Chapters 6-9.

Chapter – 6.

The whole family attends the December Ceremony, held in the Auditorium, not far from their dwelling. It starts off with the Naming Ceremony, where newborn children are handed over to different families by the Nurturers. Gabrielle at Jonas’ father’s plea is given a reprieve and an additional year of nurturing before Naming and Placement.

The community also mourns the untimely loss of Caleb by naming a newborn after him in the Replacement of Loss Ceremony. Jonas sits through the Ceremonies of Two, Three and Four, which he always finds boring. Fours, Fives and Sixes are given a tunic which fastens down the back. The sevens get a front-buttoned tunic. By the time a child is eight s/he gets her first share of independence with a tunic with smaller buttons and pockets. The first day’s ceremonies concludes with the Eights.

The nines are given bicycles with their name tags attached on the final day. The ceremonies of Ten and Eleven are equally boring and time-consuming. The ten year old females have their braids snipped and the males have a more manly, short haircut with their ears exposed.

The Committee of Elders assigns each twelve with the assignment meticulously, based on his/her interests and abilities. Even the Matching of Spouses is done after a close observations based on the disposition, intelligence, energy level and interests of the partners. The matching of Jonas’ parents is monitored before they can apply for a child.

Chapter – 7.

The Ceremony of Twelve begins with the initial address of the Chief Elder, who is the leader of the Community. She first talks about the recollection of their childhood, preparation and responsibilities of adult life. Then she appreciates the hard work and meticulous observations of the Committee of Elders. The audience applauds as the Committee stands up.

Next, she calls out number one, Medline, who is made the Fish Hatchery Attendant. Number two, Inger is made a Birthmother, followed by the appointment of number three, Isaac, as the Instructor of Threes.
The Chief Elder reminds the gathering about the childhood of number Four, Asher and the reason why he could not be assigned as the Instructor of Threes ( Snack-Smack incident). He is made the Assistant Director of Recreation. The Ceremony continues and soon it is Fiona’s turn. She becomes the Caretaker of Old. But the Chief Elder skips Jonas’ number and calls out Pierre, whose number should have come after Jonas'. Jonas feels disgraced and does not know what he may have done wrong.

Chapter – 8.

The Chief Elder apologizes to the audience for the discomfort /anxiety caused. She apologizes to Jonas in particular and calls him on to the stage. She also informs the audience that Jonas has not been assigned but selected. His selection as the Receiver is a very rare occurrence indeed.

As the last selection proved to be a failure, they had to be very careful not to choose the wrong one. She goes on to inform them that Jonas was identified as a Receiver long ago. A Receiver in the making must have the following qualities:

1.     Intelligence – Jonas is a top student.

2.     Integrity – Jonas made occasional transgressions but promptly reported for chastisement.

3.     Courage – He is very brave,

4.     Wisdom _ He will acquire wisdom from the training, and

5.     He must have the capacity to ‘see beyond’.

Though Jonas feels fear flutter at this, on looking over the audience, he thinks he finds them change. After thanking him for his childhood, the Chief Elder leaves him alone on stage. The audience shows their acceptance of Jonas’ new role by chanting his name slowly at first and their shouting of his name reaches a crescendo afterwards.

Chapter – 9.

As Jonas comes out, he is treated very respectfully by the Community members. Even Asher seems a bit awed in his response to Jonas’ congratulations.

Back home, his parents are very proud as the Receiver is a rare selection. They tell Jonas hesitatingly about the last Receiver, whose name was not to be mentioned. Back in his room, he opens the folder to find the single page containing the rules:

Rules:	Jonas’ reactions to the rules:
1.     Jonas is to present himself at the Annex behind the House of the Old after school.	Jonas finds out that his schedule leaves him no time for recreation.
2.     He is to go back to his dwelling right after the training hours.	As above.
3.     He is exempted from the rules regarding rudeness. He may ask questions and will receive answers	Jonas finds the rule unnecessary.
4.     He is not to discuss his training with anyone.
5.     He is prohibited from dream-telling.	This is not a problem, but what if he dreamt? Would he lie about it?
6.     He is not to ask for medication related to his training.	He realizes that if he crushed his finger again in the door, he would receive medication. Would he continue to receive the pills?
7.     He can never apply for release.	He has no intention of doing so.
8.     He may lie.	The last rule worries Jonas no ends as it is against the teaching of precise language and what if on turning twelve, everyone has the same rule in his/her folder?

To be continued .....