Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors
used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Newchild Gabriel
For Jonas, the newchild Gabriel is a symbol of hope and
of starting over. Babies frequently figure as symbols of hope and
regeneration in literature, and in The Giver this
makes perfect sense: Gabriel is too young to have absorbed the customs
and rules of the community, so he is still receptive to the powerful
memories that Jonas transmits to him. Jonas takes Gabriel with him
to save Gabriel’s life, but his gesture is also symbolic of his
resolve to change things, to start a new life Elsewhere. His struggles
to keep Gabriel alive reflect his struggles to maintain his ideals
in the face of difficulty.
The Sled
The sled, the first memory Jonas receives from the Giver,
symbolizes the journey Jonas takes during his training and the discoveries
he makes. It is red, a color that symbolizes the new, vital world
of feelings and ideas that Jonas discovers. Before he transmits
the memory, the Giver compares the difficulty he has in carrying
the memories to the way a sled slows down as snow accumulates on
its runners. The novelty and delight of the downhill ride are exhilarating,
and Jonas enjoys the ride in the same way that he enjoys accumulating
new memories. But the sled can be treacherous, too: the first memory
of extreme pain that he experiences involves the sled. Pleasure
and pain are inevitably related on the sled, just as they are in
the memories. When, at the end of the novel, Jonas finds a real
sled, it symbolizes his entry into a world where color, sensation,
and emotion exist in reality, not just in memory.
The River
The river, which runs into the community and out of it
to Elsewhere, symbolizes escape from the confines of the community.
When little Caleb drowns in the river, it is one of the few events
that the community cannot predict or control, and Jonas and the
Giver are inspired to try to change the community by the idea of
the river’s unpredictable behavior.
