The children would also be scolded for showing any feelings of contempt or derision (synonyms that mean "open disrespect for a person or thing"). In this community that relies on cooperation, cheering happens more often than jeering.

Here, Asher is using the wrong word to describe his feeling, since he wasn't upset but distracted with salmon-watching. This sentence would be more fitting if it had been Jonas describing his feeling in watching an airplane streak twice above the community; it could also foreshadow a later scene involving Jonas and airplanes.

The family could smile at Lily's defiant gesture because she is only a Seven whose clenched fist is not opposing but supporting the community, since it is directed at a visiting Seven who didn't obey the rules. Even so, the family helps Lily to resolve her anger, and she apologizes for making the fist. This scene can be contrasted with Jonas's later acts of defiance, which increasingly require more boldness.

"Resolve" also means "reach a conclusion after a discussion or deliberation"--both definitions fit the purpose of the "evening telling of feelings" ritual; this sounds like a healthy way for families to bond, but as Jonas is discovering, it is also uncomfortably forced, since feelings can be too complicated or private to resolve in an after-dinner discussion.

"Humiliation" also means "state of disgrace or loss of self-respect"--both definitions fit because Jonas knew he'd done something wrong, everyone had known he'd done something wrong, and the public announcement called attention to the fact that he'd done something wrong.

The role the apple plays here could be compared to the fruit in the story of Eve in the Garden of Eden: both knew the rule, yet were tempted to break it by the possibility of a strange knowledge; both experienced feelings of shame and disgrace. Unlike Jonas, no amount of remorse or apologizing could help Eve regain her place; unlike Eve, Jonas soon discovers that his place is not paradise.