more severe example of this is the pills for Stirrings.  Stirrings are strong feelings for the opposite sex, and the need for the pill is likely to be identified during the discussion at the dinner table or the breakfast table.  In fact, this is what happens toJonas when he describes the dream he has about Fiona.

"Can you describe the strongest feeling in your dream, son?" Father asked.

Jonas thought about it. The details were murky and vague. … "The wanting," he said…. (Ch. 5)

His parents tell him this “wanting” is his first stirring, and give him a pill to prevent it.  It is important to the community to prevent any unwanted pregnancies between community members.  It is not just about population control.  They are controlling every aspect of the population.  They match two adults to two children, and they also genetically modify every person.  The Giver describes how carefully they control genetic traits, to the point where Fiona’s red hair color bothers them.

But love is about more than sexual feelings.  It is about more than procreation.  It is about passion and caring about another person.  No one in the community will ever feel those feelings, because the Stirrings prevent them.  No one in the community feels any strong feelings at all, because the minute they are faced with any kind of feeling, their first responsibility is to quash it.

In a community where feelings are not tolerated, differences are also severely frowned upon.  Anything that might make others uncomfortable is not allowed.  Residents are forced to apologize for the smallest infraction.

"I apologize for inconveniencing my learning community." Asher ran through the standard apology phrase rapidly, still catching his breath. The Instructor and class waited patiently for his explanation. The students had all been grinning, because they had listened to Asher's explanations so many times before. (Ch. 1)

While there may seem to be nothing wrong with apologizing, there is a darker force at play here.  The focus is on making sure that no one ever feels uncomfortable and everyone is controlled.  There are so many protocols and requirements to be polite, and so many rules, that there are no ways to be yourself.

A perfect example of this is in the cute little story that the Chief Elder chooses to share about Asher at the Ceremony of Twelve.  The community members think that it is amusing, while the reader likely finds it disturbing.  The story is about the focus that the community places on the precision of language, and also highlights the fact that corporal punishment is one of the strategies used to teach and enforce it in young children.

Poor Asher, who always talked too fast and mixed up words, even as a toddler. As a Three, eager for his juice and crackers at snacktime, he one day said "smack" instead of "snack" as he stood waiting in line for the morning treat. (Ch. 7)

"Poor Asher" received a spanking every time he used the wrong word to ask for a snack, to the point where he actually stopped talking.  He was three years old.  Obviously the incident traumatized him.  There is absolutely no compassion in this community.  They are methodical to the point of heartlessness.  He asked for a “smack,” so they smacked him.  Someone clearly thought it would teach him to use the right word, but it only frightened him into not talking.

This is a perfect example of an unfair and improper consequence, again.  Hitting a child for using the wrong word is extreme.  Hitting him over and over again until he talks correctly and using it as a humorous anecdote later is heartless.  It tells you quite a lot about the community.

The most extreme example of an unfair consequence is obviously release.  Release is just brutal.  Capital punishment is reserved in most civilizations that practice it for the most horrific of crimes.  The community uses it for babies who don’t reach their growth targets or happen to be born as identical twins (they release the smaller one). 

Adults can be released for reasons most people would consider harsh too.

For a contributing citizen to be released from the community was a final decision, a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure. (Ch. 1)

If you break three rules, you will be released.  However, if you do something they consider really terrible (like accidentally fly a plane over the community and scaring everyone), then you can be released.  Killing someone for such small reasons, other than murder or some other terrible crime, is something we would consider an unfair consequence.

They are so serious about the three rule thing that we even learn that Jonas worries about being released when he takes Gabriel and leaves.  He is extremely important to the community, but he is convinced that if he is caught he will be released.

It was not safe to spend time looking back. He thought of the rules he had broken so far: enough that if he were caught, now, he would be condemned. (Ch. 21)

Jonas, who carries the community's memories in his head, is very valuable.  When he leaves, those memories will be returned to the community.  If he dies, those memories will go back to the community as well.  How important are these rules to them?  Would they kill him anyway?  Jonas seems to think so.  We never find out, because Jonas does get away.  Whether he lives or not depends on your interpretation of the ending.  

How far should a community go to protect its interpretation of safety and well-being?  What makes the world a better place?  These are questions the book seeks to answer.  Jonas's community decided that a world without pain and suffering, but also without love, was good enough.  Most readers would probably decide that the risks of joy and love are worth the rewards.

