Index IntroductionRules in Jonas's CommunityRules in Jonas's FamilyHow Charges Control and Organize CitizensConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionThe Giver by Lois Lowry is a novel about a teenager named Jonas. Jonas lives in a utopian community, where there is no pain, fear, war or crime. In this community no one can choose their spouse, their family or their job. Everything and everyone in the community is the same “No one thinks to ask a question. Everyone obeys." Life in the community where Jonas lives is perceived as perfect, this is the result of the rules that govern the community. Lowry illustrates the theme of rules governing society in three ways: rules in Jonas' community, rules in Jonas' family, and how offices control and organize citizens. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Rules in Jonas's CommunityLowry effectively demonstrates how Jonas's community is strictly governed by rules through Jonas's experiences and thoughts during his daily life. “At first he was just fascinated. He had never seen a plane so close, because it was against the rules for pilots to fly over the community.” Later the reader will learn about the pilot's fate. This quickly establishes that this community is very structured and rules-based, and violating those rules results in sanctions. Lowry then introduces an emphasis on accurate language that allows the community to avoid habits of speech or slang that might differentiate someone. “Two children, a boy and a girl, for each family unit. It was written very clearly in the rules." When the parents of a household feel ready, they should apply to the Commission for a Child. Their application is reviewed and a match is found, matching a new baby born that year to each family that has an approved application. New babies are handed over to designated families during December rituals, some of them are still newborns, while those born at the beginning of the year can walk. Each new baby is given a name when assigned to the designated household. When Jonas' father brought Gabriel home Everyone in the household, even Lily, must sign a contract saying they will not stay with the new baby, and be prepared to abandon him to raise him once the extra care contract expires. There was no way Jonas' family could keep Gabriel because they had two children in their unit. These examples show how people's actions are controlled by existing rules. Rules in the Family by Jonas Lowry points out that the rules for each family unit were also very important. In this community, Jonas has school books and each family must have three books. “But the most obvious difference was the books. In his home were the necessary reference volumes that every family contained: a dictionary and the large community volume that contained descriptions of every office, factory, building and committee, as well as the Book of Rules. The main book of the community is called the Rule. It contains all the necessary rules that citizens must follow in the community. There are many rules because there is a rule for everything. If you break the rules there will be punishment and you break the three rules and you will be released from the community. When Jonas sees the books for the first time, he can't imagine what all these books might contain. “Jonas stared at them. He couldn't imagine what those thousands of pages contained. Could there be rules beyond those that governed the community? There may be multiple office descriptions,factories and committees?”. Every evening, around the dinner table, each member of Jonas's family (mother, father, Lily and Jonas) must share their feelings, the family shares dreams in the morning during breakfast. «“Who wants to be first tonight, for feelings?” Jonas's father asked after dinner. It was one of the rituals, the evening telling of feelings. Sometimes Jonas and his sister Lily argued about turns, about who would go first. Their parents, of course, were part of the ritual; they too told their feelings every evening. But like all parents. All adults, they didn't argue or cajole for their turn.' Sharing emotions seems to be a great ritual in which families share and help each other resolve problems and issues in a mature way. Jonas' family seems to care about each other. However, the strong emphasis on rules prevails. How Offices Control and Organize Citizens Lowry effectively demonstrates that everyone in the Jonas community is organized and controlled based on their office (received during the Ceremony of the Twelve). In The Giver, most first twelve year olds are marked with a gift. One-year-olds are given a name and placed in a family unit. At age four they are given coats with buttons on the back to teach them interdependence. At the age of seven, children were given a button-up jacket. At the age of eight they received new clothes. while the ninth graders received bicycles. In the tenth year, children cut their hair. In year 11, fewer gender orientations are assigned. Finally, in year 12, the children are assigned jobs within the community.“ Jonas laughed. It was one of the few rules that weren't taken very seriously and were almost always broken. All the children received their bicycles at nine; before then they couldn't ride bicycles. But almost always the older brothers and sisters had secretly taught the younger ones. Jonas had already thought about teaching Lily." This is the rule when it comes to cycling. Children are not allowed to ride bicycles until they reach the age of nine. However, it is a rule that is usually broken and there has been discussion of changing it, but it is difficult to change these rules in the Jonas community. Jonas realized that some rules were unrealistic, but he continues to give people suggestions on how to act from those around him. He's okay with breaking the cycling rules because other people are doing it, but he doesn't break the nudity rule. Furthermore, Jonas realizes that in his community everyone is equal and everyone obeys when Jonas hears the announcements. “The assignments continued and Jonas watched and listened, relieved now of the wonderful assignment that had been assigned to his best friend. But he was more and more worried as his people got closer... thinking about the training that awaited him. For any male scholar to be selected as a Doctor, a woman as an Engineer and another for Law and Justice, it would have been years of hard work and study. Others, such as laborers and birth mothers, would have a much shorter training period.” In the community, the beginning of adulthood is marked by the entry of all twelve into the world of work. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Conclusion To conclude, the society in the donor is heavily regulated by rules regarding the community, families and assignments. The rules that control society can be found in numerous parts of the novel, each of which has a significant effect on the story,). (2011)..