More than just the memory of learning to jump off the diving board, Cassia’s words here reference the courage that her grandfather has instilled in her, courage that she employs as the story escalates. “Grandfather is the one who finally made me stop sitting at the edge of the pool.” Cassia, This quote additionally foreshadows the relationship Cassia ultimately establishes with Ky knowing that he was suggested as a potential Match, however briefly, permanently changed her view of him. Cassia's discomfort at knowing Ky's status is therefore to be expected. Each citizen is directed to only have a certain amount of knowledge in their own area, as well as with respect to others’ identities. I won’t be able to look at him the same way again, now that I know too much about him.” Cassia, Ĭassia’s regret of knowing Ky’s confidential Aberration status speaks to her conditioning to have no familiarity with knowledge that she is not instructed to have. It also speaks to the roots from which the Society came, as Cassia talks of an apparent overabundance of technology in the old days that overwhelmed the population and caused “disastrous consequences.” The modern Society in which the story takes place seeks to avoid such a fate by placing importance on specific areas of expertise for each citizen to help run their communities, while simultaneously taking advantage of the tendency of this system to prevent any one person from knowing too much.

While Cassia lives in a world of technology far more advanced than our own, continued reliance on human intellect is testament to a preference of order and peace over blind efficiency. Knowledge doesn’t fail us.” Cassia, Įvident throughout Ally Condie’s descriptions of the dystopian Society in Matched is that human contribution is highly valuable, though heavily regulated. “…As the society reminds us, there’s a difference between knowledge and technology. There is irony, however, in the way the silver box continues to create a “barrier” between them, as it is the microcard inside the box that ultimately displays Ky’s face and creates difficulty in Cassia and Xander’s relationship. As Matches, Xander and Cassia have full liberty to explore a romantic relationship, a notion that had never really occurred to either prior to the Matching. In this moment, Cassia observes how the platonic boundary that has always divided Xander and her no longer exists.

“He does not let go of my hand the little silver box I hold creates a barrier between us even as another one breaks.” Cassia,

Matched ally