At the end of chapter 9 of Lois Lowry's The Giver, Jonas reads the rules and instructions for his new assignment as the Receiver in training. The last rule says that he is allowed to lie. This rule conflicts with everything he has been taught up until this point in his life. He ponders this with great concern because he realizes the following:
"What if others--adults--had, upon becoming Twelves, received in their instructions the same terrifying sentence?" (71).
All of a sudden Jonas has reason to suspect that every adult can lie to him. If every adult lies, then how can he trust anyone? Since lying is used to maintain the community's socialized laws, then overthrowing that state is the solution. With the help of the Giver, Jonas helps to overthrow the government by toppling the thing that makes it happen--Sameness.
Sameness is the phenomenon that makes it possible for the Receiver to retain memories for the whole community. This exists so the citizens won't have to suffer the vicissitudes of life. As a result, lies must be maintained in order to keep this way of life functioning. For example, instead of telling people about death, which may incite fear, they use the word "release," which has a happier connotation.
Jonas can stop Sameness if he leaves the community with the memories he has received. Once he crosses the border, the memories will flood back to the citizens, and they will be able to differentiate between right and wrong, good and bad, and truth and lies. Therefore, the problem with lies is solved when Jonas crosses the border, releases the consciousness of memories, and those memories enable people to understand the lies that have been ruling their lives for generations.
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