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The Giver
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The Giver Quartet: Book 1

The Giver (1993) (edit title/settings)

by Lois Lowry (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Citation:

Lowry, L. (1993). The giver. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Genre: Modern Fantasy/

Science Fiction

A major theme of this text set is accepting differences and overcoming the obstacles created by these differences. This novel is set in a society that values... read more

Summary edit see section history

The book is told from a third-person point of view. The protagonist, Jonas, is followed as he awaits the Ceremony of Twelve. Jonas lives in a standard family unit with his mother (a "law enforcer"), his father (a "Nurturer") and his seven (later becomes eight) year old sister named Lily. As he... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

The book is told from a third-person point of view. The protagonist, Jonas, is followed as he awaits the Ceremony of Twelve. Jonas lives in a standard family unit with his mother (a "law enforcer"), his father (a "Nurturer") and his seven (later becomes eight) year old sister named Lily. As he anticipates the Ceremony of Twelve, which is the last ceremony, he has a dream. He has to tell his family unit what his dream is and he explains how he dreamed that he was in the House of the Old (where he was before), alone in the bath house with his friend Fiona. He tries to explain how in his dream he wanted her to take off her clothes so he could bathe her though he feels angry at the same time, mostly due to her laughing in the dream and feeling slightly embarrassed while telling the dream, not knowing why. After he told his family this, his mother tells him to take pills to suppress the "Stirrings", or the beginning of sexual attraction, which is totally eliminated in Jonas's world, possibly even for Birthmothers, who may be impregnated via artificial insemination. When the day of the Ceremony of Twelve arrives, each of the eleven-year olds is called up by their number, which corresponds to the order in which they were born, (Jonas is nineteen) and is given their Assignment. However, the Chief Elder skips Jonas' number and proceeds with twenty. After everyone has been given their Assignment, the Chief Elder calls up Jonas and apologizes for the confusion. It is revealed that Jonas has been selected to be the next Receiver of Memory. The Chief Elder reveals to him that training will involve physical pain that the community has never felt before and that ten years ago, another selection was made but it was a failure. He is selected to be "Receiver of Memory" at the Ceremony of Twelve because of his unusual "Capacity to See Beyond", which is the ability to see color (or in other cases, hear music, which is referred to as "hearing beyond"), which the other people in the community cannot. This is noted in the fact that Jonas has lighter eyes, which only a few people, such as Jonas, Gabriel, The Giver, and a female Six named Katherine have rather than the dark eyes that everyone else has.

After Jonas has been selected to be the Receiver of Memories, he is set aside to receive training through the Giver (who was the last Receiver of Memory), who becomes his teacher. Jonas telepathically receives memories of things eliminated from his world: violence, sadness, and loss, as well as true love, beauty, joy, adventure, animals, and family. Having knowledge of these complex and powerful concepts alienates Jonas from his friends and family, as well as making him more cynical towards his previously sheltered life, as he often discusses with the Giver. Eventually, these revelations prompt Jonas to seek to change the community and return emotion and meaning to the world. He and the Giver plan on doing this by having Jonas leave the community, which would cause all of the memories he was given to be released to the rest of the people, allowing them to feel the powerful emotions that Jonas and the Giver feel. Eventually, Jonas asks the Giver if he ever thinks about his own release. This conversation leads to watching the release of a lighter child of a set of twin boys born that morning. Jonas watches in shock and horror as his father talks sweetly to the baby before giving the newborn a lethal injection, and then dumping the body down a garbage chute. It is also said by The Giver that the previous Receiver of Memory had applied for release, and had told them that she would prefer to inject herself. The Giver then reveals that he also had a child named Rosemary, who was the previously selected Receiver of Memory.

