Delirium RAL #1

This month I'm joining Evie @ Bookish and Rachelia @ Bookish Comforts on the Read-A-Long for Delirium by Lauren Oliver.

Each week they take turns putting up a recap of the chapters read and a discussion. This week is @ Bookish Comforts

Since the discussions include spoilers of the chapters read, I'll include all my thoughts so far on the book. My blog is spoiler free except for the Read-A-Longs.
Continue at your own risk, spoilers ahead

First I'll write a little about what I thought of the chapters read this week and then I'll answer the questions Evie and Rachelia posted.
The wrap up is on Feb 28 for you to link your reviews but also to share your favorite quotes and parts.

Next week's discussion is for chapters 8-14 on Feb 17 @ Bookish

There were a lot of thoughts in my head at first, there are some things that we do learn in the first 7 chapters though.
I understand they think love is a disease and they have a cure but you need to be 18 so it could work on you. So of course they have to teach kids about it when they're young.

"For days afterward, they broadcast the image of the dead girl's face on television to remind us of the dangers of the deliria." This goes to kids because adults, once they're 'cured' believe it's the right thing to do. Who would show that to kids?

(talking about love) "It kills you both when you have it and when you don't." What?! Are they immortals once they get the 'cure'? How do they override love? What part of the brain do they target? I wonder if we'll find out.

What type of evaluations do they go through that they suggest how many children they'll have and who to marry? They also tell them where to go to school and the major they'll have to pick.

I'm thinking that sympathizers are people that help others that don't want it or that believe they don't need it.

"During the exam there will be four evaluators staring at me for close to two hours." "A seven or an eight, I would say" They rate them according to what? Looks? Size? Color? What else could they look for?

There are still places in our world where this is a reality. Do they think of it as normal or do they feel trapped? I know there'll always be someone who thinks different but what does the majority think?

"The evaluators will send me a list of four or five approved matches." Do they at least get to choose that?
Who chooses? Only the girls? Do they both choose and hope they pick the same person? How does this work? Guys get the girls that choose them or do they pick first?

"Girls who don't pass get paired and married right out of high school." I feel like this centers on women, do they see us as inferiors?

The Book of Shhh - I'm curious to read that book and hate it.

"Beyond that, all the crumbling countries and cities ruined by the disease." It's only in the US, I wonder how it happened.

It may be a little harsh but in this case I think it's not normal. "I don't like very many children" "But I know I'll have to have children of my own someday." She's already incapable of love, is this something she learned?

"No guy in his right mind would ever choose me when there are people like Hana in the world" Is that why she's okay with all of it, because she has low self esteem?

"I kind of wish Carol would say something else" Is she deep down expecting some sort of affection?

Hana is probably against everything, I don't know if her parents are like her.

Lena is afraid of things we normally wouldn't. I wonder how much we can be taught and how much is pure instinct. When does instinct take over rationality? This was on law and order or criminal minds, I can't remember though I believe it was probably on criminal minds.

"It occurs to me that the scientists must perform the cure here, in this very room. That's must be what the surgical table is for." "I've never really thought about the procedure itself: the hard metal table, the lights winking above me, the tubes and the wires and the pain." I don't like hospitals so this is not very pleasant for me. It was so real for me. I could smell the antiseptic, I felt nervous and couldn't wait for it to be over and out of there.
"I pour myself a glass of water and take a few sips, grateful for the pause." My body doesn't react but my mind makes me believe my hands are shaking, feeling the coldness of the room and the evaluators staring at me.

"My mother had remained uncured despite three separate procedures" (I'm telling you they're divergent) Did her mom really love her dad or was she in love with someone else and that's why they knew the cure didn't work on her?

What repercusion does it have on the kids since their parents can't love them? They need love, they are too young to understand that they see it is a disease.

Did we see Lena screw things up in her first evaluation so we'll know that deep down she feels something but gets a second chance because she wants to believe in the cure and that love is a disease?

The wilds, are they stalking Lena? Keeping an eye on her following someone's orders?
Some might be divergent as well.

I'm only kidding about them being divergent, I'm actually liking this book. I am mad at certain things but they are very realistic, which makes me even angrier.

Discussion
What is your first impression of the world building in Delirium?
I have a lot of questions regarding this. Who would consider love a disease? Who are the evaluators and what made them decide to erradicate it, if such a thing is possible?
They do everything for you, I'd feel trapped there, you have no freedom whatsoever. How could you stand this? But then I thought about it and there are still places in our world where this is a reality.
I was so mad the first couple of chapters, it makes me think about the world we live in, the places where things like this happen and how grateful I am of all the liberty we have.

In Delirium, love has been classified as a disease. Do you think that, in some ways, love could be considered a disease? Why or why not?
No, I don't see how it could be a disease. I don't think that what they believe are symptoms, are really because of love. I understand that there are some times where things get out of hand but wouldn't that be for other reasons?

The government's rules are very strict - upon turning 18 everyone has to undergo a procedure that will "cure" them of love once and for all. Could you live in a world without love?
No, what's left without it? You can see that they don't feel anything for anyone, not even their kids. They act like robots (that's what I think), without feelings doing things because they're supposed to.

Count how many times you say or hear the word love in one day (you can also guesstimate). How many times would you have been punished if you lived in the world Delirium is set in?
I know I don't say it but it doesn't mean I don't feel it. I think I show it, I'm just not a very expressive person.

What do you make of Alex? Lena notes that he has the scar of being cured, but he still appears to be flirting with her. He also works as a security guard at the lab in which there was a breach and all the cows were herded in on evaluation day
At first I wondered, is he a sympathized in disguise or is he really a security guard? A few pages later I thoght, he probably got out of the procedure before they finished, he might be a wild.

Go check out the original post and answer the questions.