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1-Page Summary of The Giver
Overview
Jonas is nervous when he thinks about the Ceremony of Twelve, where they will give him his Assignment. He feels like it’s going to change his life for good. His parents comfort him and tell him that everything will be fine after the ceremony, because the committee has been observing them closely and knows what Jonas should do with his life.
Jonas’s father brings home a new child who needs extra care, and they call him Gabriel. Lily decides to volunteer at the Nurturing Center after she turns nine. Jonas recalls seeing an apple suddenly change before returning to its original color. The next day, he joins Asher and Fiona at the House of Old where Larissa tells him about Roberto’s release ceremony. After that, Roberto will go Elsewhere. Then Jonas has his first Stirrings dream involving Fiona but takes pills to suppress them later on in life.
Jonas is excited to be assigned the new Receiver of Memory for his community. It’s an important position that requires intelligence, courage, and a capacity to see beyond what others can. The ceremony begins normally until the Chief Elder skips Jonas in assigning him a job. However, they announce he has been selected as the new Receiver of Memory for their community which makes up for it.
Jonas feels nervous and isolated at his selection, and the instructions he receives are strange because they allow him to be rude, ask questions, and lie. However, he is not allowed to take medication for training or apply for release. The old Receiver (The Giver) tells Jonas that he is now the new Receiver of memories from generations of people in the community. He will have to receive these memories by touch as well as remembrance. Jonas’s first memory is of sledding down a snowy hill; The Giver explains that after Sameness was established there were no more snowy hills because it wasn’t needed anymore. Next comes sunshine and sunburn so Jonas can feel pain during his training session with The Giver.
Jonas realizes that Fiona has changed her hair, which is a sign that she can see color. Jonas tells The Giver about it, who concludes that Jonas can see color. Scientists tried to eliminate all colors in the beginning of Sameness but were not entirely successful. Jonas and The Giver discuss how Sameness eliminates individual choice, although it might have made the world safer by eliminating the possibility of bad choices such as choosing mates for marriage (although as Receiver, he’ll never be able to share his whole life with someone because he cannot speak of his work). They also discuss the previous Receiver’s failure after which unwanted memories escaped into their community and caused havoc.
The Giver wants to pass on his memories, but the Elders don’t want them. So he passes some of his memories onto Jonas. He gives him a broken leg and later more serious pains such as starvation and neglect. These are important lessons that help the community govern better by helping them understand what it’s like to experience these things. At home, Jonas discovers that Gabriel is capable of receiving memories, too; at training, he eventually helps ease The Giver’s suffering by taking from him a terrible memory of war. As recompense for this gift (and because they’re friends), The Giver transmits some joyful memories including family members and love—all missing in the community’s family units. But Jonas instinctively feels that the absence of love is wrong despite his initial denial based on what society has taught him about not feeling certain emotions or using certain words like “love.” Others in society do not understand why he thinks this way since they’ve never felt anything different than how their society works now; therefore others think it’s normal to feel no emotion whatsoever towards one another besides friendship/camaraderie with other people in your group/community etc…
