Discussion Topic
The authority figures responsible for making the rules and overseeing the ceremonies in The Giver
Summary:
In The Giver, the authority figures responsible for making the rules and overseeing the ceremonies are the Committee of Elders. This group of leaders governs the community, ensuring strict adherence to societal rules and organizing key life events, such as the Ceremony of Twelve, where children receive their life-long assignments.
Who makes the rules in The Giver?
Jonas's society is controlled by the Committee of Elders, which is an oligarchic group that makes every significant decision throughout the community. The enigmatic Committee creates the rules and regulations that the citizens are required to follow in order to avoid being "released." The Committee of Elders sanctions marriages, plans individual families, controls the birth rate, organizes community functions, regulates the number of community members, and decides each citizen's occupation. The Chief Elder is the Committee of Elders' representative, who hosts the annual ceremonies and speaks on behalf of the ruling group. With the help of the Speaker, the Committee of Elders successfully creates a stable society that is driven on the principles of Sameness. Overall, the Committee of Elders is the oligarchic ruling group that creates laws and regulations in Jonas's austere society.
The rules are created by committees of elders.
Tradition is very important in Jonas’s community. There...
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are a lot of rules, and most of them have been in place for a long time. Rules are designed to keep the community running extremely smoothly. They regulate behavior very carefully.
Breaking the rules is serious. If a person breaks a major rule, such as the pilot who accidentally flew over the community, he or she is immediately released. “Release” is a euphemism for “killed.” However, a person can also be released for braking three rules.
The rules say that if there's a third transgression, he simply has to be released." Jonas shivered. He knew it happened. There was even a boy in his group of Elevens whose father had been released years before. No one ever mentioned it; the disgrace was unspeakable. (Ch. 1)
There are many rules in the community. For example, rules govern the use of language, the telling of feelings and things like riding bicycles. The rules dictate who can do what and when. They also govern the ways families are created and when people are born and die.
The rules come from committees of the community’s leaders, known as elders. It is very hard to get a rule changed. Rules go to a committee to be studied.
Rules were very hard to change. Sometimes, if it was a very important rule--unlike the one governing the age for bicycles—it would have to go, eventually, to The Receiver for a decision. The Receiver was the most important Elder. (Ch. 2)
The Receiver of Memory advises on the rules because he or she has access to the memories. Since no one else in the community knows anything about the community’s past, the Receiver is expected to have more knowledge and wisdom and has the ability to determine if a rule should be changed.
Who oversees the ceremonies in The Giver?
The Chief Elder is in charge of the ceremonies.
A Committee of Elders carefully observes the children when they are close to turning Twelve to determine what assignment they should get. Then during the Ceremony of Twelve the Chief Elder describes the class and then each individual in it, in order of their birth. Each child is given an assignment that will be his or her job for life.
The Ceremony of Twelve is the most important ceremony. It takes place last, because the ceremonies go in order of the children’s ages. At the Ceremony of Twelve, the Chief Elder recognizes the group and the individual. This is rare, because usually individual differences are not acknowledged because the community does everything it can to enforce Sameness.
The initial speech at the Ceremony of Twelve was made by the Chief Elder, the leader of the community who was elected every ten years. The speech was much the same each year: recollection of the time of childhood and the period of preparation, the coming responsibilities of adult life, the profound importance of Assignment, the seriousness of training to come. (Ch. 7)
Jonas’s ceremony starts off normally. Each child’s number is called, the little story told, and the assignment announced. However, when Nineteen, Jonas’s number, is supposed to be called, the Chief Elder skips it. Jonas is horrified. He assumes he has done something wrong.
She skipped me, Jonas thought, stunned. Had he heard wrong? No. There was a sudden hush in the crowd, and he knew that the entire community realized that the Chief Elder had moved from Eighteen to Twenty, leaving a gap. (Ch. 7)
Of course, the Chief Elder made no mistake. Jonas was skipped to increase the community’s suspense, and to acknowledge the uniqueness of his assignment. The Chief Elder announces that Jonas was selected, not assigned, as the Receiver of Memory.