The Giver

Themes: In novels, author communicate “big ideas” about certain topics Themes: In novels, author communicate “big ideas” about certain topics. What is Lowry trying to tell us about: Memories & the Past Language Isolation Rules, Order & Tradition Suffering Old Age Choices Emotions

7 Basic Plots in Fiction (short stories and novels) Overcoming the monster: The hero must destroy the “monster” to restore balance to the world. Rags to Riches: A good guy who is down on his luck achieves a happy ending when his/her natural talents are revealed The Quest: The hero travels in search of a treasure and must defeat evil and overcome powerful odds. Voyage and Return: Otherwise normal protagonists find themselves in an alien world & must make their way back http://socialmediatoday.com/tommyismyname/383348/7-story-archetypes-and-how-they-can-dramatically-improve-your-marketing Christopher Booker

Comedy: (As in Shakespeare) Some kind of confusion must be resolved before the hero and heroine can get back together Tragedy: (As in Shakespeare) A story about a noble character who falls from grace: everybody dies or is ruined Rebirth: A threat seems nearly victorious, but events lead to redemption, rebirth, and happiness.

Character Analysis Protagonist/Antagonist Development: Character Analysis Protagonist/Antagonist Development: flat (one-sided character, one quality) round (both the good & the bad, many qualities) Change: static (does not change) dynamic (changes – internal) Jonas (round/dynamic) Asher (flat/static) Jonas’ mother The Giver Jonas’ father Gabriel Lily

Setting: Time and Place The Giver: in the future/our world Utopia No suffering (emotional/physical) No fighting/war Perfect families Restricted emotions contentment Dystopia Does not feel joy No genuine relationships No love/sexual attraction No choices Isolation Tyranny (oppressive gov’t) (ruled by oligarchy = rule by a group)

Genre: categories of text The Giver Utopian Other genres Science fiction Essay Nonfiction Biography Oral literature Fantasy Realistic fiction Historical fiction

Style: they way it is written The Giver: straightforward narrative (story) Other terms to describe style: Flowery Simple language; shorter sentences; not childish Conversational Euphemistic Formal Poetic Vague (not clear) Wordy

The Title: always ask how the title links to a theme In The Giver, the title reflects the central theme: Humans are mean to share experiences A “giver” and “receiver” tells us that memories are meant to be shared in order for people to love & grow & thrive.

Point of View: Who is the narrator. Can he/she read minds Point of View: Who is the narrator? Can he/she read minds? Can we trust him/her? 1st person (pronouns: I, my, we, our, us) Limited? Then the reader only knows the thoughts of one of the characters Personal, intense, subjective, emotional Or 2nd person (pronouns: you, your) Omniscient? Then the reader knows the thoughts of all characters Reader is the center of attention (e.g. instructions) 3rd person (pronouns: they, him, her, it) Reminder: the narrator /persona is NOT the same as the author Objective when used for research or reports Subjective when used for an “as told to” story

Symbols/Allegory/Imagery: What stands for something else Symbols/Allegory/Imagery: What stands for something else? Look for two meanings Symbols: a thing that represents something deeper and more meaningful Allegory: a story where the characters and events are symbols for ideas about human life The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Imagery: language that causes the reader to imagine pictures in their minds (comparisons, appeals to the senses) Examples of symbols in The Giver: The color red = fire, intensity, love Gabriel = a better future The sled = memories, escape

Plot Parts: inciting incident, rising action & complication, climax, falling action conclusion The Giver inciting incident: “Ceremony of Twelve” Rising Action: Jonas in named as the Received & finds out how difficult it is, and he becomes alienated from his society Climax: Jonas watches his father kill the baby Falling action: Escape to Elsewhere Conclusion: Uncertain

Types of Conflict Man vs man/society Man vs nature Man vs self

Analyze the Ending Jonas abandons security and a life of ease Jonas clearly is seeking freedom and choice (even a choice to live) Two choices: do Gabe and Jonas live or die? Both outcomes turn the society upside down Live: trailblazers Die: memories are released for the community to deal with

Perspective How did the idea of “release” as it had been discussed earlier in the book differ from the visual imagery of the newchild’s actual release? Why does it affect us this way? What is more important: how they released or why they released? Ideas Lowry wants us to note: secrecy, euphemisms, order/systematic procedures