The Giver

At the beginning of Chapter 5, during the morning ritual of telling dreams, Jonas tells his family members about his dream during the previous night. He dreamed about wanting to bathe his friend Fiona. He had pleasant feelings during the dream. As a result of Jonas' discussing his dream, his mother tells him that he will have to start taking a pill. She explains that all of the adults in the community take a pill every day to stifle the Stirrings — sexual desires. The pill is another way that the Committee of Elders controls people. Physical affection within the family unit is uncommon, and physical affection or touching outside of the family unit is absolutely inappropriate and rude. Jonas knows that Asher has been taking a pill but never asks him about it because it is rude to talk about such personal things. Jonas takes his pill, feeling proud and sad at the same time — proud because he is doing what all adults do, and sad because within a short time, the pleasurable feelings disappear and he feels the same as before.