Questions and Answers
What is The Giver?
A novel by Lois Lowry written in 1993.
What type of novel is The Giver?
What does The Giver follow?
A young man named Jonas as he grows up in a society that has eradicated pain.
What themes does The Giver explore?
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Describe the setting of The Giver.
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What is the significance of the word 'dwelling' rather than 'home'?
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What role do animals play in Jonas's community?
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What does 'release' mean in Jonas's society?
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How do married couples add children to their families?
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Who decides a person's job in the community?
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How are physical differences viewed?
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What might be significant about the 'change' Jonas sees in the apple?
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Describe the behavior and values of Jonas's community.
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What disturbing aspects of Jonas's society are revealed?
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Describe Jonas's personality and values.
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Is the committee open to change?
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What are stirrings?
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What happens when a birthmother has twins?
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What realization struck Jonas about lying?
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What happens when Gabriel is taken away from Jonas?
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What new feeling does Jonas get to experience?
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What did Jonas decide to do at the end of the chapter?
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What has happened to Jonas since he has stopped taking his pills?
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What did Jonas want to do on his unexpected holiday?
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What were Jonas's friends playing?
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What happened with the war game?
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What would the father do the next day when the identical twins were born?
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How does the father describe the release?
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Who takes the baby when it is released, according to the father?
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What job did mother think would fit Lily?
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What was the last Receiver's-in-training name?
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What was the cause of her failure?
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What happened to the memories when Rosemary died?
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For the first time, the community had memories which caused them to have what?
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What did the Giver do to help the people?
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Why did the Giver keep telling Jonas to stay away from the river?
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How does Jonas deal with the memories?
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What did Jonas decide that he wanted to watch?
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How was Jonas able to watch one?
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Where did Jonas's father stick the needle into the newborn twin?
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What does it mean to be released?
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Where did father place the baby?
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How was Rosemary released?
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What was Jonas's reaction to all of this?
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Where did he spend that night?
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Who all in the community gets released?
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Study Notes
General Overview
- "The Giver," a science fiction novel by Lois Lowry, explores a supposedly utopian society focused on sameness.
- The protagonist, Jonas, navigates a community that eliminates pain and conflict by suppressing individual differences and collective memory.
Setting
- Set in a futuristic community emphasizing strict government control and uniformity.
- Sameness in society leads to the absence of emotions, individuality, and significant life experiences.
Main Concepts
- Release: A euphemism for killing those deemed unfit, including the old and unhealthy babies, indicating deep societal flaws.
- Assignment of Roles: Determined by the Committee of Elders based on personality and prior volunteerism, with roles ensuring societal conformity.
Community Values and Structure
- Physical differences are disregarded, highlighting a lack of individuality.
- Marriage and childbearing are highly regulated; couples can only have one boy and one girl, and children are assigned to them.
- Customs like sharing dreams and feelings aim to suppress individuality and maintain order.
Jonas's Journey
- Jonas is selected to be the Receiver of Memory, a critical and rare role in the community, suggesting his uniqueness.
- His training involves experiencing memories that encompass both joy and pain, contrasting with the community’s values.
- Jonas experiences the return of emotions, including love, which challenges the community’s doctrine of sameness.
Relationships and Emotional Growth
- Jonas's connection to Gabriel demonstrates his capacity for love and individuality, as he shares memories with him to soothe and comfort.
- The absence of real relationships and the superficial understanding of emotions create tension, as shown in Jonas's difficulty relating to friends during games.
The Giver's Role
- The Giver holds all memories, guiding the community's leaders while bearing the burden of past pains, indicating the importance of memories in understanding humanity.
- The contrast between painful memories and joyous ones, such as Christmas, highlights the need for emotional depth in life.
Societal Flaws and Consequences
- The council's decisions, like limiting family size and releasing non-conforming individuals, reflect a deeply flawed moral foundation.
- People do not question established rules due to indoctrination and fear, showcasing an oppressive societal structure.
Significant Themes
- The significance of colors, emotions, and personal choice are central themes, contrasting Jonas's awakening with the community's enforced uniformity.
- As Jonas encounters more memories, he begins to see the value of feelings, which leads him to reconsider the societal norms he once accepted.
Conclusion and Predictions
- By ceasing to take his pills, Jonas defies societal control, suggesting a potential awakening of individuality and emotions that could greatly affect his fate and those around him.
- Jonas's understanding of love and personal connection may lead him to challenge the community's values, setting the stage for conflict and personal growth.### Rosemary's Release and Its Consequences
- Rosemary's application for release was triggered by the Giver imparting her unpleasant memories.
- Upon Rosemary's death, her memories were distributed to the community, marking a significant shift in their experience.
Impact on the Community
- The community began to experience feelings for the first time after receiving Rosemary's memories, altering their emotional landscape.
- The Giver did not intervene to assist the community in coping with these new feelings and memories.
Giver's Advice to Jonas
- The Giver cautioned Jonas to avoid the river to prevent chaos that would ensue if Jonas were to die and transfer his memories to the community.
- Jonas resorts to humor as a coping mechanism for handling the weight of his memories.
Jonas's Curiosity and Discoveries
- Jonas's curiosity led him to desire witnessing the process of release.
- He was able to view a release by requesting assistance from the Giver, who permitted him access to recordings.
Disturbing Practices of Release
- Jonas observed his father injecting a needle into the scalp vein of a newborn twin, resulting in the baby's death.
- The term "release" in the community is synonymous with killing, revealing the grim reality of their practices.
- Jonas's father disposed of the deceased infant into the trash, illustrating the lack of value placed on life in their society.
Rosemary's Self-Release
- Rosemary's release involved a sad act of self-administering a needle into her arm, highlighting her despair.
- Jonas's reaction was one of shock and anger upon confronting the realities of release and the Giver's previous teachings.
Aftermath of the Revelations
- Following these unsettling discoveries, Jonas chose to spend the night with the Giver, seeking comfort and understanding.
- The community's release policy affected various individuals, including the elderly, unhealthy infants, and those labeled as criminals, indicating a systematic approach to population control.
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Test your knowledge of 'The Giver' by Lois Lowry with these flashcards. Explore key concepts, themes, and characters from this thought-provoking science fiction novel. Perfect for students studying the book in class or for literature enthusiasts.