Parents do not play the same role in Jonas’s community as
they do in ours. In our world, adults choose their spouses based on love and decide
whether to have children. In Jonas’s world, adults apply for spouses that are then
selected by committee. The relationships are designed entirely for the purpose of
raising children. Adults apply for children, raise them, and then
separate.
Jonas’s mother does not love him the way mothers
are supposed to in our world. Love does not exist in the community. Parents care for
their children, and enjoy spending time with them. This is not the same as love.
Parents serve as more of a teacher or guide. Their role is to teach the children they
raise how to behave in the community, and to ensure that they are raised without
feelings.
In the story, Jonas’s mother and father both
serve as a window for the reader into the system of justice employed in the community.
She works for the Department of Justice as a sort of judge. She is responsible for
determining the punishments of people who break the community’s rules. For example,
anyone who breaks three rules is released (killed). Similarly, through Jonas’s father
we learn how babies are raised and that babies who do not meet developmental
requirements are also released.
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