Well, the definition of the word is not any different in the book than it is in real life, but the range of feelings seen in the community is certainly more limited than in the real world or even in their world prior to Sameness.
Members of the community are encouraged to share their feelings each evening at dinner with their families. They recount what happened during each of their days and how they felt...
Well, the definition of the word is not any different in the book than it is in real life, but the range of feelings seen in the community is certainly more limited than in the real world or even in their world prior to Sameness.
Members of the community are encouraged to share their feelings each evening at dinner with their families. They recount what happened during each of their days and how they felt about what happened. At the beginning of the book, Jonas doesn't seem to like sharing feelings much, but we learn that it is against the rules not to do so. The feelings shared at the evening ritual seem very specific at first, until we get deeper into the story. By Chapter 17, though, Jonas has received many memories containing very intense emotions, and he gains a new perspective on the evening sharing of feelings, as do we readers:
"But Lily had not felt anger, Jonas realized now. Shallow impatience, and exasperation, that was all Lily had felt. He knew that with certainty because now he knew what anger was. Now he had, in the memories, experienced injustice and cruelty, and he had reacted with rage that welled up so passionately inside him that he thought of discussing it calmly at the dinner table was unthinkable" (CH. 17).
The feelings the community members have are limited due to their limited life experience. As Jonas comes to realize, they may think they are experiencing anger or happiness, but because their community and their lives are so controlled, they really have not had the opportunity to experience those feelings in any depth, like Jonas and the Giver both have.
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