A Study Of Power Operation In The Giver From The Perspective Of Disciplinary Power

In 1994,American writer Lois Lowry's young adult novel The Giver was awarded the Newbery gold medal,which is the highest honor in the field of children's literature.The Giver is considered as the first dystopian work in the history of children's literature.By presenting a seemingly utopian community where people enjoy a stable and well organized life,Lowry warns the young readers about a world where the horrifying reality is tactically masked by superficial happiness.As an influential young adult science fiction,The Giver inspires people to reflect on social reality and future development.The study of power is an important topic in Cultural Studies.Foucault inherits from Gramsci's theory of “cultural hegemony”,which focuses on the study of how culture forms support,diffuse and transmit political power.This form of hegemony emphasizes on coercive force creating cultural leadership.Foucault further develops Gramsci's theory by relating the non-coercive power with “disciplinary power”.He explains at length the production of power,which means that in order to produce,cultivate and institutionalize various forces people need to depend greatly upon power.In return,power is operated by political techniques and by means of the norms to carve the body and the mind.Thus,this thesis intends to analyze the power operation in The Giver and how power affects the individual identity and freedom using Foucault's idea of “disciplinary power” and cultural power.It is also pointed out that power operation in the Community leads straight to the loss of the citizens' identity.In structure,this thesis falls into five parts.Motivation for writing this thesis and an introduction to Lois Lowry and The Giver will be presented in the first chapter.Then,the structural plan of this thesis is put forward.At the end of this chapter the significance of the study will be discussed.Chapter 2 will give a thorough review of the studies that have been done on this novel and the criticism it has received over the years both abroad and at home.Chapter 3 will be dedicated to the relevant theories and critical approach that areemployed in this thesis.Chapter 4 presents the main arguments of this thesis.The discussion will use Foucault's idea of “disciplinary power” to analyze and capture the power operation mechanisms of the Committee,focusing on how each of the measures creates docile bodies in the Community.Cultural power plays a critical role in the elimination of both objective truth and human truth.Identity crisis the three main characters encounter in the novel will be studied later in this chapter.The last part is the conclusion.In Chapter 5,the step-by-step operation of non-coercive power in The Giver is reviewed.The thesis draws a conclusion that instead of enjoying a fake stable world,people should seriously consider the significance of individuality and freedom because these are the most essential to the ultimate survival of human beings and healthy development of society.The author will reflect on the limitations of the study and give suggestion for future studies.