Beth and Ryan were holding hands. It was enough to risk a formal citation for indecency, and they knew better, but I didn't say anything. Curfew rounds wouldn't begin for another two hours, and freedom was stolen in moments like these.
-- Narrator (Chapter 1 paragraph 1)

Importance: The book's first paragraph immediately draws the reader in and sets up the parameters for the plot -- a world in which personal freedoms are gone and there are severe punishments for disobedience.

Katelyn and I hadn't been friends. It wasn't that I didn't like her; I thought she was all right, actually. We always said hi, if not much more. But since her sudden disappearance, something dark had kindled inside of me. I'd been more on guard. As compliant with the Statutes as possible. I didn't like to sit in the front row of class anymore, and I never walked home from school alone.
-- Narrator/Ember (Chapter 1 paragraph 4)

Importance: This passage foreshadows what...