Jonas is a typical 11 year old who lives in a seemingly perfect community. There is little pain, and no crime. People are polite, and everyone belongs to a supportive family. However this utopia comes at a price; there are no choices, emotions are forbidden, and life in the community is dictated by strict rules. In this society, Elders match spouses, and assign children to them before birth. Everyone looks similar in skin color and dress. Everyone in the community is also assigned a job.
We all dream of perfection: the carefully honed physicality and skill of an olympic athlete; the perfect family meal, like a Norman Rockwell painting; the perfectly harmonious society, with everyone happily going about their lives. But perfection comes at a cost, and remains perpetually out of reach. This contradiction is just one of the reasons dystopias have captivated readers of all ages. The idea of a utopia, juxtaposed with the stark reality that it can never exist, makes a compelling setting for social commentary and critique.
