Ch 5, Pg 38 “That’s all,” she replied, returning the bottle to the cupboard. “But you mustn’t forget. I’ll remind you for the first weeks, but then you must do it on your own. If you forget, the Stirrings will come back. The dreams of the Stirrings will come back. Sometimes the dosage must be adjusted”.
This very quotation provides an opportunity to focus on the community’s rules. It reveals that particular laws are developed in order to control people’s feelings and actions. In this case, sexual urges are considered. Lowry shows that they are to be stopped, which affects the way readers perceive Jonas’s community. Thus, this quotation can be aligned with the Big Idea, according to which societal structure can control desire and freedom. Lowry attracts Jonas’s attention to the fact that if he does not follow her instructions, he will face adverse outcomes.
- Ch 6, Pg 40 “The little girl nodded and looked down at herself, at the jacket with its row of large buttons that designated her as a Seven. Fours, Fives, and Sixes all wore jackets that fastened down the back so that they would have to help each other dress and would learn interdependence”. This quote reveals the connection between traditions and logic. In The Giver’s world, these two elements are tightly connected. Analyzing these sentences, one can understand that all actions and concepts are based on a particular reason. Even a simple ritual of fastening buttons has its big purpose. The jacket is designed so that it makes children help each other. Eventually, they are likely to enhance their cooperation in this way. It can be perceived as a kind of community’s control. People’s freedom and choice are limited as they have no other opportunity but to follow provided rules.
- Ch 7, Pg 55 “The discipline wand, in the hand of the Childcare worker, whistled as it came down across Asher’s hands… But the next morning he had done it again. And again the following week… Eventually, for a period of time, Asher stopped talking altogether, when he was a Three.” In The Giver, corporal punishment is used to control children’s behavior. Even though Asher tried to stand his ground and continued doing a forbidden thing for a while, there was no other option but to stop talking. In this way, it can be claimed that societal structure limits people’s freedom. In addition to that, societal rules can hurt individuals, as those who do not follow them face adverse consequences.
- Ch 9, Pg 70 “Once, when he had been a Four, he had said, just prior to the midday meal at school, “I’m starving.” Immediately he had been taken aside for a brief private lesson in language precision. He was not starving, it was pointed out. He was hungry. No one in the community was starving, had ever been starving, would ever be starving. To say starving was to speak a lie.” In The Giver, the use of language appears to be a kind of law. If people use language in a wrong way, they are considered to lie. However, this fact makes it impossible to make one’s speech impressive and interesting. People appear to be limited in their right to express their thoughts and ideas when they are not allowed to say particular things. Jonas had no desire to lie, he just wanted others to understand that he is more hungry than usual. His claim was not targeted at any societal changes that is why it was wrong to react to his words in that way.