Talk:The Giver

Sequels

Sorry, but I JUST realized we had a copy of 'Messenger' in the library at work, and I didn't know about 'Gathering Blue', but I shal have to seek it out, then see what I can come up with. Weaponofmassinstruction 05:05, 27 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I've created stubs for the two "sequels"; Gathering Blue also has a scan of the cover. (You may notice that the cover image on this page is slightly less fuzzy, too.) I don't have a copy of Messenger at hand—the copy I read was the one I gave my mother for Xmas. Consequently, I feel much less confident writing about it, so that job is up to someone else. My feeling is that there will be less to work with for these two books, partly because The Giver has been around longer and has been banned in more places. Anville 01:27, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Peer Reviewed - Spoilers?

This website is not true just saying ahhahahahhahahahahha jkjkjkjkjkjkjkjkjkjkjjkjkjjkjkkjkjkjkjkjkjkjkkjk................ :)First, let me say I think it's a damn fine article, and worthy of attention. Second, I'm a bit leery about giving away a bit too much of the major detail as spoilers. You didn't do it overtly, and it makes sense for somebody who has read the book several times, but alluding to 'release' the way it stands now and the links to euthanasia etc at the bottom could lead some readers to figgure out the BEST plot twists that they wouldn't be aware of had they not read the book.

I'm not suggesting that the information given be changed, but I think a fair warning of 'spoilers' fairly early in the article should be given.

Great write, to all major and minor contributors!!! Weaponofmassinstruction 05:12, 27 Jan 2005 (UTC)

While I think it's only cricket to expect spoilers in a section entitled "Plot summary", it's also true that the later sections in this particular article harbor a few as well. Therefore, I've added a spoiler notice immediately before the table of contents.

Thanks for your time, your comments and your approval! Anville 21:39, 27 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Glad to be of help. Weaponofmassinstruction 04:35, 28 Jan 2005 (UTC)

A factual question

I wondered about the last bit of this first-paragraph sentence: "Jonas is selected to inherit the position of "Receiver of Memory", the man who stores all the memories of the time before Sameness, in case they are ever needed." It has been a while since I read the book, but I thought that the memories were secreted away so that the rest of the population wouldn't have to feel or deal with the pain they included, rather than because they might be needed later. Am I missing something? Totoro 05:14, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)

The Committee of Elders calls upon the Receiver when they need the wisdom the memories provide. The Giver tells Jonas about two examples, once when the Committee considered increasing the population and once when an errant jet pilot flew over the Community by mistake. The memories are kept because the Elders know they will need the wisdom from time to time, but they are restricted to one individual, the Receiver, to protect the citizens from the pain memories cause.

I thought the phrasing was clear enough, but if it's not, I welcome modifications. Anville 20:54, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Rosemary

Under the plot summary, it is stated that Rosemary was the Giver's daughter, and that this "fact" was a revelation, reading almost like some sort of plot twist.

"The Giver then reveals that he also had a child named Rosemary, who was the previously selected Receiver of Memory."

However, I don't see how it can be explicitly stated that the two were in fact literally father and daughter. In this society, the people do not father their own children. The children are born of designated birth mothers, with some unknown amount of genetic engineering thrown in, and then raised by foster parents. Did the Giver track down his own sperm, and trace it to this particular girl? We don't know.

I think this part of the book should be left open to interpretation, and not stated in the summary as a revelation. The Giver referring to Rosemary as his daughter can just as easily be a metaphorical statement of the deep love he felt for Rosemary, much like the love that had developed between Jonas and the Giver. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mrrmv (talk • contribs) 01:28, 24 July 2011 (UTC)

This is an apt observation! An illustration of how the book is in many ways a tangled, confused mess; no definite, clear understanding/explanation can be obtained from the contents. As an impressionistic fantasy, it can be an interesting exploration of some profound ideas and questions about life. But although it is specific enough to invite attempts to understand the details, they don't actually make consistent sense in the end. -71.174.183.177 (talk) 15:07, 18 March 2015 (UTC)\

The Giver said Rosemary was his daughter, whatever that means.2601:640:4080:3CC0:D092:420:4319:33B0 (talk) 13:01, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

ALERT - Vandalism on the Article

Please take note of a high increase in vandalism-related edits on the article. As of 12th June 2013, there has been about 18 reverts since May and many of them are due to vandalism. For instance, I found an edit by User 24.46.57.113 irrelevant as he deleted a huge chunk of the article without leaving a proper edit summary, which made the article very disorganized and weird. TO ALL USERS: Let's try to minimize vandalism on this article ! L. Zheng Wei (talk) 1:24, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

Plot Summary- Ending

We should keep the plot summary as is, before Doubletoasted01 edits. The ending is ambiguous and the author's response to the ambiguous ending are best kept in the plot section. Unless we want to edit the ending plot section to something more like: "Jonas, as he lay freezing in the snow with the infant Gabriel, has a final vision of sledding down a hill toward a brightly lit house filled with warmth, love and music."--Knulclunk (talk) 03:38, 18 June 2015 (UTC)

External links modified

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There's a missing paragraph in the plot summary that MUST be filled in.

"Jonas, who is eleven years old, is apprehensive about the upcoming Ceremony of Twelve, where he will be assigned his career or his "assignment in the community". In his society, little privacy is allowed; even private houses have two-way intercoms which can be used to listen in for infractions of the rules. However, the rules appear to be readily accepted by all, including Jonas.

Yet, under the guidance of the present Receiver, a surprisingly kind man who has the same rare, pale eyes as Jonas, the boy absorbs memories that induce for the first time feelings of true happiness and love. Also, for the first time, Jonas knows what it is to see a rainbow, and to experience snow and the thrill of riding a sled down a hill. But then he is given the painful memories: war, pain, death, and starvation. These are memories of the Community's deep past. Jonas learns that the Community engineered a society of "sameness" to protect its people against this past, yet he begins to understand the tremendous loss he and his people have endured by giving their memories away, embracing "sameness", and using "climate control"."

In between these paragraphs is a huge jump that leaves out a number of important plot details.

Why it is unbalanced

The second paragraph is subject to spin. It shows only the good side of the book and no criticism. It could be reworded to be more neutral.