The Giver Themes In novels author communicate big

+ The Giver

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

+ 7 Basic Plots in Fiction (short stories and novels) n Overcoming the monster: The hero must destroy the “monster” to restore balance to the world. n Rags to Riches: A good guy who is down on his luck achieves a happy ending when his/her natural talents are revealed n The Quest: The hero travels in search of a treasure and must defeat evil and overcome powerful odds. n Voyage and Return: Otherwise normal protagonists find themselves in an alien world & must make their way back

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

+ 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) n. Jonas (round/dynamic) n. Asher (flat/static) n. Jonas’ mother n. The n. Jonas’ father n. Gabriel n. Lily Giver

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

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

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

+ The Title: always ask how the title links to a theme n. In The Giver, the title reflects the central theme: Humans are mean to share experiences n. 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? Can we trust him/her? n 1 st person (pronouns: I, my, we, our, us) n n Personal, intense, subjective, emotional Limited? Then the reader only knows the thoughts of one of the characters Or 2 nd person (pronouns: you, your) n n Omniscient? Then the reader Reader is the center of attention knows the thoughts of all (e. g. instructions) characters 3 rd person (pronouns: they, him, her, it) n Objective when used for research or reports n Subjective when used for an “as told to” story n Reminder: the narrator /persona is NOT the same as the author

+ Symbols/Allegory/Imagery: What stands for something else? Look for two meanings n Symbols: a thing that represents something deeper and more meaningful n Allegory: a story where the characters and events are symbols for ideas about human life n The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe n Imagery: language that causes the reader to imagine pictures in their minds (comparisons, appeals to the senses) n Examples of symbols in The Giver: n n n 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 n The Giver inciting incident: “Ceremony of Twelve” n Rising Action: Jonas in named as the Received & finds out how difficult it is, and he becomes alienated from his society n Climax: Jonas watches his father kill the baby n Falling action: Escape to Elsewhere n Conclusion: Uncertain

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

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

+ Perspective n 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? n Why does it affect us this way? n What is more important: how they released or why they released? n Ideas Lowry wants us to note: secrecy, euphemisms, order/systematic procedures