Jonas stared at the flat, colorless sky,
bringing blue from it, and remembered sunshine
until finally, for an instant, he could feel warmth.
He stood at the foot of the bridge that
spanned the river, the bridge that citizens were
allowed to cross only on official business. Jonas
had crossed it on school trips, visiting the
outlying communities, and he knew that the land
beyond the bridge was much the same, flat and
well ordered, with fields for agriculture. The
other communities he had seen on visits were
essentially the same as his own, the only
differences were slightly altered styles of
dwellings, slightly different schedules in the
schools
He wondered what lay in the far distance
where he had never gone. The land didn't end
beyond those nearby communities. Were there
hills Elsewhere? Were there vast wind-torn areas
like the place he had seen in memory, the place
where the elephant died?
What does this excerpt convey about how
Jonas's life in the community is changing?