1. Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of Sameness in Jonas’ community. 2. Compare the relationship Jonas has with The Giver to the relationship he has with his mother, father, and sister. 3. Explain how Jonas’ community is hypocritical. 4. Explain why feelings and memories have been eliminated from Jonas’ community. […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsStudy Help Full Glossary for The Giver
admonition warning. alcove a small area set off from a larger room or space. animals a term used in Jonas’ community to describe someone “uneducated or clumsy, or someone who didn’t fit in.” aptitude skill or ability. assimilated absorbed. augmented added to. benign not harmful; gentle and calm. Birthmother a […]
Read more Study Help Full Glossary for The GiverCritical Essays A Note about Infanticide and Euthanasia
When Jonas views the release of an infant on The Giver’s video screen, he realizes for the first time that “release” means death, or, in this case, infanticide. Release for elderly people or for people who have broken the rules three times also means death, or euthanasia. Infanticide is the […]
Read more Critical Essays A Note about Infanticide and EuthanasiaCritical Essays What Are Utopias and Dystopias?
The word utopia comes from the Greek words ou, meaning “no” or “not,” and topos, meaning “place.” Since its original conception, utopia has come to mean a place that we can only dream about, a true paradise. Dystopia, which is the direct opposite of utopia, is a term used to […]
Read more Critical Essays What Are Utopias and Dystopias?Critical Essays Style and Language in The Giver
Lowry narrates The Giver in a simple, straightforward style that is almost journalistic — one episode directly and logically follows another episode. Her clarity of style and her many everyday details help portray ordinary daily life in Jonas’ community. For example, everyone rides bicycles that are neatly stowed in bicycle […]
Read more Critical Essays Style and Language in The GiverCritical Essays Major Themes in The Giver
Many themes in The Giver demonstrate Lowry’s concerns about society and humanity. For example, she concentrates on the tradeoffs involved when Jonas’ community chooses Sameness rather than valuing individual expression. Certain themes in the book are familiar because they can be found in other novels by Lowry. Throughout The Giver, […]
Read more Critical Essays Major Themes in The GiverLois Lowry Biography
Lois Lowry’s first book, A Summer to Die, was published in 1977. Since then, she has written over twenty novels for young adults and has won numerous awards, including two prestigious Newbery awards, one for Number the Stars and the other for The Giver. Lowry doesn’t rely on awards to […]
Read more Lois Lowry BiographySummary and Analysis Chapters 21-23
In these last three chapters, Lowry heightens the suspense and tension that have been evident throughout the novel. The plan that Jonas and The Giver have made for Jonas’ escape will never be put into action, for on the night after The Giver and Jonas decide on a plan for […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 21-23Summary and Analysis Chapters 18-20
These three chapters focus on release. Up to this point, Lowry has been vague about the concept of release and has not explicitly stated what release means. She has given the impression that release for older people who are no longer useful to the community, for infants who are different, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 18-20Summary and Analysis Chapters 16-17
After receiving the painful warfare memory in Chapter 15, Jonas is reluctant to see The Giver again. The pain that he experienced causes him to mature, and, as a result, he loses his innocence and his childhood. He does return to The Giver, though, because he knows that “the choice […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 16-17