Readers hear about the wand in question for the first time in chapter 7 . It is called the "discipline wand." We are told that it is thin and flexible, and it stings quite badly when it hits a person. The flex in the wand means that the tip of the wand can move at a higher velocity than the arm of the person swinging the wand, and the thinness allows it to exert a greater amount of pressure upon impact. The narrator tells readers all about how Asher was struck with the discipline wand for mistakes in his precision of language. We also learn that the "Childcare specialists" don't have a problem wielding the discipline wand. We are told that they hit hard enough to have the wand whistle as it moves through the air. Minor infractions will result in a smack on the hands and second offenses will...
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result in multiple strikes against bare legs.
In chapter seven, the Ceremony of Twelve begins as the Chief Elder takes center stage and briefly elaborates on Asher's childhood before she calls him to stand in front of the audience and presents him with his Assignment. The Chief Elder tells a story about Asher's difficulty acquiring language and mentions that he used to confuse the word "snack" with "smack." Jonas remembers Asher constantly confusing the word and recalls how the Childcare specialists punished Asher using a "discipline wand." The discipline wand was a thin, flexible weapon that stung painfully. The Childcare specialists continually struck Asher in the hands and on his bare legs for mispronouncing the word over and over again. Asher became traumatized by the beatings and refused to speak for an extended period of time when he was three years old. The reader finds the form of corporal punishment very disturbing and gains further insight into the nature of Jonas's community.