Chapters 1-3

Chapter 1 began when Matty prepared supper. Matty was not a boy, but was not a man either. He lived with Seer, a blind man. Matty helped him with numerous chores. The man told Matty what to do, and Matty listened to Seer and did everything Seer told him to do. In Village, their community, you couldn't joke about trading and you were not supposed to discuss trading either. Also, markings and failings were valued, they weren't considered flaws. Matty liked to visit Forest. He went there often, although most people from Village almost never ventured into Forest. Sometimes, people that wanted to travel beyond would get entangled and die because Forest did not like them. But Matty never was hurt in any way by Forest. Actually, it seemed as if Forest liked Matty. Matty was a messenger, so he delivered messages to people. It was his job.

In chapter 2, Matty found out that Gatherer had died because Forest killed him. Ramon, Matty's friend, told Matty about Gatherer. Forest always gave warnings, and once you got a warning, you would die if you went back. Ramon had a Gaming Machine that you could play with. Village was a tranquil and elegant place. Leader saw everything, except the border of Village where Forest became concealed in shadows.

In the 3rd chapter of Messenger, Matty was dropping hints to Seer that he wanted a Gaming Machine. Seer tried to distract Matty by talking about Mentor's beguiling daughter. In Village, there were no secrets because it was one of Leader's rules. Matty used to be a cunning and tricky boy, but now he learned to be truthful because only honest people were tolerated in Village.

**Connections**

In the 3rd chapter, I was talking about how only honest people were tolerated in Village. In The Giver, only intelligent people were tolerated. Uneducated people worked night shifts only and were not to be seen by the public.