The Giver Quartet, #1
The Giver
by Lois Lowry
Contents
12
Overview
Jonas experiences repeated sled dreams and a growing urge to reach an unknown destination. After “seeing beyond” with Fiona’s hair, The Giver confirms Jonas is beginning to perceive the color red and explains that Sameness eliminated color by choice. Jonas recoils at that loss. The Giver advances Jonas’s training by giving him a memory of a rainbow.
Summary
At breakfast, Jonas avoids discussing his dreams, though he has repeatedly dreamed of sledding toward a welcoming, important destination he cannot reach. He heads to school, where the other new Twelves excitedly share first-day training stories he cannot match or reveal.
After school, Jonas rides with Fiona to the House of the Old. As they part, he experiences “seeing beyond” again, noticing a fleeting change in Fiona’s hair. Startled, he decides to ask The Giver about it.
At the Annex, Jonas admits he is late and describes the apple, the faces at the Ceremony, and now Fiona’s hair changing. The Giver tests him by having Jonas recall the sled memory and look carefully; Jonas perceives the sled with the same mysterious quality. He briefly sees it again in the books on the shelf.
The Giver identifies the phenomenon as Jonas beginning to see the color red. He explains that long ago things had colors, but the community chose Sameness, eliminating differences such as color and sunshine. Fiona’s distinctive hair and the apple were red; faces have red tones. Jonas finds the color beautiful and questions why it was taken away.
The Giver notes the community’s trade-offs and is surprised by Jonas’s quick, emphatic rejection of Sameness’s loss. Ending discussion for the day, The Giver continues Jonas’s training and prepares to help him understand color by transmitting a memory of a rainbow.
Who Appears
- JonasNew Receiver; dreams of sledding, sees Fiona’s hair change, learns he’s perceiving the color red, questions Sameness.
- The GiverMentor; tests Jonas’s perception, explains color and Sameness, and gives a rainbow memory.
- FionaFriend and trainee at the House of the Old; her red hair triggers Jonas’s seeing-beyond.
- MotherAsks about Jonas’s dreams at breakfast; notes Gabriel’s fretfulness.
- FatherCares for Gabriel at home; mentions the newchild’s restless nights.
- GabrielNewchild staying with Jonas’s family; fretful at night, present during breakfast.