The taking of pills demonstrates the necessity of artificial control of human beings in a society designed for the safety and contentment of its citizens.
In other works about dystopian societies, such as Huxley's Brave New World, babies are genetically designed, and drugs, such as soma, are necessary in order to control the population. Further, in Orwell's 1984, torture, brainwashing, and the distortion of truth are tools for maintaining order and control of the people. In The Giver, language control and sight control are used to create "sameness" so people will have no jealousies or desires to be superior to anyone. When the stirrings begin in teens, they are given pills to subdue the hormonal urges that can lead to aggressive behavior in males and conflicts in both males and females. These natural hormonal urges are disguised by the name "stirrings" and are never explained to the teens.
Indeed, in the environment of Lowry's dystopia, there is much that is controlled to eliminate envy, hatred, and desires. The Assignments of each person ignore whatever ambitions he or she may privately entertain. The required use of pills for the most basic of human urges is certainly one of the more powerful tools of dehumanizing the denizens of the environment of Lowry's novel.
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