Text and Color Key

In my blog, I have many different colors that I used. Each of these colors represent a part of my blog.

• The purple text represents the summary of what happened in those chapters.
• The pink text represents the connections that I made with Gathering Blue.
• The orange text represents the possible question at the end of the post.
• The light blue text represents the quotes from the the Giver that I took from the book.
• Links may appear to be a lot of different colors on my blog, if the word is a different color than the rest of the text or if the word is underlined it is a link.

In the picture below, I have the changing apple. This apple is special because, it is the first object that Jonas sees as red.

My Opinion - The Giver

I loved this book. It had so many details and a lot of figurative language. The story line was wonderful. Even though I have strong feelings about this book and would recommend it to anyone, It was boring at times. My favorites genre of books is realistic fiction. This story is not really realistic fiction, so I did not like it as much as I would if it was realistic fiction. Write your opinion in the comments link under this post!!!!!

~ Chapter 21, 22, 23 ~

In these chapters Jonas finds out that Gabe would be released. Jonas could not believe what he was hearing. To save Gabe, Jonas will take Gabe with him on his journey. When leaving, Jonas broke three rules. Two of which were stealing. Gabe was sleeping soundly in the seat on the back of the bike. Jonas circled the outlying communities with there dark streets. When it was morning Jonas stopped to eat breakfast. Now it was time to sleep. They would sleep during the day in with the cover of trees and bushes, and ride at night so they would not be seen.

Now days had passed and there were search planes flying overhead. When the drone of the engines came, Jonas putted over to take cover so they would not be seen. Gabe had taught himself to yell "Plane. Plane" when he heard the drone or saw one of the planes. The longer they were gone, the less planes there were so they had to hide less often.

The roads started to change now along with the scenery. Dark and thick forests formed on the sides of the roads. The roads were getting narrower and harder to ride on. One night, Jonas fell when he hit a rock. Gabe was fine, but Jonas twisted his ankle and it soon became swollen. Since there were no more planes, Jonas biked in the daylight. Soon they ran out of food and Jonas had to catch fish in order to survive. The weather was changing. It was becoming colder. Jonas could see that Gabe was becoming weaker due to lack of food. Jonas was not sure if he could save him.

Jonas was determined to keep going. Even though it was getting colder, he did not turn back. Both Jonas and Gabe were getting weak. It started snowing when Jonas came to a steep hill, one that he could not bike, so Jonas started to climb.To keep warm Jonas shared his memories of warmth with Gabe. Step by step Jonas climbed, stopping every few steps to warm them both with a memory. When they reached the top, Jonas realized that he had been there before. This was the same hill from the sledding memory. Jonas fumbled for the rope and places Gabe on the sled in front of him. They started down. The place that would be their future was in front of them.

'Downward, downward, faster and faster. Suddenly he was aware with certainly and joy that below, ahead, they were waiting for him;and they were waiting, too, for the baby. For the first time, he heard something that he knew to be music. He heard people singing.

Behind him, across the distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps it was only an echo.'

~ Chapter 20 ~

Jonas was too upset to go home. He would be sleeping with the Giver tonight. That night Jonas and the Giver make a plan for Jonas to go Elsewhere. Both Jonas and the Giver decided that Jonas would leave the night before the December Ceremonies, and would begin to travel to Elsewhere. There plan is that Jonas would slip into the Giver's room that night, and then hide out in the storage part of a vehicle. The Giver would not join Jonas because he had to protect the community from memories.

~ Chapter 17, 18, 19 ~

******SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

Do not read this post of chapters 17, 18, 19 if you do not want to spoil the ending!!!!******

In these chapters, it is an unscheduled holiday so a bunch of Jonas' friends thought it would be fun to play a game with make believe guns. Jonas does not think it is a good idea due to his last painful memory of war. When Jonas goes home his father is talking about how there were twins are born at the nurturing center the next day and when twins are born, the nurturing center needs to release the smaller of the two.

The next day, Jonas asks the Giver about releases and what they are. The Giver obviously does not want to talk about it, but Jonas begs him to tell him what happens. So the Giver gets a tape from this mornings release of the twins. It is very hard for Jonas to watch because the release is so disturbing. In this book release means kill. Jonas could not believe what he was watching. His own father, killing a newchild, without giving it a second chance. Jonas did not think he was ever going to look at his father the same way again.

