The Giver by Lois Lowry | Chapter 1

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Course Hero Literature Instructor Russell Jaffe provides an in-depth summary and analysis of Chapter 1 of Lois Lowry's novel The Giver.

In Lois Lowry’s The Giver, young Jonas lives in an apparently perfect society, free of poverty and strife.

However, it soon becomes apparent that something sinister lurks beneath this flawless facade. Conformity is rigorously enforced and certain undesirable people are mysteriously taken elsewhere.

Jonas is selected as the Receiver of Memory, a person who must hold the collective pain and suffering of his community. This role ostensibly frees everyone else from the burdens of memory and allows him to advise a governing council.

He is trained by his elderly predecessor and soon learns of the horrors of war, death, and eugenics. He must decide whether to perpetuate this system or follow his own developing conscience.

Author Lois Lowry’s The Giver was first published in 1993. The author of some 40 books for children and young adults, Lowry often challenges her readers with adult concepts and disturbing themes. Lois Lowry's young adult novel The Giver set the standard for the dystopian conceits that define much of the genre today.

The Giver contains many important themes, including conformity versus individuality, as conformity simplifies life but destroys what is special and innovative; the importance of memory, as without memories passed down by the community, life in Jonas's society has little meaning; and security versus freedom, as those who trade freedom for security might deserve neither. Important symbols include the sled ride, colors, and fire and candlelight.

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Okay this is a huge coincidence that this was made 5 days ago, the same time my English teacher assigned this book for me. Thank You!

anonymousnguyen

Now I have an extra 10 minutes of my day thx

canary

In chapter 1 of The Giver, readers meet Jonas, a bright good natured 11, that is eleven years old. observant thoughtful and happy, he has two loving parents, a bubbly sister, and a comfortable dwelling. A clear set of rules and regulations keeps everything running smoothly in the community. It’s almost December and Jonas, feeling frightened, recalls another time when he felt frightful. A year before when a pilot accidentally flew over the community, something that is strictly against the rules. A voice over the loud speaker had ordered all the citizens to take shelter. The flyover was eventually ruled accidental, and the pilot was released. In just one month, Jonas will become 12 and participate in a special ceremony for all children entering that age group. He plans to talk about his uneasiness with his parents at dinner, when his family unit performs the sharing of feelings, a nightly ritual where they help eachother process the events of the day. At that night’s sharing session, father, who was assigned the job of nurture when he was young, says a new child who is not thriving as he should may soon be released. Father asks permission to bring the infant home in the evenings to provide it with extra nurturing. Jonas’ sister, Lily, seven, describes her anger with a boy who was visiting from another community and did not follow the rules of the playground. Mother, who has an important job at the Department of Justice, expresses concern that a second time offender may not be able to change his ways in which case he’d be released from the community. Jonas thinks about how a release when not connected to a new child or an old person is considered an unspeakable disgrace, an overwhelming statement of failure. Jonas shares his concerns about the ceremony of 12. His parents ask Lily to get ready for bed so they can have a private talk with her brother.

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