From the very start of this excellent dystopian novel
concerning a future world where so many choices are taken away from us as humans and
people are forced to live in a world without memories and colour, it is clear that
deceit and keeping things to yourself are options that are not open to any of the
citizens. Note how in the time of sharing in the family of Jonas, although he would have
preferred not to share, he did not have a choice:
Jonas sighed. This evening he almost would have
preferred to keep his feelings hidden. But it was of course, against the
rules.
However, in Chapter
Nine when he receives his folder with more details about his new role as Keeper of
Memories, he is given a list of regulations that completely overthrow all that he has
learnt in his society. The last regulation specifies explicitly that Jonas "may lie."
Jonas reflects on how he has been instructed about the "precision of language" and how
carefully he has been brought up to avoid "unintentional lies" such as "I'm starving."
Now, however, Jonas is free of this restriction and this freedom troubles
him.
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