Topic > 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 a question. Everyone obeys." Life in the community where Jonas lives is a seemingly perfect society, in which the Elders have eliminated pain and, consequently, rules. However, rules are not desirable in society because rules cannot reach their potential. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Life Without Freedom and Choices Jonas lives in a community that seems to be strictly governed by many rules. “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.” The introduction of the Giver drops the reader into Jonas' strange world. Jonas could only remember it once, when he was afraid to imply that his community was very safe. However, the spraying instructions and the fate of the pilot clearly show that this community is also very structured and rule-based, and violation of those rules leads to sanctions. The emphasis on accurate language means the community is very reasonable. “Two children, a boy and a girl, for each family unit. It was written very clearly in the rules." When the parents of a family feel ready, they contact the Commission for a child. Their request is carefully considered as a match made, pairing a specific new baby born that year to each family that has an approved request. 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 actually walk. Each new baby is given a name when placed in the designated family unit. You have to make a special request to bring Gabriel home to raise him, and each family member, even Lily, must sign a contract saying they won't stay with the new baby and be prepared to abandon him to raise the extras. There was no way Jonas' family could keep Gabriel, because they had two children in their unit. The rules for each family were also very important. In this community, Jonas has school books and each family must have three books. “But the most obvious difference was with 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. And the Rule Book, of course. The main book of the community is called the Rule. It seems to contain all the necessary rules of citizens in the community. There are many rules, because there is a rule for everything. Breaking the rules that lead to punishment and breaking the three rules that lead to release. 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? 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 and even their dreams every morning. “Who wants to be first tonight, for feelings?” asked Jonas's father at the end of dinner. It was one of the rituals, there..