The Giver Quartet, #1
The Giver
by Lois Lowry
Contents
19
Overview
Jonas watches a recording of his father’s “release” of a twin and discovers it is a lethal injection. The revelation shatters Jonas’s trust in his family and Community practices. The Giver confirms Rosemary also died by injection, deepening the moral stakes and clarifying the true nature of release.
Summary
Jonas mentions that his father is releasing a newborn twin that morning. The Giver urges Jonas to watch, explaining that all private ceremonies are recorded and accessible to the Receiver. Using the Hall of Closed Records, they pull up the morning’s release.
On the screen, Jonas’s father and an assistant weigh the identical twins and select the heavier infant to keep. Jonas expects a comforting ceremony, but his father prepares a syringe and injects the lighter twin through a scalp vein. The baby jerks, goes limp, and lies still.
As Jonas waits for a next step, memory connects the infant’s stillness to the dying soldier he once saw in a transmitted memory. Realization hits: his father has killed the baby. Jonas watches in shock as his father places the body in a carton and sends it down a chute, cheerfully saying goodbye.
The Giver then recounts Rosemary’s release: after applying for it, she was brought a syringe and chose to inject herself. This confirmation reframes release as state-sanctioned death, and Jonas, overwhelmed by betrayal and horror, feels pain swelling into a cry.
Who Appears
- JonasReceiver-in-training; watches the twin’s release recording and realizes it is a killing, shattering his trust.
- The GiverGuides Jonas to view the release; reveals Rosemary’s self-injection, clarifying the true nature of release.
- Father (Nurturer)Performs the release of the lighter twin by lethal injection and disposes of the body, unaware of the moral horror.
- RosemaryFormer Receiver who applied for release and injected herself; her fate confirms release equals death.
- Assistant NurturerHelps weigh the twins and takes the heavier infant to the Center.
- Newborn twinLighter-weight infant selected for release; lethally injected and discarded.