In Lois Lowry’s The Giver, the Committee of Elders upholds Sameness in order to ensure complete consistency among community members. Most notably, Sameness involves physical appearance; everybody in the community has the same color skin, hair, clothing, and eyes (with the exception of the chosen Receivers). Given the standards of physical Sameness, I am surprised that twins are released rather than embraced. After all, who looks more alike than twins? In order to avoid confusion among citizens, however, one twin must go. As Jonas explains, "Well, they can't have two identical people around! Think how confusing it would be" (148). To maintain physical excellence within the community, the twin with the lower birth weight is released to Elsewhere. The community accepts this practice simply because it is a traditional practice in their community.
When considering community members' reactions to release, it is important to note they do not perceive release in the same manner as the reader. As the giver explains to Jonas when Jonas recognizes the truth, “They can’t help it. They know nothing” (156). The Committee of Elders uses precision of language to maintain rules and truths within the community. The community cannot be afraid or angry about something they simply do not know. Therefore, while the reader learns that release means death, the characters in the book simply believe that they go to Elsewhere, which they perceive as literally just another place. The reality of death does not cross their mind because they do not know death as a part of life. The decision about which twin to release is determined according to birth weight. The straightforward process of choosing a twin to release plus the false perception of Elsewhere does not alert the community that something is out of the ordinary or wrong. Therefore, their indifferent attitude towards releasing a twin for a simple reason makes perfect sense because they do not know any other way of treating a twin.
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