Punishment is actually a very important concept in The Giver.  In a society where tight control of your people is necessary, you have to have ways to keep them in line.

In Jonas’s community, punishment for nonconformity (being different) is severe.  A person who breaks a rule gets two warnings.  These involve being called before a hearing.  After the third infraction, the person is Released, or killed by lethal injection.

There are other minor punishments as well, of course.  The least severe punishment is apology.  People are required to make apologies for any infractions, and for making anyone uncomfortable in any way.

A slightly more severe punishment is corporal punishment.  Young children (or the elderly) who misbehave are swatted with a Discipline Wand.

Jonas lives in an austere, highly organized community founded on the principles of Sameness, which require complete uniformity and obedience at all times. There are several scenes that depict the various ways citizens are punished for different transgressions. For instance, at the beginning of the story, a pilot misreads his navigational directions and accidentally flies over the community. Following the incident, the Speaker announces to the community that the pilot will be released. "Release" is a euphemism for murder; citizens are executed for committing serious crimes or mistakes. Essentially, the community practices capital punishment, and if a citizen commits three transgressions, they are automatically released.

Public chastisement and shame is another form of punishment. For example, when Jonas takes an apple home from the recreation area, the Speaker chastises him over the announcements without directly stating his name.

Instructors in Jonas's community also practice corporal punishment. When Asher was a child, he incorrectly pronounced the word "snack" and was struck multiple times with a discipline wand each time he mispronounced the word. Children are given quick smacks across the hand for minor misbehavior and three sharper smacks across their bare legs for a second offense.

The community also uses shame and guilt as forms of punishment. Jonas tells the story of a child who did not complete his necessary volunteer hours and was given his Assignment in private. Jonas mentions that the "disgrace" clouded his entire future, and he was viewed with contempt by the other community members as a form of punishment.

We know of two types of punishment: the discipline wand and release.

We learn about the discipline wand in Ch. 7 when the Council of Elders is giving Asher his assignment. Here were learn that as a very small child, three years old, he mixed up the words "smack" and "snack." As a result he was "smacked" with the discipline wand. Although the first few smacks were fairly light and just on the hand, Asher continued to make the same mistake and this led the smacking to increase.

"for each lapse the discipline wand came again, escalating to a series of painful lashes that left marks on Asher's legs. Eventually, for a period of time, Asher stopped talking altogether, when he was three" (Ch.7).

Although everyone later laughed off Asher's mistake, even him, it is clear that this punishment had a very serious effect on Asher as a child.

Release is another form of punishment, and we learn about that much earlier in the book. In Ch. 1 a plane from Elsewhere flies into the community and the whole community goes into a brief panic. It turns out it was simply a pilot who got lost, took a wrong turn, and ended up flying into their air space. However, this is no small error according to this community and over the loud speak they promptly announce, "Needless to say, he will be released." Later in the book Jonas reflects on saying to Asher once that he would be released. He only meant it as a childish threat while they were playing, but he got in trouble for saying it. Release is the most serious punishment the community can hand down and it is no matter to be taken lightly, even by children.

In the opening chapter of the novel, Jonas recalls a time when he felt frightened as he contemplates his emotions regarding the upcoming December Ceremony, where he will receive his Assignment. Jonas remembers when a jet pilot got lost and accidentally flew over the community. The Speaker ordered all citizens to get inside the nearest building and remain there until instructed otherwise. Eventually, the Speaker announced that a Pilot-in-Training had misread his navigational instructions and made a wrong turn. The Speaker then informed the citizens that the pilot would be released. Throughout the story, the term "release" is a euphemism for capital punishment or euthanasia.

During a family dinner, Jonas's mother, who holds a prominent position at the Department of Justice, laments about her day. Jonas's mother mentions that a repeat offender was brought to her earlier that day for the second time. She proceeds to tell her family that she fears the man will be brought to her a third time and she will be required to release him. Jonas's mother says,

You know that there’s no third chance. The rules say that if there’s a third transgression, he simply has to be released.

Judging by the fate of the Pilot-in-Training and examining the rule regarding three transgressions, the punishment for committing a serious crime is release. Essentially, Jonas's austere, highly organized community practices capital punishment and is willing to kill citizens who commit serious crimes. Jonas discovers that his community also practices euthanasia.