What are some significant quotes on sameness in The Giver?

As Chapter 12 of The Giver is ending, Jonas has just received the memory of the color red. He loves the beauty of the color and asks the Giver about color, why it has disappeared in the Community. The Giver explains that giving up color (and many other things) was a deliberate choice for the Community.  Giving up these things was the beginning of Sameness. He says, "We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others" (95). The Giver is trying to explain that Sameness was meant to be a trade off, so that the Community would be free of pain, safe from all possible harm, have perfect climate control, and an orderly existence.  Jonas, at this point, begins to wonder if this was such a good trade off, and in the next chapter, he is wondering even more. 

In Chapter 13, Jonas is still working on acquiring the sense of color from the Giver. He is impatient to acquire all the colors and be able to maintain them in his mind and eyes, something that is going to take him some time to do.  He wants them immediately and says it's not fair that there is no color.  The Giver asks him what he means, and Jonas replies, "If everything's the same, then there aren't any choices! I want to wake up in the morning and decide things!" (97). Jonas is starting to understand that Sameness, which is all he has ever known, is depriving him and everyone else of choices.  The seed of doubt that was planted is beginning to grow now, until it reaches the point at which Jonas realizes that trading all of life's ups and downs for Sameness is a poor sort of bargain. 

How does Lowry use literary devices in The Giver to portray "Sameness"?

Literary devices in The Giver include metaphor, simile, imagery, hyperbole, euphemism, and symbolism. Let's look at each of these briefly and then focus in on euphemism and symbolism.

Metaphor occurs in phrases like “endless ribbon of road” (which Jonas sees when he leaves the community). Simile appears in a statement that children who don't obey the rules are like animals. Vivid imagery is especially prevalent when Jonas receives memories and experiences colors and music for the first time. Hyperbole (exaggeration) occurs when Jonas thinks of the “endless talk” of the people in his community as they try to explain their feelings every evening. This talk is not endless, of course, but it seems like it, and the feelings now seem shallow compared to Jonas's own experiences.

Now let's turn our attention to euphemisms, words that are used to take the edge off of unpleasant ideas. These are quite common in The Giver. “Sameness,” for instance, is presented as a desirable thing in the community, but as the author uses the word, it is really a euphemism for the trampling of individuality. “Release” is the euphemism for death.

Symbolism is common as well. The apple, for instance, that Jonas is holding when he sees color for the first time symbolizes something new in his life. Something is changing for Jonas. Dreams are also symbolic in the story. Dreams are individual, and they symbolize individualism, something that must be curbed at all costs. Therefore families must tell each other their dreams and record them each day, making the dreams part of the community and once again repressing individuality. The daily pill that people take to get rid of the “Stirrings” is also symbolic of the repression of the individual and all that is uniquely human.

We can see, then, that the author uses literary devices to emphasize the Sameness of the community. On the surface, this community appears different from our modern world, yet the author wants us to reflect on how we, too, are pushed into forms of Sameness. She also wants us to think about the euphemisms we use to avoid talking about unpleasant things and to cover up truths.