Definition of Tone
Key Examples in The Giver
The tone of The Giver ranges from lighthearted to serious, but even at its most serious it avoids didactic passages in favor of letting the plot and characters speak for themselves. The narrator uses subtle irony and Jonas's own feelings and observations to help young readers draw their own conclusions about the Community. One example occurs in Chapter 2, when Lily asks for her "comfort object":
“Lily,” her mother said fondly, “you’re very close to being an Eight, and when you’re an Eight, your comfort object will be taken away. It will be recycled to the younger children. You should be starting to go off to sleep without it.”
But her father had already gone to the shelf and taken down the stuffed elephant which was kept there.