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  • Essay / The rules of the Jonas Society in “The Giver” by Lois Lowry

    Everything in the world is perfect, right? The Giver by Lois Lowry is about a boy named Jonas, who lives in a utopian community, where there is no pain, no fear, no war. In this community, people cannot choose who they want to marry, their family, their job, etc. Everything in this community is the same. “No one thinks to ask questions. Everyone obeys. Life in the community where Jonas lives is a seemingly perfect society, in which the elders have eliminated pain and, therefore, rule. However, rules are not desirable in society because rules cannot reach their own potential. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Life Without Freedom and Choice Jonas lives in a community that seems to be strictly governed by many rules. “At first he was just fascinated. He had never seen an airplane up close because pilots were prohibited from flying over the community. The introduction to The Giver draws the reader into Jonas' strange world. Jonas only remembered it once, when he was afraid to imply that his community was very safe. But the spraying instructions and the fate of the pilot clearly show that this community is also very structured and regulated, and that failure to follow this rule results in sanctions. The emphasis on precise language implies that the community is very reasonable. “Two children, a boy and a girl, in each family unit. It was written very clearly in the rules. When the parents of a family unit feel ready, they apply to the Commission for a child. Their application is carefully reviewed, with a match being established, associating a specific new child born that year with each family with an approved application. The new children are entrusted to their designated families during the December rituals. Some of them are still babies, while those born earlier in the year can actually walk. Each new child has a name when placed in the designated family unit. You must make a special request to bring Gabriel home to feed him, and each member of the family, even Lily, must sign a contract stating that they will not hold on to the new child and be willing to abandon him to feed the surplus. Jonas' family had no way of keeping Gabriel, as they had two children in their unit. The rules of each family were also very important. In this community, Jonas has school books, and each family must have three books. “But the most striking difference is the books. In his own home there were the necessary reference volumes that every home contained: a dictionary and the thick community volume that contained descriptions of every office, factory, building and committee. And the Rule Book, of course. The main book of the community is called Rule. It seems to contain all the rules necessary for the citizens of the community. There are many rules, because there is a rule for everything. Break the rules that lead to punishment and break the three rules that lead to release. When Jonas first sees the books, he can't imagine what all these books could contain. “Jonas was looking at them. He couldn't imagine what those thousands of pages contained. Could there be rules beyond the rules that governed the community? Could there be more descriptions of offices, factories and committees? Around the dinner table, each member of Jonas' family (mother, father, Lily and Jonas) must share their feelings but also..