The Giver

“For a contributing citizen to be released from the community was a final decision, a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure.” 

The details of release are shrouded in mystery throughout much of The Giver, but this quote hints at the seriousness of the action. At first, release seems to involve sending a person to an unknown place called Elsewhere, never to be seen again. It is clear that release is punishment, and that it brings shame to a person’s family unless the person is very old or very young. For the elderly, it is treated almost like a reward for a life lived fully. For babies, it is a necessary evil that brings about a sense of failure and “what-could-we-have-done” (7) at the Nurturing Center. Later in the book it is revealed that release involves a painless death.

“It was one of the few rules that was not taken very seriously and was almost always broken.” 

In Jonas’s community, citizens tend to follow the rules because they value the order, security, and predictability the community provides. They also seem to fear the shame that comes with breaking a rule and receiving a punishment. However, this quote, which refers to kids teaching their younger siblings to ride bicycles before the community allows it, suggests that the community does have the capacity for rule-breaking. At first, it seems that this rule-breaking may simply have to do with youth, but as the story unfolds, examples of adults’ rule-breaking emerge.