Written by: Lois Lowry
This is the story of an eleven year old boy named Jonas who lives in a futuristic society of perfect people who look and act the same. Jonas does not know it at the beginning of the novel, but his pale eyes (opposed to the dark eyes of everyone else in the community) allow him to see flashes of color that others cannot. In this society they are assigned a job based on abilities and interest when they are twelve at the Ceremony of Twelve. Because Jonas is eleven he is quickly approaching this ceremony and is feeling anxious about where he will be assigned.
During the Ceremony of Twelve Jonas is assigned the Receiver of Memory which means he keeps the memories of the community. Jonas is guided and gains memories from the current Receiver who tells Jonas to call him the Giver. As Jonas gains all these memories his eyes are open to the happiness and love that are absent from the community. He realizes that all the people he loves will never be able to experience happiness because they have never suffered. Ultimately, the community lost the ability to love and see the beauty in life when they rid the community of all suffering.
In order to avoid ruining the ending, I will stop there. This is a great story for upper level classrooms because it guides discussion about what is important in life.
Scholastic has an incredible site with a lesson on how to use The Giver:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/sites/default/files/asset/file/the-giver-bookfile.pdf
This is the story of an eleven year old boy named Jonas who lives in a futuristic society of perfect people who look and act the same. Jonas does not know it at the beginning of the novel, but his pale eyes (opposed to the dark eyes of everyone else in the community) allow him to see flashes of color that others cannot. In this society they are assigned a job based on abilities and interest when they are twelve at the Ceremony of Twelve. Because Jonas is eleven he is quickly approaching this ceremony and is feeling anxious about where he will be assigned.
During the Ceremony of Twelve Jonas is assigned the Receiver of Memory which means he keeps the memories of the community. Jonas is guided and gains memories from the current Receiver who tells Jonas to call him the Giver. As Jonas gains all these memories his eyes are open to the happiness and love that are absent from the community. He realizes that all the people he loves will never be able to experience happiness because they have never suffered. Ultimately, the community lost the ability to love and see the beauty in life when they rid the community of all suffering.
In order to avoid ruining the ending, I will stop there. This is a great story for upper level classrooms because it guides discussion about what is important in life.
Scholastic has an incredible site with a lesson on how to use The Giver:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/sites/default/files/asset/file/the-giver-bookfile.pdf
Recently made into a movie! Here is the trailer.
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