The Giver: Society and Roles

Society Structure

• The society is future-oriented and highly controlled.
• Families are limited to two children, one boy and one girl.
• The society has a zero-tolerance policy for crime, with two chances to correct behavior before “release.”
• Release is a euphemism for death.

Roles and Ceremonies

• The Ceremony of Eleven assigns each child a job, signifying the end of schooling.
• Children are given a name in the Ceremony of One.
• Each year, 50 children are born and assigned to families.
• In the Ceremony of Eight, comfort objects, like stuffed animals, are taken away.
• The Ceremony of Nine marks receiving a bicycle.

Jonas's Family and Friends

• Jonas is the main character and is eleven years old.
• Jonas has a seven-year-old sister named Lily.
• Jonas's father is a Nurturer, caring for newborn children.
• Jonas's mother works in the Department of Justice.
• Jonas has a friend named Asher.
• Jonas's family is loving and open, sharing both successes and frustrations.

Themes of Control

• The society's control extends over every aspect of life, from birth to release.
• The elders make decisions about the welfare of everyone.
• The community controls the process of childbirth, assigning mothers to this duty for only three births.
• The community controls the knowledge and experience of its members, suppressing information or memories deemed inconvenient for their perfect society.

Jonas's Internal Conflict

• Jonas experiences a sense of apprehension toward the Ceremony of Twelve.
• Jonas is fascinated by the idea of change and the apple incident, suggesting a desire for individuality.
• Jonas's curiosity about the "release" process underscores a sense of unease with the strict control within the society.
• Jonas's apprehension at the Ceremony of Twelve suggests an implicit awareness that he is not fully in control of his own destiny.
• While he admires his father as a Nurturer, he feels uncertainty about his own future role in the community.