~ Chapter 15 + 16 ~

In these chapters The Giver is in great pain. When Jonas says that he will come back another day, the Giver says,

' "Please," he gasped, "take some of the pain." '

Willing to help the Giver, Jonas takes off his tunic and lies on the bed ready to receive a memory, but he did not expect what was about to come. This memory was so painful, its no wonder the Giver wanted to get rid of it. When the memory was over Jonas did not want to go back. He did not want any of the memories, the honor, the wisdom, or the pain. But he had no choice. He must finish his training. This time when Jonas went to see the Giver he received a happy memory. Probably to make up for the memory from the previous day. This memory was full of warmth and happiness. The word that came to Jonas' mind was family. There were aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. In this world, there were no grandparents. As soon as your child gets a house or dwelling of there own, you would live with the childless adults. You would probably never see your children again let alone your grandchildren. So it was very new to Jonas.

Unlike The Giver, in Gathering Blue you would know your grandparents. Even though Kira never met her grandfather, if it was not for him, Kira would have been sent to the Field to die.

Imagine if you never knew your grandparents or if you could never see your children again after they had a family of there own. How would you feel?

When Jonas asked his parents if they loved him they replied,

' "Father? Mother?" Jonas asked tentatively after the evening meal. "I have a question I want to ask you."

"What is it, Jonas?" his father asked.

He made himself say the words, though he felt flushed with embarrassment. He had rehearsed them in his mind all the way home from the Annex.

"Do you love me?"

There was an awkward silence for a moment. Then his father gave a little chuckle. "Jonas. You, of all people. Precision of language, please!"

"What do you mean?" Jonas asked. Amusement was not at all what he had anticipated.

"Your father means that you used a very generalized word, so meaningless that it's become almost obsolete," his mother explained carefully.

Jonas stared at them. Meaningless? He had never felt something as meaningful as the memory.

" And of course our community can't function smoothly if people don't use precise language. You could ask, 'Do you enjoy me?' The answer is 'Yes,' " his mother said.

"Or," his father suggested, " 'Do you take pride in my accomplishments?' And the answer is wholeheartedly 'Yes.'

"Do you understand why it's inappropriate to use a word like 'love'?" Mother asked.

Jonas nodded. "Yes, thank you, I do," he replied slowly.

It was his first lie to his parents.

~ Chapter 14 ~

In this chapter,The Giver gives Jonas memories that are much more painful than his previous ones. This memory would and did actually hurt Jonas. It hurt so much Jonas begged for some pain relief but it was against the rules.

When Jonas got home he asked is Gabriel could sleep in his room for that night. For the first part of the night, he slept like the baby that he is, but his restlessness woke Jonas. In order to calm Gabe before he woke the rest of the family, Jonas rubs Gabe's back in a circular motion and pulled the memory of sailing forward. Gabe became calm. Jonas pulled his hand away. He had just given the slightest bit of that memory to Gabe. Now that memory in Jonas' mind was not as clear as it used to be.

~ Chapter 13 ~

In chapter thirteen, Jonas is upset at the fact that since there is no color in the world, then no one can make choices of there own. No one can choose whether they want to wear a blue shirt or a green one. Everything is the same. Even though what you wear is not important, choosing your job and your mate is. So basically you are being treated like a baby, who can not make decisions for themselves, but both Jonas and the Giver agree that it is much safer, because there is no chance to make the wrong decision.

In this chapter, the Giver gives Jonas a painful and sad memory of poachers.

'He could hear noises: the sharp crack of weapons - he perceived the word guns - and then shouts, and an immense crashing thud as something fell,tearing branches from the trees.

He heard voices calling to one another. Peering from the place where he stood hidden behind some shrubbery, he was reminded of what the Giver had told him, that there had been a time when flesh had different colors. Two of these men had dark brown skin; the others were light. Going closer, he watched them hack the tusks from a motionless elephant an the ground and haul them away, spattered with blood. He felt himself overwhelmed with a new perception of the color he knew as red.

The men were gone, speeding toward the horizon in a vehicle that spit pebbles from its whirling tires. One hit his forehead and stung him there. But the memory continued, though Jonas ached now for it to end.

Now he saw another elephant emerge from the place where it had stood hidden in the trees. Very slowly it walked to the mutilated body and looked down. With its sinuous trunk it stroked the huge corpse; then it reached up, broke some leafy branches with a snap, and draped them over the mass of torn thick flesh.

Finally it tilted its massive head, raised its trunk, and roared into the empty landscape. Jonas had never heard such a sound. It was a sound of rage and grief and it seemed never to end.'

In this chapter the Giver and Jonas talk about how everyone is giving Jonas the burden of holding the memories so they do not have to.

