Discussion Topic
The significance of eye color in the society of The Giver
Summary:
In the society of The Giver, eye color signifies the ability to see beyond the community's imposed sameness. Characters like Jonas and The Giver, who have pale eyes, possess the capacity for deeper perception and understanding. This trait sets them apart and hints at their potential to experience emotions and memories more profoundly than others in their society.
What does eye color signify about society in The Giver?
Most people in Jonas' society have dark eyes. There are only a few exceptions to this. Jonas, Gabe, a female Six (Katherine), Rosemary, and the Giver all have pale eyes.
To Jonas, pale eyes aren't just an anomaly, they fascinate him. When he looks into Gabe's clear eyes, he feels that they look like mirrors and that there is a certain depth to them that he can't explain. All he knows is that, when he looks into Gabe's pale eyes, he seems to be "looking into the clear water of the river, down to the bottom, where things might lurk which hadn’t been discovered yet." Gabe's eyes are "pale, solemn, knowing," as if his eyes indicate an intrinsic intelligence and insight that most people in the community do not have.
Interestingly, both Jonas and the Giver share the same type of pale eyes. The Giver is responsible for holding...
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memories of every known human experience and then using them to solve the problems of the community when needed. As the Receiver of Memories, Jonas is the next Giver. Each Giver is also tasked with experiencing pain of a magnitude that is beyond the comprehension of others.
In Jonas' community, most people have dark eyes, and this perpetuates the idea of sameness that is deemed so essential to peace and stability. On the other hand, those who have pale eyes are set apart and thought to be different. Jonas' eyes seem to indicate his superhuman ability to see beyond (what is called "The Capacity To See Beyond"). Jonas can see changes in things and people that others cannot see. As a Receiver-in-training, Jonas also has to train "alone and apart" from everyone else. So, dark eyes represent sameness in Jonas' community, while pale eyes indicate otherness. This emphasis on eye color reveals a society that is focused on perpetuating sameness to sustain a fragile vision of stability.
The community was filled with people who could not see color, so they had no way of recognizing the color of anyone else's eyes. Since the community was based on the necessity of sameness, this was to be expected and was not considered odd or unusual.
Jonas, however, does have eyes that are obviously of a different color than everyone else. The group of elders can not explain how they recognize this distinction, but they call it the "Capacity to See Beyond" and consider it as an ability that will be essential for the new Receiver of Memory. As the one who is responsible for providing advice to the elders when decisions must be made using information from the past, the Receiver needs to be able to see in a different way than any of the other residents of the community. Variation in eye color is unimportant, if not undesirable, for anyone else.
Eye color is an interesting phenomenon in Lois Lowry's The Giver because no one can see color at all, anyway. They can discriminate between contrasts with shading--lights and darks--but they don't know colors. In chapter three, the baby Gabriel comes to stay nights with Jonas's family and Lily notices that he has "funny eyes" (20). She says the word "funny" because she has no other words to describe the difference between the light shade in his eyes and her dark eyes. Lily further mentions that Gabriel's eyes look like Jonas's, which makes him feel awkward for being different. The text then explains that everyone in the community has dark eyes except for a limited few, such as Jonas. He even describes his eyes as "pale." Again, he does not know the names of different types of colors, so he can only use words associated with shading.
Lily does say that maybe Jonas and Gabriel have the same birth-mother, which is a very profound connection to make for a seven year-old girl. Other people, though, wouldn't say anything to Jonas about the shade of his eyes because that is a personal comment to make, and it would be considered rude. But if Lily notices that Jonas's eyes are lighter than everyone else's, then others might have noticed, but out of respect, simply have never said anything about it.
How does society in The Giver react to eye color and color?
The people in the society cannot actually see color; they have no memory of it. Jonas, who can see splashes of red on occasion, has a special gift in this area. The people can see shades of dark and light, however. While "almost every citizen in the community (has) dark eyes", there are "a few exceptions...Jonas himself, and a female Five", and the little boy child Gabriel all have "pale eyes". Light eyes are "a rarity...(and give) the one who (has) them a certain look...Depth...as if one were looking into the clear water of the river, down to the bottom, where things might lurk which hadn't been discovered yet". Light eyes in the community appear to indicate that the person who has them has special gifts of perception, and are likely candidates to one day become the "Receiver of Memory".
There are few mirrors in the society and although Jonas knows he has unusual eyes, he does not dwell on this fact, and is a little self-conscious when it is pointed out. The people in the society generally ignore this difference; "no one mention(s) such things; it (is) not a rule, but (is) considered rude to call attention to things that (are) unsettling or different about individuals". Contrary to accepted behavior, Lily, being young and impetuous, points out "with delight" that Gabriel "has funny eyes like (Jonas's)" as soon as she sees the baby. Jonas is offended, and decides that Lily needs to be taught the rules of etiquette on what should and should not be said (Chapter 3).
What does the Community's reaction reveal about their attitude towards eye color in The Giver?
As virtually all the people in the Community are colour blind, they cannot see blue as such but rather as a strange pale shade. Only a few people have eyes like this: namely the Giver, Jonas, Rosemary, Gabe and another little girl too young to be considered a candidate as a Giver.
Since it is considered rude to make a remark about anyone's difference, these people are probably considered to be stigmatized since they are a indeed a minority. It is interesting to note, though (although Lowry herself never makes the point) that these people are all set apart in some way and most of them have been, are or are going to be taking on the highest role in the Community, namely that of the Giver. It is a privilege to be the Giver but also a tremendous burden, as the Memories of the past bring on much psychological and even physical suffering. How Jonas and the present Giver help re-establish a more normal order within the Community and manage to break up the syndrome of sameness is the main plot and suspense of this story.