Thematic Statement: Lowry uses symbolism to show that relationships with strong bonds are necessary for a meaningful life.
Claim: Without human emotions, citizens in the community are able to easily replace members that have died.
Textual Evidence: "The entire community had performed the Ceremony of Loss together, murmuring the name Caleb throughout an entire day, less and less frequently, softer in volume, as the long and somber day went on, so that the little Four seemed to fade away gradually from everyone's consciousness" (Lowry 44).
A. Without the ability to have feelings, Caleb's parents do not love him. They only have to take care of him, and since he died that is no longer their duty. A new set of parents replace Caleb's parents, and a new Caleb replaces the old Caleb, and society moves on without caring because the number of people in the community is still the same.
B. The community does not have emotions so they do not care when Caleb dies. They all forget about him and then replace him the next year. The Committee of Elders removed emotions from the community in order to keep families from being too close, as they need their citizens to have more trust in their government than their family.
C. Caleb's a Four who fell in the river. Once he was lost, the community held a replacement ceremony to welcome a new Caleb to their society. His parents don't care that he's died, and they are happy to receive a new child to take his place.
D. When Caleb falls into the river and is lost, the community forgets about him by the end of the day because they do not have any emotional attachment to the young child. When he dies, they hold a Murmur-of-Replacement at the next December Ceremony in order to welcome his replacement into the community. The ease in Caleb's replacement is due to the absence of feelings, and therefore close relationships, in the community.
The correct answer is option D.
The evidence provided from the text supports the claim that without human emotions, the citizens of the community are able to easily replace members that have died. In the quoted passage, it is mentioned that the community performs the Ceremony of Loss for Caleb, but as the day goes on, his memory gradually fades away from everyone's consciousness. This suggests that the community does not have any emotional attachment to Caleb and is able to move on without much concern.
Option D correctly summarizes this by stating that the community forgets about Caleb by the end of the day because they do not have any emotional attachment to him. They hold a Murmur-of-Replacement at the next December Ceremony to welcome his replacement, which indicates that it is easy for them to replace members in the community because of the absence of feelings and close relationships.