"동일함"의 세계에서 "다른 어딘가"의 세계로

"Sameness" Community to "Elsewhere"— Subjectivity in The Giver

Lois Lowry reports problems of contemporary society through an imaginary society where there is no war, conflict, hunger, love, and feelings in The Giver. She writes ideas of euthanasia, sexual oppression, physical and mental labors, and differences and equalities in the young adult novel; therefore, there are a lot of themes regarding controversial issues. This paper explores how people living in the “Sameness” community can develop their subjectivity under society’s controlled conditions. Moreover, the paper analyzes how the use of language, exploring the unconscious mind, and recovering childhood memories and illustrates the theme of how one can develop their individual subjectivity within the conforming confines of the “Sameness” community. The study begins with how people naturally develop their own cognition during childhood and how they can form unique personalities in this society. The study applies the theory of cognitive development and psychoanalysis to analyze people’s development with the educational system and community’s public life within the community. The study analyzes the community’s education based on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development involving the four development stages and evaluating people’s subjectivity with Lacan’s theory of three orders-The Imaginary, The Symbolic, and The Real. The study portrays this community where the protagonist, Jonas, lives as dystopia because this community oppresses individuals’ subjectivity directly or indirectly. People have to share their dreams in the morning ritual and report their feelings before they go to bed. Moreover, the community does not allow people to keep their thoughts and memories in private, and the community strictly enforces censorship and suppresses people’s unconscious thoughts. Therefore, Jonas decides to escape society with little Gabriel despite many risks and dangers. They journey to find “Elsewhere” where they can have freedom of speech in order to keep their subjectivity as their own.