1 The Giver Extract B

1 THE GIVER
By Lois Lowry
EXTRACT B
“I feel frightened, too, for him,” she confessed. “You know that there’s no third chance. The
rules say that if there’s a third transgression, he simply has to be released.” Jonas shivered.
He knew it happened. There was even a boy in his group of Elevens whose father had been
released years before. No one ever mentioned it; the disgrace was unspeakable. It was hard
to imagine.
Lily stood up and went to her mother. She stroked her mother’s arm.
From his place at the table, Father reached over and took her hand. Jonas reached for the
other. One by one, they comforted her. Soon she smiled, thanked them, and murmured that
she felt soothed.
The ritual continued. “Jonas?” Father asked. “You’re last, tonight.”
Jonas sighed. This evening he almost would have preferred to keep his feelings hidden. But
it was, of course, against the rules.
“I’m feeling apprehensive,” he confessed, glad that the appropriate descriptive word had
finally come to him. “Why is that, son?” His father looked concerned. “I know there’s really
nothing to worry about,” Jonas explained, “and that every adult has been through it. I know
you have, Father, and you too, Mother. But it’s the Ceremony that I’m apprehensive about.
It’s almost December.”
Lily looked up, her eyes wide. “The Ceremony of Twelve,” she whispered in an awed voice.
Even the smallest children — Lily’s age and younger — knew that it lay in the future for each
of them.
“I’m glad you told us of your feelings,” Father said.
“Lily,” Mother said, beckoning to the little girl, “Go on now and get into your nightclothes.
Father and I are going to stay here and talk to Jonas for a while.”
Lily sighed, but obediently she got down from her chair. “Privately?” she asked.
Mother nodded. “Yes,” she said, “this talk will be a private one with Jonas.”
Bullet Point of an extract of The Giver
To begin with, I have chosen to talk about fragment B. And now I am going to start by
presenting this literary novel.
The Giver was written by Lois Lowry in 1993. This novel is set in a future society. The author
in his novel presents us with a utopian society, since throughout the novel he presents us
with an ordered community with painless rules, but in turn the inhabitants of the community
cannot choose the profession they will practice nor their marriage partner. .
Well, the selected extract belongs to chapter 1 of the novel The Giver. It begins with a ritual
that all the families in the community perform during dinner, after a while Jonas's mother has
to share how she felt that day, she tells us that she felt a little sad since at work she had
seen again to a criminal, this being her second time visiting the Department of Justice, but
apparently she had not learned her lesson, this made her feel very sad, but as a family,
Jonas, her father and her sister comforted her. Finally it was Jonas's turn to express his
feelings, he didn't know how he felt, until he managed to find the right word to express it, he
also explained why he felt that way and it was because the Ceremony of the Twelve was
approaching, he had no idea what his job would be in the future and that scared him a lot.
The theme in essence is the concern that Jonas presents regarding his future, a theme that
today is very well known, several adolescents are not clear about what to do in their future
and I believe that the author wants to highlight this similarity in our real world and the utopian
world that it presents to us.
In summary, this fragment represents the utopian society in which Jonas lives, which is
demonstrated in the story that Jonas's mother shares of her day, which will be demonstrated
in more depth in the next chapters. In general, I appreciated this excerpt, since it shows how
everyone in the community shares their feelings during dinner with their family, I also felt
identified with Jonas to a certain extent, since sometimes I don't know what to do with my
future and that makes me fear. Likewise, I believe that the author helps us to reflect on the
importance of recognizing how we feel through various emotions.
I relate the excerpt that I chose to the theme IB Social Organization, since it is appreciated
how during dinner the members of the family relate to each other and how Jonas feels a
strong commitment to his future work and how Jonas's mother presents us with the
organization presented by the Community in the event of non-compliance with the rules.

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1 THE GIVER

The ritual continued. “Jonas?” Father asked. “You’re last, tonight.”

“I’m glad you told us of your feelings,” Father said.

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