Examples Of Defiance In The Giver

Whether it’s in real life, or from an authors imagination, community will always impact a persons’ or characters’ actions during a difficult situation. Being in a troubling situation can bring out the best or the worst in someone. Unfortunately, a persons’ first instinct might not be the best or most favorable, and this can be a result of a community’s impact. In most science fiction stories the characters all show a similar trait, defiance. Defiance means to act with open resistance and bold disobedience. In the story The Giver by Lois Lowry, the main character is overwhelmed with the wisdom he receives and defiantly acts against his community. A similar situation occurs in Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., when a character shows

Unfortunately, this is more common than one would suspect. An appropriate example would be the teleplay The Monsters are Due on Maple Street. In the story someone is to blame for the strange happenings, and blame is passed around like a hot potato. When the blame is passed on to Charlie he says, “‘It’s the kid, it’s Tommy, he’s the one!’” (The Monsters are Due on Maple Street 681). Charlie’s defiance to common manners is shocking when he blames the young kid Tommy just get everyone else off of his back. The difficult situation of being responsible for something bad, overwhelmed Charlie to the worst point. The impact the community had on him was not helpful. With an angry mob hanging over him he felt pressured, which made him act unwisely and defiantly. Most importantly, the community's impact caused Charlie to act this way. In a community striving for all equality, Harrison Bergeron is a wreckage to their ways. He is a genius and athletic, which gives him an undesired advantage. Because of this, Harrison is imprisoned and given handicaps to slow him down in every way. The community throws all of the stress and pain on him, so the impact of all of it causes him to rebel. “‘I am the emperor’…..Harrison tore the straps of his handicaps off” (“Harrison Bergeron” 4). Unfortunately, the so called equal community tears Harrison apart, but he does all he can to show everyone what is actually happening around them, a true act of