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Copywork
About This Passage
The Giver says this quietly, near the middle of the long conversation. Notice that he does not call the pain of the memories the hardest thing. He calls loneliness the hardest thing. Lowry is telling us that the Giver has been waiting, for many years, to have one other person in the world who knows what he knows.
"The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared."
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell Chapter 20 in three parts: Jonas's outburst after the viewing, the plan he makes with the Giver late into the night, and the Giver's final reveal about Rosemary being his daughter.
Discussion Questions
- When Jonas mimics the wall speaker in a 'cruel, sarcastic voice,' saying 'I will kill people, sir. Old people? Small newborn people?' — what does his mimicking show us about how his view of the community has suddenly changed?
- The Giver tells Jonas, 'Fiona is already being trained in the fine art of release.' Why does the word 'art' make this sentence especially disturbing, and how does it change what Fiona has meant to Jonas so far in the book?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Using words that mean the opposite of what you feel, to show anger or mockery.
Item 2
Given official permission or authority to do something.
Item 3
Feeling or showing sorrow mixed with regret.
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Critical Thinking
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