Study Questions & Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. The ending
of
the giver has been interpreted in a few different
ways. Choose one possible interpretation of the ending and argue
its validity, using clues from the text to explain your conclusions.
2. Among other
things, the community in
the giver eliminates most
traditional distinctions between men and women, but occasionally
stereotypes and customs still exist to distinguish male children
from female children and men from women. What rules remain in place
in the community that differentiate men from women? Why do you think
these specific rules were retained while others were not?
3. In a book like
the
giver, which features a society unlike our own, to whom
some concepts we consider ordinary would seem completely outlandish,
the author must present familiar things—sleds, love, sunburns—with fresh
eyes. Choose something ordinary that is described as extraordinary
in the book, and evaluate Lowry’s success in capturing strangers’
reactions to the familiar object.
Suggested Essay Topics
1. One of the more controversial
topics that Lowry touches upon in the giver is
euthanasia, or the practice of ending someone’s life to ease their
suffering. Jonas’s community practices euthanasia on very old citizens
as well as upon unhealthy newchildren. Jonas’s horror at this practice motivates
him to take drastic measures to reform the society, and yet many
people in our own society consider euthanasia to be a compassionate
practice and one that should be available to all citizens. Discuss
the attitude toward euthanasia as expressed in the giver. Does
the novel condemn, promote, or conditionally accept the practice?
2. It is difficult for us to
imagine a world without color, personal freedoms, and love, but
in the giver, the society relinquishes these things
in order to make room for total peace and safety. Consider the pleasures
and experiences that our own society discourages in order to preserve
the public good (certain recreational drugs, for example.) In the
context of the lessons Jonas learns in the giver, explain
why we should or should not sacrifice an orderly community in order
to allow individuals more spiritually or sensually satisfying experiences.
Where do you think the line between public safety and personal freedom should
be drawn?
3. Read at least one other novel
depicting a dystopian society. What techniques does this society
use to maintain order? How does its structure differ from the community’s
in the giver?
4. Consider the community’s repression
of sexuality in the giver. What function does it
serve in helping the society run smoothly? What dangers does sexuality
pose to a structured community, and how are those dangers different
from the dangers posed by love? If you have read brave new
world by Aldous Huxley, compare that society’s use of sexuality
and promiscuity to keep people from accessing deeper feelings to the
giver’s restriction of sexuality for essentially the same ends.
5. Despite the community’s emphasis
on precise language, language is often used as a tool for social
control in the giver. Choose two or three words
used in the society (examples are release, newchild, Stirrings)
that distort or conceal the meaning of the words we use now in order
to promote the rules and conventions of the community, and describe
how their use affects the behavior and attitudes of the people in
the community.
6. the giver is
one of the most frequently censored books in America, partially
because some critics believe that Lowry is promoting the community
Jonas lives in as an exemplary place to live. Although it might
be extreme to suppose that Lowry supports all of the institutions
that her protagonist rejects, examine the giver’s
attitude toward the community rules and culture. Which aspects of
the community are the targets of the most criticism and condemnation?
Do any aspects of the society escape criticism?
7. Analyze the giver’s
relationship to the social questions that were most frequently discussed
in the early 1990s. To what degree is the
giver a cautionary tale? Who is the object of its warning?
