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Lois Lowry's Critically Acclaimed Dystopian Novel "The Giver
1.
2. Written by Lois Lowry
Attended University of Maine - majored in writing.
Didn’t start writing professionally until she was in her mid-30s
Author of over 20 novels
Very talented writer she won many awards including
the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award.
the Boston Globe – Horn Book Award.
the California Young Reader’s Medal.
the Mark Twain Award.
Her father had lost most of his long-term memory.
3. GENRE :Young adult; science fiction; fantasy;
dystopia
The story is told completely from Jonas’s point
of view.
Time : An unspecified time in the future
Place :A utopian community
Like the Native American oral language their
history is not written down and can be lost
forever if the receiver dies.
4. In Jonas's utopia everything is controlled by "the
Elders," right down to who you will marry, who
you receive as children, and what you will be
"assigned" as a career. There is no individuality,
everybody is the same except Jonas, the giver and
Gabriel. They have the ability to see colors, here
music and most importantly they have memories.
Jonas receives memories from the giver and sees
the faults in his utopia and wants to change
things in his community for the better.
5. every aspect of a person's life is carefully
planned.
People rarely make choices on their own
everything is decided for them by the
community.
People in the community do not do
anything that is different.
There is no colors or music, no animals
or nature.
6. paradise comes to mind when you think about their
utopia and its people.
The idea of Sameness
Everyone wears the same things
No crimes
No criticism
No discrimination
No wars
7. Jonas Giver
Eleven-year-old The old man known in
protagonist of The the community as the
Giver Receiver of Memory.
Sensitive and Uses his wisdom to help
intelligent, with strange the Committee of Elders
powers of perception, make important
he is chosen to be the decisions
new Receiver of Haunted by memories
Memory for his of suffering and pain for
community carrying the memories
He and the giver can see for an entire community
colors, feel emotions of people
Teaches Jonas
8. Lily
• Jonas’s seven-year-
Fiona
old sister. Gabriel
• Talks a lot Jonas’s friends.
• New child that
• She is like a normal She has red hair,
kid but well- Jonas’s family
cares for at which only Jonas
informed for a little can see, and works
girl. night
• has trouble as a Caretaker in
Asher sleeping at the House of the
Jonas’s best friend night unless Old.
speaks too fast, Jonas puts him Has erotic dream
mixing up his to sleep with about Fiona.
words to the some memories
Doesn’t like his • Jonas becomes
teachers very close to
Assistant Director him.
of Recreation.
9. After Jonas receives memories form the giver his
new emotional and his new awareness cause him
to rebel against the restrictions his society places
on freedom of choice, individuality, emotion, and
human experience.
10. Written form Jonas's point of view
There is no freedom of choice or expression
everyone looks and acts the same
When a child turns twelve the elders gives
them a job in the community based on his or
her abilities and interests.
You apply a spouse or sometime they assign
one , and each couple is assigned exactly two
children each.
11. If your break the rules of the community you
are released.
When Jonas turns twelve he is given the highly
honored Job of “Receiver of Memory” - keeper
of the community’s memory.
Jonas starts to see faults in the community.
Jonas rebels against the community.
12. The Importance of:
self expression
individuality
life experience
rules and order
Loneliness
13. “We really have to protect people from wrong
choices.”
“ Jonas did not take his pill. Something within
him, something that had grown there through
the memories, told him to throw the pill
away.”
"The worst part of holding the memories is not
the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need
to be shared.”
14. "Reading Lois Lowry's 'The Giver' as an Adult." The Atlantic Wire.
N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013.