One thing that I found interesting about this dystopian world that Lowry created was the division of class. Generally in other dystopian novels such as 1984 and Brave New World there is a definite distinction between classes, but it is a division of people. Here it is more a division of age. Depending on how old a child is, they get to do certain things in the community. For example, a child does not get a bike until they are nine. In our culture, most children can ride a bike by six or seven. And for adults, when their children grow up, they go to live with the Childless Adults and then to the House of Old. Granted, there are more prestigious jobs than others, but the community very much functions as a whole. And the only real division seems to be among the children.
Perhaps the reason for doing this is because of the intended audience. We talked in class about this before, how the author has to be careful about their audience: do they make it accessible for children only or adults as well? I think, in this case, the reason that the distinction is more between the children is because the book is intended for a child audience who would better relate to the definite distinctions among age groups. Something that I remember from my childhood, is that there was more of a definite line between grades in elementary school than high school. In this way, I think Lowry helps the story become more relatable to her audience.
I know that Jonas' age was a major thing I noticed the first time I read the novel. Because I was Jonas' age at the time, I was really able to put myself in his shoes. I remember thinking that there was no way I would have been brave enough to go through The Receiver training.
Age is a major player in the story. It helps create the dystopian world and makes the story relatable to the audience. I admire the way Lowry uses a child's view of growing up to create an impact in her story.
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