The Giver

1. The Giver Lois Lowery

2. Background • Published in 1993, The Giver reflects some of the social criticism • of the times. Abortion, family ethics, euthanasia, and assisted • suicide are all issues that were hotly debated in the 1990s. • Lowry deals with these issues by creating a seemingly perfect • society that never experiences any of the unpleasant realities of • life. • Like its predecessors Brave New World and 1984, The Giver is • Lowry’s attempt to criticize reality by creating a utopian • society. • As we read, we discover that the act of controlling a society is • often worse than the disappointments it is meant to eliminate. • We quickly realize that this utopian society is really dystopian. • However, Lowry’s society, unlike the others, offers some hope • in the end.

3. Setting • Lois Lowry’s The Giver is set in an imaginary world • during an unspecified time. • The community in the novel is isolated and • seemingly utopian in nature, with no pain, illness, • or color. • Each individual has a designated place in society. • Many of the unique traits and rituals that set people • apart in other societies have been eliminated. • The author is deliberately vague in further defining • the setting, for to narrow it down any more • specifically would detract from the ominous • atmosphere of this society of “Sameness.”

4. Characters • Jonas: He is the main character. The Committee of • Elders chooses Jonas to become the next Receiver of • Memory. Jonas’ assignment distances him from his • family and friends and forever changes the way he • looks at life in the community. • Lily: She is Jonas’ sister. She’s a talkative and simple • child. • Jonas’ mother: She works at the Department of Justice. • Her job involves handing out punishment to • community members who break one of the many rules. • Jonas’ father: Because of his nurturing qualities, he is • chosen to work as a Nurturer.

5. Characters • Asher: He is Jonas’ best friend. He’s a boy who • frequently uses imprecise language, a punishable offense • in the community. He enjoys making up making up • games and is assigned the job of Assistant Director of • Recreation. • Fiona: Fiona is gentle and caring with the Old; she is • assigned the job of Caretaker of the Old. • Larissa: Larissa lives in the House of the Old. She tells • Jonas of two “releases.” • Chief Elder: She is the leader of the community. • Rosemary: Rosemary was selected as the new Receiver • of Memory before Jonas. She lasted only five weeks • before she requested release.

6. Characters • Committee of Elders: They make sure that all rules are • followed and occasionally asks The Giver for his • opinion about the rules. They are responsible for • assigning all jobs at the Ceremony of Twelve. The • Committee of Elders is responsible for bringing • sameness to the community. • Gabriel: He is the “newchild” that Jonas’ father brings • home to live with the family. He has light eyes like • Jonas. • The Giver: The Giver has pale eyes like Jonas. He is an • old man who appears to be much older than his actual • age. His job as Receiver of Memory, although a position • of honor, has caused him to live with great pain and • loneliness.

7. Synopsis • Eleven-year-old Jonas seems to live in a perfect community. • Everything is very well planned, and the community takes care of all • needs. No one ever feels pain, sadness, or hunger. There is no • competition between the children in school, and the Committee of • Elders assigns a career to each child. The Committee has many rules • designed to keep the community running smoothly. After careful • study, the Committee selects which men will marry which women. • Every couple is presented with one male and one female child. Only • fifty children are born each year. It seems to be a perfect place to live. • At the annual December ceremony where each age group • receives its new privileges and responsibilities, Jonas and his agemates • receive their adult assignments. Jonas feels apprehensive before the • Ceremony because he has no idea what his assignment will be. When • the Committee chooses him to serve as Receiver of Memory, his life • changes dramatically. People begin to act differently toward him. As • Jonas enters training with The Giver, he begins to see the real • consequences of the perfect life of the community.

8. Welcome to Utopia Utopia is a “place of ideal perfection, especially in laws, government, and social conditions.” Dystopia is an “imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives.”

9. Who invented rules? • No one knows for sure when the first “rule” was • invented. • There have been formal rules for people to follow since • ancient times. • Golden Rule- “Do unto others as you would have them • do unto you.” • Bushido- unwritten code that guided the samurai • Gravitas- a traditional rule of dignity that Roman • citizens were expected to live by

10. Watching your words • Early in the novel, we learn that the citizens of • Jonas’ world are taught to use precise language. • Not only are rules and apologies recited in • unison at school, but students carefully choose • the right adjectives to describe certain situations • or what they are thinking or feeling. • This makes the use of connotation and • euphemism important tools in Jonas’ world, as • well as ours.

11. Euphemism • A euphemism is a word or • term that has mild or vague • connotations and that serves • to mask the offensiveness or • harshness of the actual word • or term. What euphemisms • are used in our society? • Example: • A used car being called • “certified pre-owned” • Think of two other • examples of your own.

12. Connotation • • The connotations of a word are the suggestions and • associations that go along with the word, stretching • beyond its dictionary meaning. • • Notice the first sentence of the novel. • • “It was almost December and Jonas was beginning to be • frightened.” • • The word December is rich in connotations: cold, • darkness, the death that comes to plants in winter. • • The opposite of connotation is DENOTATION, or the • dictionary definition of a word. • • Every word has both a denotation and a connotation.

13. About the Author • The Giver was inspired in part by Lowry’s • relationship with her father who was, at that time, • in a nursing home having lost most of his long-term • memory. • She realized one day while visiting her father that, • without memory, there is no pain, and began to • imagine a society in which the past was deliberately • forgotten. • The flaws in that supposedly ideal society show the • need for personal and societal memory and for • making connections with the past and with each • other.