Name______Period______

The Giver

Week 3: Chapters 12-17, Pages 88-138

Find and write down a short definition for the following words:

·  Assuage______

·  ominous ______

·  writhing ______

·  excruciating ______

·  assimilate ______

·  reprieve______

Answer the following questions.

1.  Why is color important to you?

2.  From what you’ve read so far, what did the community give up for Sameness? Why do you think they did it? Is it worth it?

3.  The Giver said, “Our people made the choice..to go to Sameness…We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others.” What things do you think they gained control of and why was this control so important?

4.  What is “seeing beyond’? Why was it so difficult for Jonas to explain?

5.  What is the significance of the elephant memory? What did Jonas learn from it? Why did the Receiver give it to Jonas? Why did the author give it to the reader?

6.  What would you miss the most if you lived in a community that practiced Sameness? Why?

Choose one of the prompts below and write one full paragraph explaining your answer. Use the paragraph format you were taught. You may write legibly on this paper.

1.  In our world, people often make wrong choices. Should we be protected from this? What would people be like if they were protected from doing wrong or doing harm? What would we gain? What would we lose?

2.  “It’s the choosing that’s important, isn’t it?” The Giver asked him. After Jonas thought awhile he replied: “We don’t dare to let people make choices of their own. What if they were allowed to choose their own mate? And chose wrong? We really have to protect people from wrong choices.” Is choosing important? Why? What do you get when you choose? What do you learn? How do you feel when you choose?

3.  “My instructors in science and technology have taught us about how the brain works,” Jonas told him eagerly. “It’s full of electrical impulses. It’s like a computer…” He stopped talking. He could see an odd look on The Giver’s face. “They know nothing,.” The Giver said bitterly. “It’s just that, without the memories, it’s all meaningless.” This is one of the most important passages in the book. What does it mean? Do you agree? Why or why not? If you have knowledge but don’t know how to think about it freely—if you can’t relate your knowledge to your experience—is it of any use?