The Giver exercise booklet

CHAPTER 1

1. What is meant by “the Elevens”, “the Sevens”, etc..?  People at the age of Seven or Eleven.
2. What does it mean to be “released”?  Being kicked out of the community.
3. Describe the jobs Jonas’ mother and father have. His father has the odd job of taking care of small children until they are old enough to be given to a ‘family unit’. Somewhat like an orphanage. His mother is our society’s equivalent of a lawyer.
4. What is your impression thus far of Jonas's community? I think it’s really manufactured and that there’s is probably a stronger force managing this that will probably be challenged at some point of the story.
5.  How would you feel if your parents had a feelings ritual? That is, every evening you would share your feelings or concerns with your family members. I don’t think I’d really like it. It’d be unnecessary. Our worries and concerns are first world problems and I’d just be bored.

CHAPTER 2

1. What is the “Ceremony of 12”?  

It’s the last ceremony of a child, it occurs in December. They get assigned a job based off of their skilllz.

1. What happens when children become Ones? Nines?  

When they become ones, they get given to family units. When they turn nine they remove their hair ribbons and get a bicycle.

1. Who is the Receiver and how are rules changed? (p.14)  
2. Who is Gabriel and why is Jonas’ father worried about him (ch.1)? Gabriel is a child in the nursery that he works at. He is special because the night crew think he might be released.
3. If some older people in your community were to observe you, what job do you think they'd give you and why? I think they’d give me a job that’s simple to do and that if you mess up it’s not a big deal (maybe like a cook, just because the food doesn’t taste good, doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world) because I am not a trustworthy person.
4. In your family or community, how is a child's coming into a family different than the way it is described in Chapter 2? In my community, birthmothers have the option of keeping and raising their child or to put them up for adoption. For Jonas’ community, the birthmothers have to put their children in a nursery.

CHAPTER 3

1. What is different about Jonas’ eyes?  His eyes are a light color, the rest of his community have dark eyes.
2. Explain the role of the “Birthmother”.  They’re the women that give birth to the kids that end up in a nursery and in a family unit that is not theirs.
3. What did Jonas notice about the apple?   What do you think happened to the apple?

The apple was different, darker when it was in the air. Maybe someone was spying on them and shined a light.

1. Did Jonas get punished for taking the apple? What was done to make him feel remorseful?

No, he just got called out for it. 

1. In your family or community, how is a child's coming into a family different than the way it is described in Chapter 2?

CHAPTER 4

1. What happens to Eights?

The Eights get to do voluntarily work at any job they liked. It’s practically the only time they get the freedom of choice.

1. Where does Jonas spend his volunteer hours? What does he do? What do you learn?

He spent them in various places, including the Food Distribution and the House of the Old. During these hours he basically does the same job an adult would.

1. What is the ‘celebration’ discussed in this chapter? What happens at release?

The celebration is the event held right before they release an elderly. Neither Larissa nor Jonas know what happens after they get released or where they end up.

1. Do you think the rule against bragging is a good one? Why or why not?

I don’t think they’re necessary. It’s already somewhat of an unspoken rule in our society. I just think that making it a specific rule is ridiculous because it lowers children’s self-esteems because no one ever compliments them in fear of an awkward situation.

1. What do you think about release now?

I think when they say release they, as some would say, mean the ‘Sweet Release of Death’ therefore the people who have been released die. My guess is based off of when people get released, when they’re really old or when they do something really wrong.

CHAPTER 5

1. What did his parents call his feelings of ‘wanting’?  

His mother called it ‘Stirrings’.

1. What did Jonas have to do because of his dream?  

He has to take a pill every morning to prevent the ‘Stirrings’ from coming back.

1. At one point, the clean-up of meals is referred to in this chapter. How do you think meals are prepared and served?

I think that the people that work (or volunteer depending on the age) at the Food Distribution give out the food and that the family unit just heat them up.

1. Explain in your own words what happened to Jonas in this chapter and what effect the pills have on him?

Jonas had a dream about Fiona. He talked about it to his parents and sister during the morning ritual and his mother gave him a pill to ‘treat the stirrings’. Later on, when he was leaving his Dwelling Unit, he couldn’t remember the dream anymore.

1. At this point, what good elements do you find in the society of the community? What seems inappropriate to you? Explain your reasons.

I think the only good thing about his society is that they have Food Distribution, therefore implying that everybody is well fed and no one is starving. I find everything else, from explaining everything to you parents to being ‘released’, very off putting.

WORD DEFINITION

At first, this sounds like a perfectly normal world… just a little odd, but peaceful and quiet. But the people use some unusual terms to tip you off that this is not really our world. Use context clues in the book to define each of these words:

Chapters 1 & 2

Nurturer :  A care taker for babies.

Nurturing Center : A place where babies are kept until the age of 1.

Naming : Giving the baby a name once they turn 1.

Receiver:

Assignment: Being assigned a job once you turn 12.

Comfort object : A toy that the child likes to play with.

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