~ Chapter 12 ~

In this chapter Jonas is walking to his training session with the Giver again with Fiona, but something strange happened. Fiona's hair changed. It changed the same way that the apple had. Once again, no one else noticed the change. When Jonas arrived at his training session. He asked the Giver what had happened. The Giver replied,

' "Let me try one more thing. Look over there, to the book case. Do you see the very top row of books, the ones behind the table, on the top shelf?"

Jonas sought them with his eyes. He started at them, and they changed. But the change was fleeting. It slipped away the next instant.

"It happened," Jonas said. " It happens to the books, but it went away again."

"I'm right, then," The Giver said. "You're beginning to see the color red." '

As it turns out, the people in the world that Jonas lives in does not see any color. Just like new born babies, they can see only black and white. Now that Jonas is receiving memories from the past, back when people could see color, he is too seeing colors, but for the moment he can only see red.

~ Chapter 10 + 11 ~

In these chapters, Jonas goes to his first day of training, there he meets the Giver. Jonas' job is basically to hold all of the memories of the whole world. All the happy, sad, and painful. In chapter ten, Jonas and the Giver talk about why Jonas was there and what he was going to be receiving.

In chapter eleven, Jonas gets his first memory, a sled ride on a hill. Jonas thought this was amazing. he actually felt like he was there. He could see the snow falling and feel the cold, crisp air. He felt the wind on his face when he went down the hill. Now this was a happy memory, the Chief Elder said there was going to be pain too. The second memory that Jonas received was sunshine. The heat warmed his body to create a pleasant sensation. The last memory that Jonas received was painful. It was sunburn. Jonas said that it hurt a lot, but little did he know that there were more memories to come that would hurt more than pain in his wildest dreams.

~ Chapter 9 ~

In this chapter, Jonas reads what was in the folder that the Chief Elder had handed him. His folder was unusually thin compared to what his friends had. Inside was a sheet that had the rules for the assignment.

In Gathering Blue, Kira was given a job that no one else in the community can do, and along with Jonas from The Giver, she also had rules she had to fallow, but they were not as straightforward as his.

There were two things that really stood out in Jonas' mind. One was that one of the rules was that you were allowed to lie. Now in the community, it is against the rules to lie to one another. Was this a mistake? It would extremely awkward to lie to one of his friends and his family. The other rule was that you could be rude to a person. Now seriously, how weird would it be if you said something rude to one of your friends and they were expecting an apology, but you did not need to give them one?

What would you do if you were in Jonas' position?

~ Chapter 6, 7, 8 ~

In chapter six, Lois Lowry describes what each age group gains or losses when the time of the ceremonies arrive, for example, when the Eights (eight year old) become Nines (nine year old) they get a bicycle, with there own licence plate type thing on it. Now, the Ceremony of Twelve is where the Elevens whom are to become Twelves, get there assignment or Job in the community. Each person is called up to the stage where the Chief Elder gives them a folder with all the rules and expectations.

Just like in The Giver, there are different signs that show how old you are. In The Giver, it is what you are given. In Gathering Blue It is your name. However many syllables you have in your name determines how old you are, for example, Kira who is about fourteen has a two syllable name where as Annabella who is a very old person, probably in the seventies or older, has a four syllable name.

In chapter seven, it is time for the Elevens to be called to the stage. Jonas is so excited. He can not wait for his assignment. One by one each Eleven goes to the stage of the auditorium. Jonas is number nineteen. Fiona is in front of Jonas and a male named Pierre is behind him. Both Asher and Fiona received assignments that suet their personality, but when it was Jonas' turn, something went wrong.

'Eighteen, Fiona, on his left, was called. Jonas knew she must be nervous, but Fiona was a calm female. She had been sitting quietly, serenely,throughout the Ceremony.

Even the applause, though enthusiastic, seemed serene when Fiona was given the important assignment of Caretaker of the Old. It was perfect for such a sensitive, gentle girl, and her smile was satisfied and pleased when she took her seat behind him again.

Jonas prepared himself to walk to the stage when the applause ended and the Chief Elder picked up the next folder and looked at the group to call forward the next new twelve. He was calm now that his turn had come. He took a deep breath and smoothed his hair with his hand.

"Twenty," he heard her voice say clearly. "Pierre."

She skipped me, Jonas thought, stunned. Had he heard wrong? No. There was a sudden hush in the crowd,and he knew that the entire community had realized the the Chief Elder had moved from Eighteen to Twenty, leaving a gap. On his right, Pierre, with a startled look, rose from he seat and moved to the stage.'

