The giver how does the ceremony of twelve start

Again Lowry wants us to question anything that has to do with a release when she has Asher comment, "Here today and gone tomorrow.

Never seen again. The Chief Elder's speech that begins the December Ceremony is ironic because in a community that chooses Sameness and security over individuality and freedom, here the Chief Elder acknowledges the differences that have been observed in each Eleven. She says to the Elevens, "You Elevens have spent all your years till now learning to fit in, to standardize your behavior, to curb any impulse that might set you apart from the group.

Asher, Jonas' best friend, is called to the stage for his Assignment. The Chief Elder discusses Asher's difficulty learning precise language. As a Three, Asher would ask for a "smack" rather than a "snack. For a time, Asher stopped talking. Everyone in the Auditorium laughs at this memory. In our society, this form of "teaching" would be unacceptable.

Jonas' community, however, obviously makes it quite clear to the children at a very young age that they must conform and obey — or else. In the midst of what appears to be a celebration and holiday for the community members, Lowry doesn't let us forget the sacrifices that people make when they choose to give up their individuality and freedom.

At first, Jonas thinks that the Chief Elder has made a mistake, but he quickly corrects his thinking because the Chief Elder would never make a mistake. Unfortunately, Jonas feels as though he has unknowingly done something wrong and is being punished. In describing the situation, Lowry writes that Jonas "tried to make himself smaller in his seat.

He wanted to disappear, to fade away, not to exist. Lowry makes it obvious that Jonas is different, which in Jonas' community is not a positive attribute. After all of the other Elevens except Jonas have been assigned, the Chief Elder apologizes for causing everyone, and especially Jonas, such discomfort by skipping over Jonas' name. Jonas now goes onstage, and the Chief Elder announces that Jonas has not been assigned but, rather, has been "selected" to become the new Receiver of Memory, the most honored position in the community.

She explains that as a new Receiver trains, he is to be "alone, apart," so the person selected must be perfect for the position because he can't be observed — except by the current Receiver of Memory, who will train Jonas. During the selection process, if anyone on the Committee of Elders would have had "dreams of uncertainty," the candidate would no longer have been considered for the position of Receiver.

When considering Jonas, there were no such "dreams of uncertainty. The Chief Elder goes on to explain the qualities that a Receiver of Memory must possess. These qualities include intelligence, integrity, courage, wisdom, and the Capacity to See Beyond.

Jonas is unsure whether or not he has this last quality, but as he looks out at the audience, he sees the audience change, the same way that the apple changed.

Remember that earlier in the book, when Jonas first saw Gabe's pale eyes, which are exactly like his own, Jonas thought that such light eyes had a "certain look. Chapter 8 ends with Jonas confused about his future as the new Receiver of Memory. But today, differences are called out and used to decide each individual's future.

Then it's Asher's turn. The Chief Elder relates some anecdotes about Asher to the crowd, like when he was little and couldn't distinguish between the words "smack" and "snack. And the assignments continue. When the Chief Elder gets to Fiona, number Eighteen and standing to Jonas' left, she assigns Caretaker of the Old, which everyone finds appropriate.

Since, as we all know, nineteen comes after eighteen, it's Jonas' turn. And then… The Chief Elder moves on to number Twenty. She skips Jonas. Everyone notices, and the crowd is all hushed. Now, welcoming the new baby, they chant it louder and louder in the Murmur-of-Replacement Ceremony, which is performed only if a child is lost, not if it is released.

At lunch the Elevens discuss their upcoming Assignments, speculating on what they will do if they get an unsatisfactory Assignment. If a citizen feels that he or she does not fit in with the community, that citizen can apply for Elsewhere and disappear, but Jonas cannot imagine a person feeling that he or she did not fit in, because the community is so well ordered.

The Committee of Elders weighs each decision carefully, painstakingly matching adults who applied for spouses to the appropriate spouse and placing newchildren with the appropriate families. Jonas trusts the Committee to give him an appropriate Assignment. His dream troubles him because it is unusual, but he is so used to being entirely honest with his family that he tells them all the details of the dream right away, without thinking twice.

However, this kind of honesty is only possible because of the limited information each member of the community possesses about life: Jonas has no reason to be ashamed of his sexual feelings because he knows nothing about sex. No one in his society has sexual urges, since they take the pill, so there is no possibility of perverse sexual desires or sexual misconduct.

Instead, they are dealt with so simply and directly that it does not occur to the citizens to think about them. This probably helps the community to run more smoothly, since the passions that sex and death inspire—lust, jealousy, frustration, and grief—would distract the citizens from their daily work for the community and lead to more selfish relationships or even conflict. The Murmur-of-Replacement Ceremony is similar to the treatment for the Stirrings.

The emotion of grief is subdued in an artificial ceremony in the same way that human sexual urges are subdued by an artificial medication. If the community thinks of individuals only in terms of their contribution to the community, ignoring the loss of a particular child, citizens will be less likely to form intensely close ties to other individuals.

Ties like these could cause citizens to act in their own interests or the interests of their loved ones if those interests ever came into conflict with the interests of the community as a whole.