The Giver Ch. 11-12

         Chapter 11 begins as Jonas starts to receive the memory of snow.  At first, he feels the man's hands on his back, but then he stops to feel the hands and he begins to feel cold.  Suddenly, he is sitting on a hard surface, and he feels the snowflakes falling on him.  Through the snow, he sees the view below him, and realizes he is on a high place- called a hill- that he never experienced before.  He realizes that he is sitting on something called a sled, and then he begins to slide downhill on the sled.  He goes faster and faster, feeling very exhilarated, until he gets to the bottom of the hill and stops.  

          After he finished getting the memory and wakes up in the room, he asks the man some questions.  "Why don't we have snow, and sleds, and hills?" he asks.  The old man answers, "Climate control... it wasn't practical, so we got rid of it when we went to Sameness."  Then, the old man transmits a memory of sunshine, which also doesn't exist anymore due to Climate Control and Sameness.  Finally, Jonas asks about pain, so the old man gives him a memory of sunburn.  

 

           Before he goes home Jonas asks the old man a question.  He says, "I don't know your name.  I thought you were The Receiver, but you say that now I'm The Receiver.  So I don't know what to call you."

          "Call me The Giver," the old man told Jonas.  

          Chapter 12 starts the next day, as Jonas gets ready for school after his first day of training.  Today, everything feels a little different from before.  All his friends at school are talking excitedly about their first day of training, but Jonas is not allowed to talk about his training, so he can only listen.  After school, he rides to training with Fiona again, and she tells him about her training.  Jonas apologizes when she tells him that she waited for him after training last night, but he can't tell her anything about training, so he feels awkard.  Before she goes in for her training, he suddenly sees her hair change- the same way the apple had changed- in a way that he can't describe.  He decides to ask The Giver about the indescribable changes he has seen.  

          When Jonas tells the Giver about the changes he has seen, The Giver asks him a question about the sled memory.  He tells Jonas to remember the sled again, but this time, to look down at the sled.  Jonas remembers the sled and looks down.  The sled has that same indescribable quality as the apple and Fiona's hair!  But the sled doesn't change back, it just stays that way.

    

          Jonas tells this to The Giver, and the Giver explains that Jonas is seeing the color Red.  The apple is red, Fiona's hair is red, and the sled in the memory was red.  But the sled didn't change, because at the time of the memory, the world still had color.  Now, scientists have tried to take away all the color, but a little bit of color still remains.  Most people can't see it, but Jonas has the special ability to see color.  Jonas asks The Giver, "do you see colors?"  The Giver replies that he sees all the colors.  Then, The Giver transmits the memory of a rainbow to Jonas, to help him see all the colors.  

Vocabulary-

snow, hill, sled, downhill, sunburn, climate control, sameness

exhilarated, awkward, apologize, transmit, indescribable, rainbow

Comprehension Questions-

1.  Why doesn't Jonas' community have different kinds of land and weather?

2.  What is Jonas' first memory of pain?

3.  What is the "indescribable quality" that Jonas sees in the apple, Fiona's hair, and the sled?

4.  Why can't people see color in Jonas' world?

5.  What memory does The Giver transmit to Jonas to help him learn about colors?

*Think- Why do you think the old man wants Jonas to call him "The Giver"?

The Giver Ch. 10

          Chapter ten begins as Jonas goes to the Annex for his first day of training as Receiver of Memory.  He enters the building and speaks to the Attendant there.  He feels surprised because she stands up to show respect for him, and then she unlocks the door to the Receiver's room.  No one ever locks doors in Jonas' community, so this makes him uncomfortable.  The Attendant explains that the doors are locked to make sure no one bothers the Receiver while he is working- there is no danger.  Jonas goes into the Receiver's room and finds that it is different from all the other rooms in the community.

The fabric on the furniture is more luxurious, the wood is carved instead of plain, and bed cover is embroidered with intricate designs.  But the biggest difference is the large bookcases filled with hundreds, or even thousands, of books!  Until now, Jonas has never seen any books except for the dictionary, the Book of Rules, and the community book.  No one else knows that other books exist.

