The Giver By Lois Lowry: Chapter Analysis

Imagine living in a society where all freedoms are stripped from you and your life is restricted. In The Giver, Jonas lives in a society where his job, spouse, even down to his family are chosen for him. After he is assigned the Receiver as his lifelong job, he learns the secrets of his society and is forced to retain memories the elders did not want the community to have. He decides he wants to leave his new life and the community. In the end of the book, the author, Lois Lowry, leaves the fates of Jonas and Gabriel up to the reader. Although some do not believe that Jonas and Gabriel survive and make it to Elsewhere, the entire last chapter supports the idea that Jonas and Gabriel survive and make it to Elsewhere. This is true because Gabriel is good news for the new community they arrive in, the Giver knew that Elsewhere existed when he gave Jonas the memories, and also because Lois Lowry confirms that Jonas and the baby make it to the community.

In chapter 11, Jonas receives his first memory. This is illustrated on page 81 “Beyond, through the swirl of what he now, somehow, perceived was the thing the old man had spoken of — snow” Later that page it says “The ground was thick with the furry snow, but he sat slightly above it on a hard, flat object. Sled, he knew abruptly. He was sitting on a thing called sled… Even as he thought the word ''mound," his new consciousness told him hill” (Lowry 81). These quotes illustrate snow and sledding on a hill, something Jonas has never experienced before. Later in the last chapter it says “Using his final strength, and a special knowledge that was deep inside him, Jonas found the sled that was waiting for them at the top of the hill.” Clearly here is a correlation here. With the evidence from the book, it can be concluded that the Giver knew about the elsewhere and the sled that could be