JONAS HAD BEEN SKIPPED! Yet for what reason?

In chapter eight we find out what really happened. The reason why Jonas had been skipped. As it turns out, Jonas had been selected to become a very important and highly honored person in the community. The Receiver.

~ Chapter 4 + 5 ~

In these chapters, Jonas goes to the House of the Old for his usual volunteer hours. His task today is to bathe the old. Slowly but surely Jonas leads an old woman to the tub where, being as gentle as possible, he bathes her. In the tub next to him is Fiona (the female he admires) helping an old man out of the tub.

That night Jonas has a dream about Fiona where he wants to give her a bath, but she refuses. The next morning when families describe their dreams, Jonas tells his parents what exactly happened. Now his parents were aware that Jonas was now having things called stirrings. A stirring is just like having sexual feelings for another person. When a child experiences stirrings they have to take a pill which make them go away. Jonas now needs to take a pill every morning in order to control his stirrings.

~ Chapter 3 ~

In chapter three, the newchild that Jonas' father was caring for was brought home to live with them overnight. Lily (Jonas' younger sister) points out that Gabe has the same colored eyes as Jonas. In the community where they live you are not supposed to pick out what is different in each person. No one is unique. Also, in this chapter Lily describes what assignment she wants when she becomes a Twelve. This is why Jonas was so apprehensive in chapter one. He is apprehensive for the Ceremony of Twelve. At the Ceremony of Twelve, each young adult is told what job they are going to have in the community. Lily wants to be a birth mother. Lily's mother explains to her why being assigned birth mother is not a very good assignment.

In this chapter Asher (one of Jonas' friends) takes an apple from the recreation area. So like most males, Asher and Jonas start to play catch with it. During this time something happens to the apple, the apple somehow changes. No one noticed this change, only Jonas. What do you think Happened to the apple?

~ Chapter 2 ~

In the next chapter Jonas has a private conversation with his parents. Just to clue you in and if you did not know already know, Jonas' father is a "nurturer" or a present day nurse who helps and takes care of newborns. Jonas' mother is what would be a present day lawyer. Anyway, Jonas' father was talking about what he did at the nurturing center. He is presently taking care of a newchild who is having a lot of trouble learning. Thinking it would help the child learn, Jonas' father breaks a rule. In the society that they live in, breaking rules is very serious.

Just like in The Giver, Kira's mother breaks a rule, too, in Gathering Blue. When Kira was born, she had a twisted leg. In the village, any person born with a birth defect was automatically sent to the Field to die. Kira's mother fought for her daughter's life. Kira, even without her mother's help, would have lived because her grandfather was an important person.

Now, back to The Giver. Jonas' father broke a rule by looking at a list for the next naming ceremony. That list was not to be reveled until the naming ceremony in December where each newchild receives there name. The child that Jonas' father is caring for name is Gabriel, but he is called Gabe for short.

~ Chapter 1 ~

In the beginning of the book, chapter one, Jonas is thinking about what feelings he is going to share at the dinner ritual of sharing feelings. At first he thought he was frightened.

'It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No. Wrong word,Jonas thought. Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen.'

No he was not frightened he was eager.

'Thinking, still, as he wheeled his bike into its narrow port beside the door, he realized that frightened was the wrong word to describe his feelings, now that December was almost here. It was too strong an adjective.
He had waited a long time for this special December. Now that it was almost upon him, he wasn't frightened, but he was . . . eager, he decided. He was eager for it to come. And he was excited, certainly. All the Elevens were excited about the event that would be coming soon'

So now he is eager, but wait there is more!

'But there was a little shudder of nervousness when he thought about it, about what might happen.
Apprehensive, Jonas decided. That's what I am.'

As you can probably guess, Jonas is very apprehensive about something that is going to be happening in December for the "Elevens." So far by what has happened in the story, we can not really tell what this special event is. All we know is that Jonas and his family have a "sharing of feelings" ritual every night at dinner and that Jonas is feeling apprehensive. Why do you think he is apprehensive?

~ Welcome To My Blog! ~

Welcome to Sam - The Giver Study Guide! I am making this blog for Miss Lesher's Language Arts class at Wissahickon Middle School. Our class read The Giver and had a choice to read either Messenger of Gathering Blue, both written by Lois Lowry. I chose to read Gathering Blue. This site will provide a synopsis of the book The Giver by Lois Lowry and compare concepts from both The Giver and Gathering Blue.