies when they are marketed to the young adult audience. The Giver is a good example of why this crossover works so well. Jonas is 12 years old in the book. It is a coming-of-age story, in which he learns how to think independently and act according to his own values. It horrifies him to realize that he is living in a dystopia, but it also offers him an incredible opportunity to grow up into a young adult who can choose not to comply with the status quo. For all readers but for young readers especially, dystopian literature like The Giver can be an appealing and accessible way to consider big ideas like free will, social justice, morality, and the role of the government in citizens' lives.