Parallels between our world and the world of The GiverThe story of The Giver by Lois Lowry takes place in a community that is not normal. People can't see color, it's a crime to touch others, and the community assigns people jobs and children. This nameless community shown through the eyes of Jonas, the main character of this novel, is a perfect society. There is no war, no crime, no hunger. Most readers might take for granted that The Giver's community differs from real society. However, there are several affinities between today's society and that of this fiction: distance from the elderly, suffering of surrogate mothers and desire for euthanasia. The first similarity is that older people are excluded from society. In the novel, old people cannot start families. They live in the House of the Old People because they are separated from society. All people without exception age and weaken, so it is difficult for them to live without family. However, society isolates the elderly. “The old people sat quietly, some visited and chatted with each other, others did manual labor and simple crafts. Some were sleeping” (p. 28). Likewise, in modern society, older people feel lonely. Some people avoid caring for their parents who have an illness like Alzheimer's. Older people tend to be easily depressed, and this depression can be triggered by the death of a spouse, relatives and friends or by financial worries. Elderly people therefore need constant care and affection from their families. However, due to the busy lifestyle of today's society, many elderly people live alone or in care centers without their families. Another similarity is found in the middle of paper......relief, even if the required quantity compromises breathing and results in death? Most healthcare providers say no, because everyone's goals are different. In the first situation, the goal is death; in the second, the goal is to relieve suffering (Salladay, p. 1). The Giver offers readers the opportunity to compare the real world with the society described in this book through a few words, such as liberation, Birthmothers, etc. . Therefore, readers could see what is currently happening in the real society they live in by reading his fiction. The author, Lowry, could construct the real world in this fiction through his unique point of view. Work cited Salladay, SA (November 2000). Is this euthanasia? Nursing [online], 8 paragraphs. Available: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?TS=…&Sid=3&Idx=31&Deli=1&RQT=309&Dtp=1 [2001, February 11].