The Giver is written from the point of view of Jonas, an eleven-year-old boy who lives in a futuristic society that has eliminated all pain, fear, war and hatred . There is no bias, since everyone looks and acts essentially the same, and there is very little competition. Everyone is unfailingly polite. Society has also eliminated choice: at the age of twelve, each member of the community is assigned a job based on his abilities and interests. Citizens can request and obtain compatible spouses, and each couple is assigned exactly two children each. The babies are born to birth mothers, who never see them, and spend their first year in a shelter with other children, or “new babies,” born that year. As their children grow up, family units dissolve and adults live alongside Childless Adults until they are too old to function in society. They then spend their final years cared for in the Home of the Elderly until they are finally “freed” from society. In the community liberation is death, but it is never described in this way; most people think that, upon release, imperfect newborns and joyful elders are welcomed into the vast expanse of Elsewhere that surrounds communities. Citizens who break the rules or do not adequately adapt to society's codes of behavior are also released, even if in their case it is an occasion of great shame. Everything is planned and organized so that life is as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. Jonas lives with his father, who is caring for new children, his mother, who works at the Department of Justice, and his seven-year-old sister Lily. At the beginning of the novel, he is worried about the upcoming Ceremony of the Twelve, when he will be given his official position as the new adult member of the community. He does not have a specific career preference, although he enjoys volunteering in a variety of different jobs. Although he is a well-mannered citizen and a good student, Jonas is different: he has light eyes, while most people in his community have dark eyes, and he has unusual powers of perception. Sometimes objects “change” when he looks at them. He doesn't know it yet, but only he in his community can perceive flashes of color; for everyone else, the world is as devoid of color as it is of pain, hunger and discomfort. At the Ceremony of the Twelve, Jonas receives the honored position of Receiver of Remembrance..