What might the incident involving Asher asking for a smack instead of a snack indicate about the community?

I would say it could show a few things:

• It shows that they are really into discipline.


• It shows they are very regimented -- they always use the same punishment and it is always called the same thing.


• It shows that they care very deeply about being sure that people use the correct words.


• These things, together, show how seriously the community takes having everyone be the same.  The community does not even like it if some little kid says something wrong.  They want everyone to be the same all the time.


• It shows that they don't have much of a sense of humor.  If they did, they would just let him get away with it.

Of these, I think the best answer is the next-to-last one.