During the course of the novel, Jonas's family temporarily houses a baby named Gabriel, because he is unable to sleep throughout the night and disturbs the other babies in the "Nurturing Center". Jonas learns that unlike the other people in his community, "Gabe" can receive memories from Jonas, which he uses to help calm the baby. Because Gabriel still cannot sleep through the night without crying after the extra year he was given to learn how to sleep soundly, he is now destined to be released. Desperate, Jonas flees the community with Gabe. Also, he was given the instructions from the Giver to flee, and release all the memories that he had stored to the rest of the community. At first, the escape seems successful, with all of the search planes finally giving up their search for Jonas. Soon, however, food runs out and they grow weak. Cold and hungry, Jonas and Gabe begin to lose hope, but then remembering the memory of sunshine Jonas was given, he uses it and regains strength. Jonas begins to no longer care about himself, but only about Gabe's safety; it is here that he feels happy as he remembers his parents and sister, his friends and The Giver. Jonas and Gabriel cross a snow-covered hill in the dark and find a sled on top, which Jonas remembers from the first memory he ever received. He and Gabriel board the sled and go down the hill where they seem to hear music coming from some houses, which possibly could be Christmas, because he sees trees there too, which Jonas believes is the Beyond.

The ending is ambiguous, with Jonas depicted as experiencing symptoms of hypothermia. This leaves his and Gabriel's future unresolved. However, their fate is revealed in Messenger, a companion novel written much later.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Jonas: The main character, or the Receiver of Memories, is the only one in the community, other than the Giver, that knows the feelings of love, loneliness, pain, and grief. Also, he gets very lonely when nobody understands him and his feelings toward the community.
  • Jonas's Father: He works as a Nurturer in the community. Very little is told about what he does to the community, but somebody has to know the truth.
  • Jonas's Mother: She works in the Department of Justice. Jonas's mother is a very strong worker and gives her son advice when he is struggling with problems in the community.
  • The Giver: He is the one who holds the memories, known as The Last Receiver, but tells Jonas to call him the Giver. He gives advice and also memories to Jonas, who will be the New Receiver.
  • Gabriel (Gabe): He is the baby that Jonas's family takes care of because he can't sleep at night, and he will only sleep soundly when Jonas feeds him memories. If he doesn't sleep, then he will be released. Despite the family's care, he is scheduled to be released.
  • Lily: She is Jonas's younger sister. She is a seven/eight for most of the story. She looks up to her older brother. Lilly wants to be a nurtured, so she can play with the new children. She is also very eager to become a nine and receive her bicycle.
  • Asher: He is Jonas's best friend. He is a little slow and is kind of a goof. Asher becomes not so accepting of Jonas, when one day Jonas gets in the way of a schoolyard game and angers Asher. Then their friendship is mixed up. Confusing their already strange friendship.
  • Fiona: She is Jonas's crush. Fiona has red hair and is the same age as him. He starts to have weird dreams about her. When he stops taking the pill, "the stirrings" start again, and he feels a strong connection with Fiona. She becomes a caretaker of the elderly.
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness. Before my time, before the previous time, back and back and back. We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine, and did away with difference. We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others.”
    The Giver
  • “Memories are forever.”
    The Giver
  • “Things could change. Things could be different. I don't know how, but there must be some way for things to be different. There could be grandparents. And colors. And everybody would have memories.”
    Jonas
  • “They Know Nothing”
    The Giver
  • “He heard people singing. Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps it was only an echo.”
  • “They were satisfied with their lives which had none of the vibrancy his own was taking on. And Jonas was angry at himself, that he could not change that for them.”
  • “If you can't feel the pain in life, you won't feel the pleasure of living.”
  • “No one mentioned such things; it was not a rule, but was considered rude to call attention to things that were unsettling or different about individuals.”
  • “How could you describe a sled without describing a hill and snow; and how could you describe a hill and snow to someone who had never felt height or wind or that feathery, magical cold?”
  • “His thoughts continued. If he had stayed, he would have starved in other ways. He would have lived a life hungry for feelings, for color, for love.”
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • 'The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.'
    Highlighted by 161 Kindle customers
  • 5. From this moment you are prohibited from dream-telling. 6. Except for illness or injury unrelated to your training, do not apply for any medication. 7. You are not permitted to apply for release. 8. You may lie.
    Highlighted by 102 Kindle customers
  • He had seen a birthday party, with one child singled out and celebrated on his day, so that now he understood the joy of being an individual, special and unique and proud.
    Highlighted by 94 Kindle customers
  • JONAS RECEIVER OF MEMORY 1. Go immediately at the end of school hours
    Highlighted by 87 Kindle customers
  • Two children—one male, one female—to each family unit. It was written very clearly in the rules.
    Highlighted by 83 Kindle customers
  • How could you describe a sled without describing a hill and snow; and how could you describe a hill and snow to someone who had never felt height or wind or that feathery, magical cold?
    Highlighted by 82 Kindle customers
  • For a contributing citizen to be released from the community was a final decision, a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure.
    Highlighted by 81 Kindle customers
  • 'I'm right, then,' The Giver said. 'You're beginning to see the color red.'
    Highlighted by 65 Kindle customers
  • Frightened was the way he had felt a year ago when an unidentified aircraft had overflown the community twice.
    Highlighted by 65 Kindle customers
  • The children all received their bicycles at Nine; they were not allowed to ride bicycles before then.
    Highlighted by 57 Kindle customers
Show all 20 quotes from this book

