The first page opens by setting the scene of this strange
dystopian community of which Jonas is a part by explaining the fear or nervousness that
Jonas has in his heart. It reminds him of the fear he felt when, a year ago, an
unidentified aircraft had flown over the community twice and the fascination which
quickly turned to fear that he experienced as he tells us that this was against the
rules of the community. The plane was different from the normal planes that they see and
both adults and children were confused and frightened by what they saw. The response
they received did nothing to calm them down:
Then all of the citizens had been ordered to go
into the nearest building and stay there. Immediately, the rasping voice through the
speakers had said. Leave your bicycles where they
are.
Such an event shows the
very closed nature of the community of which Jonas is a part and how tightly controlled
it is. Jonas and the citizens are obviously conditioned to obey and to obey immediately.
The opening of the story thus serves to set the context for the rest of the novel as we
discover more of the rigidly organised community of which Jonas is a
part.
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