I'm so glad you commented. I can't remember what the population is set at in The Giver, but it is odd as the rules seem symbolic on the surface. To be a parental unit, you need to apply for a spouse and eventually apply for children - you get one boy and girl. Once you fulfill the parental duties, it's off to a home for you! Old people are euthanized as well as multiple births. It seems doubtful that all fifty pregnancies will go perfectly either - unless they err on the side of caution and have extras. Man, I'm over thinking it.

The mechanics of this community are so unsustainable, even if people are drugged into being robots :D It is implied that goods are delivered to the community by riverboat, yet seemingly no exchange of ideas takes place.

The implications that teenage girls are forced into reproduction is so creepy in itself (Vessels wear a leather mask during birth so they don't see the baby) that I'm surprised Lowry went there at all.