The Giver Questions & Answers

The Giver never confirms whether Jonas dies. The ending of the novel is intentionally ambiguous. After escaping the community with Gabriel, Jonas becomes weak from cold and hunger, but he finally reaches the snow-covered hill… read more

In The Giver, "release” is the community’s euphemism for killing someone. Most people in the community believe that being released means being sent “Elsewhere,” possibly to another place where life continues peacefully. Old people are… read more

The novel is a combination of several genres, but it is primarily a dystopian novel for young readers. The book imagines a future society that appears peaceful and orderly on the surface, yet it achieves… read more

The book's setting is a heavily controlled and isolated community in a futuristic society. The people of this community refer to the outside world as “Elsewhere.” On the surface, the community appears peaceful, safe, and… read more

At the end of the novel, Jonas escapes the community with Gabriel after learning that Gabriel is going to be “released,” which Jonas now understands means killed. He steals his father’s bicycle and rides away… read more

In The Giver, Asher’s Assignment is Assistant Director of Recreation. At the Ceremony of Twelve, the Chief Elder gives him this role because his energetic, playful personality makes him well suited for organizing games… read more

"Sameness" in The Giver is the system that Jonas’s community uses to eliminate differences between people in order to create stability and prevent pain. The community gives up color, weather, personal choice, strong emotions, and… read more

In The Giver, Jonas is selected to become the new Receiver of Memory, one of the most honored and isolated jobs in the community. At the Ceremony of Twelve, the Chief Elder skips Jonas’s… read more

The climax of the novel occurs when Jonas discovers the true meaning of “release” and realizes that his father has been killing newborn children. The turning point comes when The Giver shows Jonas a video… read more

In The Giver, Jonas feels both honored and frightened about becoming the new Receiver of Memory. At first, he is proud when the Chief Elder announces that he has been “selected” rather than simply… read more

“Stirrings” in The Giver are the sexual feelings and desires that begin as children enter adolescence. Jonas first experiences them after he dreams about Fiona and wants to see her naked and bathe with her… read more

Rosemary is the Receiver-in-training who came before Jonas. She was trained by The Giver, who later reveals that she was his daughter. Rosemary loved the happy memories The Giver shared with her, but she could… read more

The novel's point of view is third-person limited, focused on Jonas. The story is told in the third person, so Jonas is referred to by name or pronouns rather than "I." The narration stays close… read more

A "Birthmother" is a woman who the community assigns to bear children, but she does not raise the babies or keep any bond with them. Children in Jonas’s community are not born into ordinary… read more

The main lesson of the book is that a society cannot remove pain, conflict, and difference without also destroying freedom and genuine emotions. Jonas’s community seems peaceful at first: there is little crime, people… read more

In The Giver, Jonas helps Gabriel sleep by transmitting peaceful memories to him through touch. When Gabriel is restless at night, Jonas puts his hands on him and thinks about a happy memory The… read more

The falling action of The Giver is Jonas’s escape from the community with Gabriel after he discovers that "release" means death and decides the community must change. The climax comes when Jonas watches his… read more

In The Giver, the river symbolizes the boundary between Jonas’s controlled community and Elsewhere, so it becomes an image of escape and the danger that comes with leaving. The river is a literal… read more

In The Giver, the "Capacity to See Beyond" is Jonas’s rare ability to perceive what "Sameness" has hidden, first as flashes of color in a world where everyone else sees only black and white. … read more

"Elsewhere" in The Giver is the unknown place beyond Jonas’s carefully controlled community, and it is also the word the community uses to hide the truth about "release," or euthanasia. At first, Jonas and… read more

In The Giver, Jonas feels apprehensive about the Ceremony of Twelve because it is the moment when the community will assign him the job he must do for the rest of his life, and… read more

In The Giver, Gabriel is in danger of being "released" because he does not meet the community’s standards for a healthy, manageable "newchild": he grows too slowly, has trouble sleeping, and remains fretful at… read more

In The Giver, Jonas takes the apple home because he sees it mysteriously change while he and Asher are tossing it back and forth, and he wants to study what happened. At that… read more

Families are formed by the community’s rules: the Committee of Elders matches spouses, then couples may apply for children, and babies born to Birthmothers are named and assigned to family units. No one chooses… read more

The Giver describes his life as honorable but lonely, painful, and strangely powerless. He has the community’s respect because he carries the memories no one else can bear, but his role does not let him… read more

In The Giver, the "morning" ritual is dream-sharing: each family member tells the family about any dreams they had during the night. This ritual lets the community monitor private feelings before they become… read more

The Giver is a kind, elderly-looking man with grey coloring and unusually pale, blue eyes. His appearance is not described in elaborate detail, but Jonas first recognizes him as the current Receiver because he stands… read more

The memory of hunger provides The Giver with the wisdom to understand scarcity before the community creates it for itself. When the Committee of Elders considers increasing the birth rate so there will be more… read more

In The Giver, Gabriel represents vulnerable individual life, emotional connection, and the possibility that "Sameness" can be broken. He is a newchild who does not fit the community’s standards because he grows too slowly… read more

The confirmed deaths in the novel include the smaller newborn twin Jonas’s father kills, Rosemary, Caleb, Roberto, Larissa, and other people who are "released" (euthanized). Jonas and Gabriel also may or may not die at… read more

The Giver’s favorite memory is that of a loving family: people of different ages gathered together, opening presents beneath a tree covered in lights. When Jonas asks The Giver to describe the memory, The… read more

In The Giver, the sled symbolizes Jonas’s first contact with memory, freedom, and a world beyond "Sameness." When The Giver transmits the memory of sledding down a snowy hill, Jonas experiences things his community… read more

There is no snow in Jonas’s community because the community chose "Sameness," including climate control, to make life easier, safer, and more predictable. The Giver explains this after he gives Jonas the memory of… read more