Dystopian literature warns the modern world and allows the audience to discover a new perception of life. The 1993 novel, The Giver, by Lois Lowry, fits into the dystopian genre because it passes judgment on modern society. She inscribed her novel “For all the children to whom we entrust the future,” which serves as hope for a better future (Franklin). It targets the younger generation because they represent the future. In Lowry's novel The Giver, Lowry's view of modern society is that it tends to stay in its comfort zone, which creates limitations in life. The dystopian features of the novel, the importance of memory, the history surrounding the novel, and Lowry's personal background all convey the idea that modern society should grant him freedom and fully appreciate life in itself; society tends to take life's freedoms for granted. Lowry writes The Giver in the dystopian genre to convey the worst-case scenario of how modern society works. A dystopia is an “illusion of a perfect society” under some form of control that critiques a “societal norm” (Wright). The characteristics of a dystopian include restricted freedoms, society is under constant surveillance, and citizens live in a dehumanized state and conform to uniform expectations (Wright). In The Giver, the community functions as a dystopia because everyone in the community conforms to the same rules and expectations. You would think that a community living with defined rules and expectations would be better off, but in reality, this only limits what life has to offer. Instead, the community in the novel is a dystopia disguised as a utopian, and this is proven to the audience by the protagonist, Jonas. Jonas is just a norma...... middle of paper ......re Resource Center. Internet. January 25, 2011. Lavi, Shai. “How dying has become a ‘life crisis’.” Daedalus 137.1 (2008): 57+. Literary Resource Center. Internet. February 6, 2011. Lowry, Lois. “Acceptance of the Newbery Medal.” The Horn Book Magazine 70.4 (July-August 1994): 414-422. Rep. in Youth Literature Review. Ed. Linda R. Andrés. Flight. 46. ​​Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. Information Resource Center. Internet. February 13, 2011. Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York, NY: Dell Laurel-Leaf, 1993. PrintRankin, Aidan. “The repressive opening of political correctness.” Contemporary Review 282.1644 (2003): 33+. Literary Resource Center. Internet. February 15, 2011. “The Giver.” Novels for students. Ed. Diane Telgen and Kevin S. Hile. Flight. 3. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, 1998. 167-81. Print.Wright, Juntus. “Dystopias: definition and characteristics. » Read Write Think. NCTE, 2011. Web. January 25. 2011