The Giver Reading Questions Name Chapters 1-5 (pages 1-39) DIRECTIONS: Answer the following questions with 1-2 complete sentences. Try to use specific details from the book to support your answers. Some questions won t be directly answered in your reading and will require you to use 1. What is significant/important about the airplane incident in the opening pages of the story? 2. Why is Jonas apprehensive about the upcoming Ceremony? 3. How are Assignments determined in the community? 4. Why does the community value precision of speech? (choosing precise words) 5. What are the 3 different ways the community feels about release? 6. Explain the role of Birthmother in Jonas s community. 7. How is conformity (week 4 vocab. word look up if you forgot!) encouraged in the community? 8. What is the purpose of the telling of feelings session? 9. Why didn t Jonas share the incident involving the apple with his family at the telling of feelings session that evening? 10. How are the elderly treated in Jonas s community? 11. What is the purpose of the telling of dreams sessions? 12. What is the significance of Jonas s dream about Fiona and why must such dreams be officially reported? Point of View From whose point of view is the story told? Setting Describe the setting (time, place, environment).
The Giver Reading Questions (pages 40-58) Chapter 6-7 13. In what ways does the community stress interdependence (depending on each other, not yourself)? 14. Why is the annual Ceremony so important to the community? 15. What happens at the Ceremony of Loss and the Murmur-of-Replacement Ceremony? 16. Why might minor rule-breaking, such as riding a bicycle before the age of nine, be tolerated in the otherwise strict community? 17. How does one s gender affect the Assignment one receives? 18. What might the incident involving Asher asking for a smack instead of a snack indicate about the community? 19. Explain the phrase, Thank you for your childhood, that the Chief Elder offers each Twelve after announcing his or her Assignment. A flashback is a section that interrupts the sequence of events to relate an event that happened in the past. Name one of the flashbacks used in chapters 1-7. Who is the protagonist in the book The Giver? (Look up protagonist if you need)
The Giver Reading Questions (pages 59-79) Chapters 8-10 20. Why is Jonas so upset when he is passed over by the Chief Elder? 21. What is ironic about the phrase used to describe the Receiver of Memory s job: the most honored in the community? 22. How does Jonas s family react to his Assignment? 23. How does Jonas s rule sheet serve to further distance him from others in the community? 24. Which rule bothers Jonas most and why? 25. Jonas notices that The Giver s dwellings contain thousands of books while his own, as well as everyone else s in the community, contain only three reference volumes. What might be the reason for this contrast? 26. Why is it forbidden to lock doors or turn off the speakers, which are a part of every dwelling? The inciting incident is the first conflict faced by the main character. What is the first event that causes conflict between Jonas and his family and friends (it makes him feel different from them)? Name one internal conflict that Jonas has had so far in the book (think of things he doesn t want to do, but has to or is supposed to do and if he actually does it).
The Giver Reading Questions (pages 80-96) Chapters 11-12 27. What is Sameness? 28. What is Jonas s first training session like? 29. What might the use of the discipline wand on the elderly suggest about the community and about human nature? 30. How does The Giver help Jonas understand his capacity to see beyond, and what is Jonas s reaction? Rising Action What conflicts are becoming evident as the story progresses? Give examples of conflicts Jonas is starting to have. A Round Character is one who is fully developed and we get to see both his or her faults and virtues. Who is a round character in The Giver? Explain. A Flat Character is a one sided and often stereotypical character. Who is a flat character in The Giver? Explain.
The Giver Reading Questions (pages 97-145) Chapters 13-16 31. Why might The Giver already know about Gabriel before Jonas mentions him? 32. In what way is Jonas in conflict with the idea of choice? 33. What happened when the Receiver before Jonas failed? 34. What accusation does The Giver make about Jonas s instructors that shocks Jonas? 35. What is Elsewhere to the people of the community? 36. Why can t Jonas, as the new Receiver, ask for relief of pain if the pain is related to his training? 37. Why can t Jonas and The Giver simply apply for a change of rules to make their lives easier? 38. Explain the memory The Giver shares with Jonas in Chapter 15 and why it is causing The Giver such pain. 39. How does the memory of the family Christmas affect Jonas? 40. Why don t Jonas s parents tell him they love him when he asks? 41. What is Jonas s first act of rebellion toward Sameness? Theme What theme or main message is emerging in the book?
The Giver Reading Questions (pages 146-162) Chapters 17-20 42. Why is Jonas bothered by the game of war Asher and the others play, and why can t he make them understand that they shouldn t play it? 43. Why does Jonas refuse Fiona s offer to go for a bicycle ride along the river? 44. What caused the failure of Rosemary, the last new Receiver? 45. What startling realization comes to Jonas as he watches the release of the twin boy? 46. How does Jonas s reaction to the release of the identical twin help The Giver? 47. What plan do Jonas and The Giver come up with? Rising Action List a few more events that occur during the rising action. Static Character Many of the characters in The Giver are static because change is not allowed in the community. List the static characters who do not change in the book. A Dynamic Character is one who changes during the course of the book. Who is a dynamic character in The Giver? Explain.
The Giver Reading Questions (pages 163-179) Chapters 21-23 48. Why doesn t Jonas carry out the plan he and The Giver devise? 49. What attempts does the community make to find the fugitives? 50. How does nature interfere with Jonas s progress? 51. What happens to Jonas and Gabriel at the end of the book in your opinion? What is the climax of the novel (the point where Jonas has to make a decision that affects the outcome of the novel)? After Jonas makes his decision (the climax), what events occur during the Falling Action? What is the Resolution to the novel? How does Jonas resolve the problems he s come across in the novel?