Different+Worlds

Jackie P. 5-9-08 7-C English Different Worlds Jonas lives in a community where he has to follow many rules with severe consequences if they are broken. Although there are rules and consequences in our world, our world’s lifestyle is different. Jonas and all of his friends are in family units which are similar to families, but instead of choosing who you would want to marry and when you would want to have kids, spouses and kids are given to people at certain times. When kids are born they aren’t given to a family unit until the Ones ceremony. Once they are Ones, they become Twos and so on. Instead of everyone having a different birthday, they move through their childhood as groups and begin working when they have their Twelve ceremony. Family units live in communities which are like neighborhoods with stores and offices. These communities are different because in ours, there are multiple neighborhoods along with stores and offices, and many people come and go from each community all the time. Also, unless you run away or get released, you don’t leave your community. When a person is getting released from a community, it can either be for a good reason or for a bad reason. If an Old is getting released then it is for the better because it is a time to look back on their life and they are generally happy about getting released. Although, if a crime is committed or if you have done wrong more then twice, getting released is not celebrated. In our world, if you are elderly then you will still live your life and only at the funeral, is your life looked upon and celebrated. On the other hand, if you have committed a crime just once, you will receive a punishment depending on the crime committed. It could be going to jail or just having to pay a fine. In Jonas’s world getting released is one of their many rules which they have to follow. Some minor rules in his world are that they have to ride bicycles because they aren’t allowed to own cars unless they have a certain job which requires a car. Another rule is at morning meals the family must share their own dreams and discuss them. Also, at evening meals the family must share their feelings for the day. In our world, it is not mandatory to share your dreams or your inner thoughts and feelings. Some go to a therapist because they don’t feel comfortable sharing their feelings with a family member. These are just some of the many rules and ways of life that are applied in Jonas’s world. Although their rules are different then ours, we still have similarities between both of our worlds.