Chapter 11

The Giver

Trailblazers · 4th–6th

Copywork

His face cut through the frigid air as he began the descent, moving through the substance called snow on the vehicle called sled, which propelled itself on what he now knew without doubt to be runners. Comprehending all of those things as he sped downward, he was free to enjoy the breathless glee that overwhelmed him: the speed, the clear cold air, the total silence, the feeling of balance and excitement and peace.

This time, as he lay basking in the wonderful warmth, he felt the passage of time. His real self was aware that it was only a minute or two; but his other, memory-receiving self felt hours pass in the sun. His skin began to sting.

In the first passage, “excitement” and “peace” sit side by side in one list. How can one ride give Jonas both?

For the educator Two passages: the end of the sled ride, and the start of the sunburn. In the book the first passage is two paragraphs of one sentence each, so the student starts a new indented line for the second sentence. The first sentence holds the vocabulary words “frigid” and “descent.” After the main clause, a comma opens a long phrase, and the pair “called snow” and “called sled” shows Jonas naming each new thing as he meets it. Another comma opens “which propelled itself on what he now knew without doubt to be runners.” The second sentence opens with an -ing phrase set off by a comma, “Comprehending all of those things as he sped downward,” and then a colon brings in a list. Commas separate the items, and the last item ends “balance and excitement and peace,” repeating “and” so the feelings pile up. The second passage is one paragraph. Its first sentence sets off “as he lay basking in the wonderful warmth” with a comma on each side, and holds the vocabulary word “basking.” The second sentence joins two thoughts with a semicolon and “but,” setting a minute against hours. In “his other, memory-receiving self” a comma stands between two describing words, and a hyphen joins two words into one. The last sentence is five words long. The student copies each sentence with its own capital and end mark. The talk prompt asks how one ride can give both excitement and peace. A student may say the speed and the cold give the excitement, while the silence and the balance give the peace. Another may say the peace comes from understanding: once he is “Comprehending all of those things,” he is “free to enjoy” the ride. Either answer can stand if the student points to the words.

Discussion

Narration Tell back the chapter in order. Start where Jonas feels only the old man's hands on his back. Stop where the old man tells Jonas what to call him.

1. Before the ride, Jonas had already heard the words snow and sled from the old man. Did he learn what a sled is from those words, or from the ride?Inference

2. Near the bottom of the hill, Jonas pushes the sled forward because he does not want the ride to end. Why does he say only “Surprised” when the old man asks how he feels?Character

3. Giving Jonas the ride “lightened” the old man a little. How can a happy memory be a weight to carry?Character

4. Jonas thinks the old man has “so much power,” and the old man says he has honor instead. Who is closer to the truth?Moral reasoning

5. The old man tells Jonas the training “need not be painful yet.” So why does he end the day with a memory that burns?Character

Make a Connection Think of a story, or a time in your own life, when people gave up something they enjoyed because it caused problems. Why might some people miss it more than others?

Vocabulary

Crossword

1

2	3


4

		5		6
			7


8

Across

Across 1. Bitterly cold, like the winter air Jonas breathes on the hill.
Across 2. A rushing flood of something, here a swirl of falling snowflakes.
Across 4. Held still and balanced, ready to move at any moment.
Across 7. A trip downward, like the sled's ride from the top of the hill to the bottom.
Across 8. Awkward and hard to move or manage, as hills made it for the trucks.

Down

Down 3. No longer used or needed because something else has replaced it.
Down 5. Lying back and enjoying warmth or light, as Jonas does in the sun.
Down 6. Very tired, worn out from hard effort.

The words in the chapter

frigid He was filled with energy, and he breathed again, feeling the sharp intake of frigid air.
torrent He could see a bright, whirling torrent of crystals in the air around him, and he could see them gather on the backs of his hands, like cold fur.
poised And the sled itself seemed to be poised at the top of a long, extended mound that rose from the very land where he was.
descent His face cut through the frigid air as he began the descent

obsolete It wasn't a practical thing, so it became obsolete when we went to Sameness.
unwieldy They made conveyance of goods unwieldy.
basking This time, as he lay basking in the wonderful warmth, he felt the passage of time.
weary He seemed terribly weary.

Critical thinking

1. Jonas says the sunburn was “interesting,” and the old man does not answer. What keeps him quiet?

2. Snow was given up because it made growing food hard, and hills because they slowed the trucks. Were those good enough reasons to let them go?