          The Receiver welcomes Jonas, saying, "Welcome, Receiver of Memory."
          Jonas is confused. He protests apologetically, "you are the Receiver of Memory.  I'm only, well, I was only assigned, I mean selected, yesterday.  I'm not anything at all.  Not yet."
          The Receiver explains, "Beginning today, this moment, at least to me, you are the Receiver."  He tells Jonas that he has been the Receiver for a long time, and although his job has great honor, it is also a great burden.  He is very tired and he needs to train his successor, because his job is very important.  But he is not allowed to talk about his job, so he doesn't know how to explain everything very well.  And the last time he tried to train a successor, he failed.  So he will try to explain everything, but if it's not clear to Jonas, he wants Jonas to ask questions.
          Jonas has a lot of questions, but he doesn't know which one to ask yet.  So he stays quiet and lets the man continue speaking.  The man thinks, sighs, and speaks again.  "My job is to transmit to you all the memories I have within me.  Memories of the past."
          Jonas still doesn't understand.  He thinks the man is talking about his own memories, so the man explains more.  "It's not my past, not my childhood that I must transmit to you.  It's the memories of the whole world.  Before you, before me, before the previous Receiver, and generations before him... I received all of those, when I was selected.  And here in this room, all alone, I re-experience them again and again.  It is how wisdom comes.  And how we shape our future."  (pp. 77-78)
          The man tells Jonas he feels so much weight from the memories, and Jonas is concerned.  The man tries to explain what it feels like.  He says it is like going downhill through deep snow on a sled- at first it's exhilarating, but then you have to start pushing hard to keep going.  Jonas doesn't understand what he is talking about.  He has never seen a sled, a hill, or snow.  So the man instructs Jonas to take off his shirt and lie down on the bed, because he is going to transmit the memory of snow.  He puts his hands on Jonas' back...


Vocabulary-
luxurious, carved, embroidered, intricate, exhilarating  (descriptive adjectives)
transmit (an important verb in this chapter)

Grammar Point- Present Perfect Tense
The Present Perfect Tense is used anytime we are talking, in the present time, about something that has been true for some time and is STILL TRUE NOW.  All of the present perfect tenses are in blue.

Ex: Until now, Jonas has never seen any books...
The present perfect tense is formed like this:  HAS/HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE (V3)
he has been the Receiver for a long time
It is often used with "ever" (for questions) or "never" (for statements), because these words show something that has been true a long time (your whole life) until now
He has never seen a sled...
More examples- "Have you ever read The Giver?"  "Yes, I have read it- it's a great book!"

Comprehension Questions:
1.  Why does Jonas feel surprised when he goes to his first day of training?
2.  What is the strangest thing about the Receiver's room?
3.  What does the Receiver need to do in order to train Jonas?
4.  Why does the Receiver have Jonas lie down on the bed?
5.  What is the first memory he gives Jonas?

*  THINK- Why do you think there are no books in Jonas' community?  Why do you think there are no hills and no snow in this community?

The Giver Ch. 8-9

        Chapter Eight begins as Jonas sits, ashamed, at the Ceremony of Twelve.  He has not been given an Assignment.  Instead, he was skipped and all the other children got their Assignments.  Everyone feels confused about this.  Jonas feels humiliation and terror.

        Then, the Chief Elder apologized to Jonas and called him up on stage.  Jonas slowly goes to the stage, and the Chief Elder speaks.  She says, "Jonas has not been assigned- Jonas has been selected."  She explains that Jonas has been selected to be the next Receiver of Memory.  This is the most important job in the community.  Jonas looks at the current Receiver of Memory.  He is a bearded man with pale eyes- eyes just like Jonas.

         The Chief Elder goes on to talk about how important this job is.  It is so difficult that the last person selected to be the Receiver of Memory failed, which was a terrible experience for everyone.  Therefore, the Committee of Elders was very careful about selecting Jonas.  They said that he fit all the requirements for the job of Receiver of Memory- intelligence, integrity, and courage.  He needs courage because the training for this job involves a lot of pain.  In addition, he needs the ability to acquire wisdom.  He also needs to have another quality, called the Capacity to See Beyond.  No one else knows what this means, but Jonas remembers the time when he saw the apple change. He realizes that this might be the Capacity to See Beyond.  The Chief Elder leaves the stage, and everyone cheers for Jonas.  Everyone is very proud of him, and he also feels proud, but he also feels afraid.


          Chapter Nine begins as Jonas leaves the Ceremony.  He already feels different from his new job, like he is apart from everyone else.  His friends move aside from him, watch him, and whisper about him.  Asher is still his best friend, but he seems uncertain about how he should act around Jonas.


         At home, Jonas asks his parents about the last person who was selected to become Receiver of Memory.  He asks, "What was his name?"

         "Her, not his," Jonas' mother replies.  "It was a female.  But we are never to speak the name."  Jonas is shocked!  A name that can never be spoken is the worst punishment that can happen to anyone.

       "What happened to her?"  Jonas asks.  But his parents don't know.  They just say that they never saw her again.

          Later, in his room, Jonas opens the folder that has all the rules for his new job.  There are only eight rules:

             The last rule says, "You may lie."  Jonas is shocked by this rule.  He thought that people never lie!  What if other adults had received this rule?  How can he ever know what the truth is?

Comprehension Questions:
1.  Why did the Chief Elder skip Jonas?
2.  Jonas was not assigned- he was selected.  What does this mean?
3.  What will Jonas' job be?
4.  What are the qualifications for this job?
5.  What rule about his job is very shocking to Jonas?

* THINK- Why might Jonas need to lie for his job?  

The Giver Ch. 6-7

          Chapter 6 begins as Jonas' family is getting ready for the Ceremonies in December.  Lily is excited because she will be an Eight, so she will begin to do volunteer hours.  All the Eights start volunteer hours.  She is also excited because she will only have to wear her hair ribbons for one more year.  When children turn Nine, they each get a bicycle, and girls don't need to wear hair ribbons anymore.

         Jonas watches all of the ceremonies for children ages One through Eight.  The most exciting ceremony is the Ceremony of One, when the babies get their names and their families.  The rest of the ceremonies are boring for Jonas, and he is very tired at the end of the day.

        The next morning, Jonas is very excited because today is the Ceremony of Twelve!  First, he watches the Ceremony of Nine, when all of the excited nine year old children get their bicycles.  The Ceremonies of Ten and Eleven come next.  They are not very interesting for Jonas, but soon it's time for the Ceremony of Twelve!

        Before the ceremony, Jonas and Asher eat lunch together.  Asher is worried about his Assignment.  He talks about a story of one boy who was not happy with his Assignment.  The story says that the boy swam across the river and ran away from the community.  Jonas tells Asher that the story isn't real, but Asher is still worried.  He says there was one time that a girl applied for release because she wasn't happy in the community, and no one ever saw her again.  Jonas isn't worried, because he thinks everyone is happy.  The Committee of Elders  plans everything very carefully.  For example, when people want a husband or wife, they apply for one.  The Committee of Elders carefully decides who should marry who.  Then, they watch the Match for three years.  If the Match is successful, then they can apply for children.

          In Chapter Seven, the Ceremony of Twelve finally begins.  The elders begin to give the children their Assignments, starting with child number one, and moving up.  Jonas is number nineteen.  He watches Asher get the Assignment of Assistant Director of Recreation.  Jonas is very happy for Asher, because that's a great job for him.  But, he feels more apprehensive as they get close to number nineteen.  When number eighteen is finished and Jonas' turn comes, he feels more calm.  But then, the elders SKIP him!  They don't call his number!  Instead, they call number twenty!  Jonas feel confused, dazed, and humiliated...


Vocabulary:  Signal words that show time and order
the next morning, first, next, soon, before the ceremony, finally

Grammar Point:  "When" clauses

When children turn Nine, they each get a bicycle.

"When" clauses can come before or after the main part of the sentence.  These clauses begin with the word "when," and then they have a subject and a verb.  They describe the time that the main part of the sentence happens.

Examples:
The most exciting ceremony is the Ceremony of One, when the babies get their names and their families.
First, he watches the Ceremony of Nine, when all of the excited nine year old children get their bicycles.

Comprehension Questions:
1.  What will Lily begin to do when she turns Eight?
2.  What do children get when they turn Nine?
3.  How does Asher feel before the Ceremony of Twelve?
4.  What Assignment does Asher receive?
5.  What happens to Jonas during the Ceremony of Twelve?

* THINK- Jonas says that he doesn't worry about people not being happy, because all of the decisions are very carefully made.  The Committee of Elders decides who will marry who, and when a couple is ready to apply for children.  What do you think about this?  Would you be happy in this community?  

The Giver Ch. 4-5

          Chapter four begins with Jonas going to do some volunteer hours at the House of the Old.  He is going with his friends Asher and Fiona to help take care of the old people.  When he gets there, the attendant says that she is happy to have helpers, because they celebrated a release that morning.  When they celebrate a release, it usually makes everything else a little late.

       Jonas and Fiona go to help wash the old people.  Jonas helps an old woman get into a bathtub, and he begins to wash her.  He likes this job, because the woman enjoys it, and Jonas doesn't understand why people have wear clothes all the time.  He thinks the woman seems relaxed, trusting, and free.  While Jonas washes the woman, she tells him about the celebration of release that happened in the morning.  Her friend, Roberto, got released.  Before he got released, his life story had been told, and everyone cheered because his life was very wonderful.  Then, he went to the release room, and he was very happy to be released.  Jonas asks the woman, "Where exactly did Roberto go?"  But the woman doesn't know.


          Chapter five begins the next morning, with the morning ritual.  At this ritual, the family member tell their dreams.  Usually, Jonas doesn't dream, but this morning he has a dream to tell.  He begins to tell his family about the strange dream.

          In the dream, Jonas was in the bathing room at the House of the Old.  But there was only one bathtub, and the only people there were Jonas and Fiona.  Jonas was a little angry, because he wanted Fiona to take off her clothes and get into the tub.  He wanted to bathe her.  He felt a very strong feeling of wanting, but he didn't understand this feeling.

        Jonas' mother and father tell Lily to go to school, but they tell Jonas to wait so they can talk to him.  When Lily is gone, Jonas' mother tells him that his feeling of wanting is called "Stirrings", and those feelings are normal for boys his age.  Jonas knows that when people have "Stirrings" they need to have treatment, so he is unhappy.  He asks his mother what will happen.  She gives him a pill.  She says he needs to take medicine every day for the rest of his life, until he is old.  This medicine takes away all the feelings of wanting that Jonas had from the "Stirrings."

Vocabulary words:  relaxed, trusting, free, treatment, pill, medicine
Words with special meaning for this book: celebration of release, wanting, Stirrings

Comprehension Questions:
1.  What did Jonas do for his volunteer hours?
2.  How did the old people feel about release?
3.  What happened at the celebration of release?
4.  What did Jonas dream about?
5.  What did Jonas have to do to take care of his "Stirrings"?

* THINK- What are "Stirrings"?  Do you think people ever have sex in Jonas' Community?  How do you feel about this?

The Giver Ch. 3

          Chapter Three begins with Jonas and Lily looking at Gabriel, the baby that Father had been so worried about in chapter one.  Father got permission for the baby to stay with their family at night, to give the baby some extra special care.  Lily tells Jonas, "He has funny eyes like yours, Jonas!"  The new baby and Jonas both have pale eyes, which is very unusual in the community.  Almost everyone in the community has the same dark eyes.  There is only one other person in the community, a young girl, who has pale eyes like Jonas and Gabriel.  No one ever talks about it, because it is rude to talk about people's differences in this community.



          Jonas' family puts away the baby's blanket and his comfort object- a soft toy that each baby gets to hold.  Lily asks, "What's his comfort object called?"  Each child's comfort object is a soft, stuffed, imaginary creature.  Lily has one that is called and "elephant."  Jonas' comfort object had been called a "bear," but he is too old to have it now.  Father reads the name of the comfort object, and says that it is called a "Hippo."

           Lily says, "I think newchildren are so cute.  I hope I get assigned to be a Birthmother."  Lily's mother doesn't like that.  She says that being a Birthmother is a bad assignment, because they are lazy for three years while they produce three children, and then they work as Laborers for the rest of their lives.  Father says, "Birthmothers never even get to see newchildren.  If you enjoy the little ones so much, you should hope for an Assignment as a Nurturer."

          While Jonas is thinking about Lily, who is never quiet and always has her hair ribbons untied, he remembers a time when he broke the rules.  It happened last month.  Jonas was playing with his best friend Asher during recreation time.  They were playing catch with an apple.  When the apple was in the air, it changed.  It looked different for a moment, but then it looked normal again.  That happened three times.  Jonas took the apple home to look at it more, and his mistake was announced to the whole community.  Jonas felt embarrassed and confused.  He couldn't describe what had happened, or how the apple had changed.


Vocabulary Words:  
pale, dark, rude, differences, imaginary, creature, recreation, change, embarrassed, confused

Words that have special meaning in this book: (what do they mean in THIS STORY?)
release, comfort object, newchildren, assignment, birthmother, nurturer,

Questions:
1.  What is special about Gabriel?
2.  What job does Lily want to have?
3.  What is a Birthmother's job?
4.  Do Birthmothers get to see their own babies?
5.  What happened to the apple when Jonas looked at it?

* THINK- the story says that animals are "imaginary creatures."  It also talks about eye color as "pale" and "dark"- color is never talked about.  DO YOU THINK THERE ARE ANIMALS IN JONAS' WORLD?  HOW ABOUT COLOR?  WHY?

* THINK- If "Birthmother" is an Assignment (job), and each Birthmother has to have 3 babies, but birthmothers NEVER SEE babies, what happens to babies in Jonas' community?  How are families created?  What do you think about this- is it a good thing?  How do you feel about it?

The Giver Ch. 2

          Chapter Two begins with Jonas' mother and father talking to him about his feelings.  Jonas just told them that he feels apprehensive about the Ceremony of Twelve that will happen in December.  His parents talk about how they felt during the Ceremonies in the past.  Jonas' mother describes how she felt during the Ceremony of One several years ago, when she got Lily.  When babies turned One, they received a name and they were given to a family.  Jonas' mother said that during the ceremony, when she got Lily, she knew she would get a female baby.  She had already applied and she had been approved.  But she didn't know what her baby's name would be, because babies didn't receive a name until they turned One.

          Then, Jonas' father describes how he felt when he was an Eleven, waiting to become a Twelve, just like Jonas.  He was very impatient when he was waiting for the Ceremony of Twelve.  But, he did not feel nervous, because he knew what his Assignment would be.  Before he turned Twelve, he had volunteered a lot at the Nurturing Center, where he had helped take care of the new babies.  Since he had done almost all his volunteer hours at the Nurturing Center, he knew that the elders (community leaders) would give him the Assignment of Nurturer.

          Jonas' father says that all of his friends got Assignments that they liked, because the elders always watched the children during school and volunteer times.  Because they knew the children very well, the elders always gave each child an Assignment that was very good for him or her.  Jonas says that he feels worried about his best friend Asher's Assignment, because Asher is clumsy and has trouble using the right words when he speaks.  Jonas' mother tells him not to worry, because the elders know Asher and they like him, so they will give him a good Assignment.  At the end of this conversation, Jonas feels better, but he is still a little nervous about his Assignment, because he has no idea what kind of job the elders will give him.



At the end of the conversation, Lily comes back in the room.  She complains that the conversation is very long, and she wants her comfort object before she goes to sleep.  Her comfort object is a stuffed elephant, and the people in this community think that it is an "imaginary creature."



Important Words from this chapter-
receive
apply
be approved
assignment
volunteer
elder

Grammar Point- Simple Past and Past Perfect Tense

When we tell a story about something that happened in the past, we use the simple past tense.
But, when we are talking about the past, and we tell about something that happened before the event (which was in the past, so we are already using past tense)... we use past perfect tense.

