"What if life were perfect? What if we lived in a perfect world of perfect people and perfect things, with everyone and everything doing the perfect thing at the perfect time. What if, at one perfect moment in your perfect world you decided...perfection is a perfect bore! What if, at that perfect moment you noticed, for the first time, a button marked "surprise". What if, in that perfect moment, you paused, considered all that was included in the concept of surprise, took a deep breath, pushed the button, and found yourself exactly where you are right now, doing and thinking, exactly what you are, right now?"

If you were this person, would you push the button? What do you think life would be like and what would it contain after pushing the button? How would it differ from the 'perfect' life before the button was pushed? The society in The Giver creates a utopian society which is void of any colour.
It is difficult for us to imagine a world without color, personal freedoms, and love, but in The Giver, the society relinquishes these things in order to make room for total peace and safety. Compare the theme of colour in The Giver with the movie Pleasantville. How is colour a metaphor for life? Do you think the 'perfect' life in the above quote has colour? Why or why not?