First Sentence edit see section history

It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Chapters 1-23

Glossary edit see section history

  • Ceremony of Loss: When a child dies unexpectedly, the citizens of the community repeat the dead person's name over and over — and more and more softly — all day.
  • Birthmother: A female who is assigned to give birth to three children within three years, after which she becomes a Laborer. This job is very unrespected throughout the community.
  • Stirrings: Emotions of attraction of the opposite sex, and is taken away by using pills; puberty
  • Comfort Object: A stuffed animal given to small children to comfort them. It is taken away when they become a nine.
  • Newchild: A baby
  • The Elders: The high authority in the community, make all the rules
  • Release: What happens after you are old, have committed a crime, or just choose to be released by some reason/problem. A very terrifying truth is hidden under the word, 'Release'.
  • Nurturer: Someone whose assignment is to take care of newchildren
  • Ceremony of Twelve: When everyone in that group becomes twelve and is assigned to their jobs for their future.
  • Seeing Beyond: Being able to see past the sameness of the world they live in to the true appearance of things. For example Jonas begins to see beyond and notice the color red on his own

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 4 in The Giver Quartet. (standard series)

Followed by Gathering Blue.

This is book 26 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 28 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)
This is book 25 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)
This is book 22 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)
This book is in Newbery Medal. (authoritative list)
This is book 11 of 100 in ALA's Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 1990-1999. (authoritative list)
This is book 23 of 100 in ALA's Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009. (authoritative list)
This is book 1 of 4 in La trilogie du Passeur. (standard series)

Followed by Gathering Blue.

This is book 670 of 985 in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Lois Lowry (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Mª Luisa Balseiro (Translator) - Spanish translation (Mª meaning María)
  2. Mathew Todd Borgens - (Spanish edition credits) Coordinación Editorial (Editorial Coordination)
  3. Ana María García Alonso - (Spanish edition credits) Maquetación (layout)
  4. Jesús Cruz (Designer) - (Spanish edition credits) Diseñode de Cubierta (cover design, but the cover looks the same as the original...)
  5. Ron Rifkin (Reader)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Country: United States
Publication Date: 1993
ISBN: 0440219078
Page Count: 180

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PZ7.L9673 Gi
  • Dewey: 813'.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Grade/Reading Level: 6 Interest Level: The Scholastic website suggested this book for students in grades 3-5. However, I believe that students in grades 6-8 would have a better understanding of the themes of the novel, and they would be more interested in learning about the dangers of conformity.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Gathering Blue
  • Messenger
  • Uglies
  • Matched
  • Crossed
  • The Guardians
  • Brave New World
  • The Midwife's Apprentice
  • Summer of My German Soldier
  • Dicey's Song
  • Winter of Fire
  • Tuck Everlasting
  • Feed
  • The Hunger Games
  • Revealing Eden
  • Animal Farm

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • A Guide for Using The Giver in the Classroom
  • A Reading Guide to The Giver (Scholastic Bookfiles)
  • The Giver: A Teaching Guide (Discovering Literature Series)
  • The Giver Study Guide

Books That Influenced This Book edit see section history

   
  • 1984
  • Brave New World

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history

   
  • The Worlds of Lois Lowry
  • Gathering Blue
  • Messenger

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history

   
  • Connecting Young Adults And Libraries

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