The Giver Quartet, #1
The Giver
by Lois Lowry
Contents
20
Overview
Shattered by witnessing release, Jonas refuses to return home and spends the night with The Giver. They devise a detailed escape during the December Ceremony so Jonas’s memories will return to the community. The Giver chooses to remain to guide the people and reveals Rosemary was his daughter, and his own “hearing-beyond” was music.
Summary
Reeling from the recording of his father killing the twin, Jonas breaks down and refuses to go home. The Giver calms Jonas, explains the community’s ignorance, and confirms release means death for all, including the Old. Jonas despairs over Fiona’s role and his father’s lies, then apologizes for lashing out.
They eat and resolve that the way things are must change. The Giver describes the burden of loneliness and the need to share memories. He proposes a plan he realized after Jonas saw the release: Jonas must escape so the memories he holds will return to the people, forcing the community to feel and learn.
Jonas agrees but begs The Giver to come. The Giver refuses, explaining he must remain to help the community bear the flood of memories, as there is no ready replacement Receiver. He notes his own weakening and loss of color vision but promises to give Jonas memories of courage and strength for the journey.
They finalize logistics: Jonas will leave at midnight before the Ceremony, slip unseen to the Annex where The Giver will wait, hide in a vehicle The Giver arranges, and depart while the Ceremony occupies everyone. The Giver will return, declare Jonas lost in the river, lead a Ceremony of Loss, and then guide the people through the released memories.
Jonas returns home and lies smoothly about his night as they rehearse the plan over the coming days. In a final exchange, The Giver reveals his unique “hearing-beyond” was music and offers to share it. Jonas declines, wanting The Giver to keep it. The Giver then discloses that Rosemary was his daughter, giving personal weight to his choice to stay and help the community change.
Who Appears
- JonasTraumatized by release, agrees to escape so memories return; rehearses detailed plan and refuses to let The Giver join.
- The GiverGuides Jonas through grief, devises escape plan, chooses to remain to help the community; reveals Rosemary was his daughter and mentions music.
- Jonas’s fatherOffstage presence; his killing of the twin fuels Jonas’s crisis and resolve to flee.
- RosemaryRevealed as The Giver’s daughter; her loss motivates his decision to stay and help the community.
- FionaDiscussed as being trained in release without feelings, deepening Jonas’s disillusionment.