In this chapter, all of the simple past tense is in purple.  The simple past tense was used when Jonas' mother and father were telling about their feelings in the past.

But, all the past perfect tense is in blue.  This was used when Jonas' mother and father described things that happened before the other events that they were telling the story about.

For example- " ...when she got Lily, she knew she would get a female baby.  She had already applied and she had been approved."

"Before he turned Twelve, he had volunteered a lot at the Nurturing Center, where he had helped take care of the new babies."

I hope this helps you understand Past Perfect Tense a little more!  Watch for it as you read the book!

Comprehension Questions:
1.  What happened when babies turned One?
2.  Do infants have names and families in Jonas' Community?
3.  Where are infants taken care of?  Who takes care of them?
4.  What is an Assignment?
5.  What is Jonas' father's Assignment?

* Do people in Jonas' Community get to choose their own jobs?

The Giver Ch. 1

          Chapter One begins with a boy named Jonas, who is almost twelve years old, thinking about his feelings.  It is November, and Jonas feels... well, he can't describe how he feels.  He almost feels frightened, but not really.  He remembers a time that he really felt frightened.  A year ago, a strange airplane had flown over his community.  His community does not allow airplanes to fly near it, so this experience was very frightening for him.  Also, this airplane was very different from regular airplanes.  It was very small and skinny, like a fighter jet.  Jonas did not know about war, but the leaders told everyone to go inside immediately.  He went inside his house, and the street was completely empty.  Jonas felt very frightened, until it was over and the leaders told everyone that it was safe again.  They said that the pilot had made a mistake, and as a punishment, the pilot would be "released."  "Release" was a very serious word in Jonas' community, because people who were released was kicked out of the community.  They went away and never came back again, and no one knew what happened to them.


          Jonas remembers that time, and he knows that he does not really feel frightened right now.  That was too strong of an adjective.  He feels eager, and excited, about the special event that will happen in December.  But, he also feels very nervous, because he doesn't know what will happen to him in that event.  Finally, Jonas decides that the best word to describe his feeling is apprehensive.

          That night, at home, Jonas shares his feelings with his family.  Every evening, each family in the community has a ritual for telling feelings.  Jonas' little sister, Lily, goes first.  She describes feeling angry on the playground because another boy did not follow the rules.  Jonas' father described feeling worried because one of the babies that he takes care of in the childcare center was not growing very fast, and didn't sleep well.  If the baby doesn't start growing and sleeping better, the leaders might release him.  Jonas' mother talks about feeling frustrated, because she is a judge, and someone had been brought to court for breaking the rules a second time.  If he broke the rules a third time, he would be released.

         Finally, Jonas shares his feelings.  He tells his family that he feels apprehensive about the ceremony in December.  Lily is awed by thinking about this ceremony, called the Ceremony of Twelve, because it is very important.  Then, Jonas' mother and father decide to talk to Jonas about it privately, and they tell Lily to go to her room



Vocabulary Words about Feelings: (please define in your own words)
frightened
eager
excited
nervous
apprehensive
angry
worried
frustrated
awed

Other Vocabulary Words that are important for this story: (define what they mean in this story)
Release
Community
Event
Ceremony

Comprehension Questions:
1.  Why did Jonas feel frightened a year ago?
2.  How does Jonas feel now?
3.  Why does Jonas feel like that?
4.  What do families do in the evening ritual?
5.  Who is in Jonas' family?

* Do you notice anything about this community that is DIFFERENT from our world?  

The Giver Introduction

Hi!

I haven't posted a new blog in a long time.  Now, however, I have a new English class.  They are reading a wonderful book by Lois Lowry, The Giver.  It's a fictional story about a utopian society.  This society tried to take all the bad things out of their world, so they got rid of anything that caused pain.  But, they also got rid of a lot of good things in the process.

The language and vocabulary in this book is very advanced, so I will summarize the chapters here.  Then I will list some important vocabulary words from the chapters, and ask some comprehension questions.  Sometimes I will also explain a grammar point for you.  I hope you enjoy my blog, but please read the book too- it is extremely descriptive and thought-provoking.