The Giver — Chapter 9

About This Passage

Three of our vocabulary words (exemption, accustomed, unnerving) cluster in this single paragraph, and for good reason. Lois Lowry is showing the first rule that separates Jonas from the rest of the community — the rule that lets him break an unwritten law (courtesy) without breaking a written one. Jonas's reaction is the important part: he is so shaped by the community's manners that freedom itself feels uncomfortable. Unnerving is exactly the right word, because the rule has given him something he does not know how to use.

Narration Prompt

Retell Chapter 9 in five or six sentences. Trace the arc from Jonas's uneasy bike ride with Asher, through the family's reaction at dinner and the news about the failed selection ten years ago, to the moment Jonas finishes reading the eight rules alone in his sleeping room.

Discussion Questions

1. At dinner, Jonas's mother says twice, "You've been greatly honored," and his father says, "It's the most important job in the community." What does Lois Lowry reveal about the community by having the parents repeat these honors, even as they cannot answer Jonas's question about what happened to the last Receiver?
2. Find the three most surprising of Jonas's eight rules and identify the evidence from the chapter that shows why each one surprised him. Quote or paraphrase Jonas's reaction to each.

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide