The Giver — Chapter 10

About This Passage

Lois Lowry's inventory of the Receiver's room is slow and deliberate. She does not tell us it is a beautiful room — she lets us notice the fabric, then the table legs, then the bed, each one 'slightly' different from the standard-issue furniture Jonas has grown up with. This is how the author opens our eyes a little at a time, exactly as Jonas's own eyes are opening.

Narration Prompt

Retell Chapter 10 in your own words. Begin with Jonas saying goodbye to Fiona at the House of the Old, move through the Annex lobby and the Attendant standing up, then the first view of the Receiver's room, then the conversation with the old Receiver, and end with Jonas lying face down on the bed as the old Receiver places his hands on his back.

Discussion Questions

1. When Jonas first enters the Receiver's room, Lois Lowry describes the fabrics, the curved table legs, the embroidered bed, and then the thousands of books — in that order. What does the order of her descriptions show about how Jonas is experiencing the room?
2. The old Receiver tells Jonas, 'Beginning today, this moment, at least to me, you are The Receiver.' What does this phrasing — especially the words 'at least to me' — reveal about how the old Receiver sees his relationship with Jonas?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide