Chapter 12 — Teaching Companion

What it asks It asks the student to judge a small moment at the start of the day. His mother asks, “You slept soundly, Jonas?” and then, “No dreams?” Jonas “simply smiled and nodded, not ready to lie, not willing to tell the truth,” and says, “I slept very soundly.” That much is true. But the narrator says “it was not true that he had no dreams”: again and again in the night he slid down the snowy hill. The student decides whether a nod with no false word in it can still be a lie. It takes up one part of the last written question: how Jonas makes up his mind. About lying he is “not ready,” and he finds a way to do neither; later the same day he judges the loss of color in a moment. The talk should stay on what Jonas does and says at the table.

One reading

Yes. A nod answers the question it is given, and the question was “No dreams?” His mother will now think he did not dream. Picking one true sentence to say out loud does not change what the nod tells her.

• Jonas simply smiled and nodded
• But it was not true that he had no dreams.

Another reading

No. He says nothing false: he did sleep soundly. He is “not ready to lie,” and he does not. He only keeps the dream to himself, the way he keeps his training to himself all day.

• not ready to lie, not willing to tell the truth
• "I slept very soundly," he said.

Listen for

• Notices that his mother asks two things, and says which one the nod seems to answer.
• Sets “I slept very soundly,” which is true, beside the narrator's “it was not true that he had no dreams.”
• Says in the student's own words what “not ready to lie, not willing to tell the truth” means for Jonas.
• Weighs whether what a person lets someone believe counts, and not only what the person says.

If stuck

• What two things does his mother ask?
• Which of Jonas's words are true?
• Can you fool someone without saying anything false?

A strong answer A strong response might call the nod a lie: the question was “No dreams?” and Jonas “simply smiled and nodded,” though “it was not true that he had no dreams.” Another might say it is not a lie, because every word he says is true, “I slept very soundly,” and he is “not ready to lie.” A careful answer may notice that Jonas does not decide here: neither ready to lie nor willing to tell the truth, he takes the one way left, a smile and a nod. By the afternoon he will decide about color in a moment.

What it asks It asks the student to test one word the book uses about Jonas. At school the other new Twelves are “abuzz” about their first day of training: they all talk at once, interrupt, apologize, and forget again. Jonas listens. He is “very aware of his own admonition not to discuss his training. But it would have been impossible, anyway.” No words, even after years of training “in precision of language,” could give anyone a sled ride or sunshine. “So it was easy for Jonas to be still and to listen.” The student decides whether to believe that “easy.” The same afternoon Fiona waits for him to explain why he stayed late, and he changes the subject. It takes up one part of the last written question: Jonas now carries something no one around him has felt, and he judges the loss of color from inside it. The talk should stay on the school day and the ride with Fiona.

One reading

Yes. There was nothing he could say anyway, so the rule cost him nothing. No words could carry a sled ride or sunshine to someone who had never felt them. The book says “So”: the easy part comes straight from the impossible part.

• But it would have been impossible, anyway.
• what words could you use which would give another the experience of sunshine?

Another reading

No. He is the only quiet one while his friends talk all at once, and he has to stay “very aware” of the rule. On the ride, Fiona waits for him to explain, and he has to change the subject. Keeping still costs him something all day.

• He was very aware of his own admonition not to discuss his training.
• She pedaled forward silently, and he knew that she expected him to tell her why.

Listen for

• Notices the word “So”: the book calls it easy because describing the training was impossible anyway.
• Sets the other Twelves, all talking at once, beside Jonas, who only listens.
• Uses the ride with Fiona: she waits for him to explain, and he changes the subject.
• Says in the student's own words whether having no words for something makes keeping quiet easier or harder.

If stuck

• What are the other Twelves doing at the breaks?
• Why does the book say Jonas could not have described his training anyway?
• Is a secret easy to keep when there is no way to tell it?

A strong answer A strong response might believe it: describing his training “would have been impossible, anyway,” since no words could “give another the experience of sunshine,” so the rule asks nothing of him. Another might doubt it: he stays “very aware of his own admonition,” and on the ride Fiona waits, “and he knew that she expected him to tell her why.” A careful answer may notice the word “So”: the stillness is easy only because the words do not exist, which means no one around Jonas can share what he has felt. That is the ground he judges from when he says, “We shouldn't have!”

What it asks It asks the student to read how Fiona says something, not only what she says. On the ride to the House of the Old, Jonas changes the subject away from his training, and Fiona lists what she will learn: “There's administrative work, and the dietary rules, and punishment for disobedience”. Then she breaks off with a dash to ask, “did you know that they use a discipline wand on the Old,” the same wand used on the very young. She goes straight on: “And there's occupational therapy, and recreational activities, and medications”. At the door she says, “I really think I'll like it better than school,” and Jonas says, “Me too.” Neither of them says another word about the wand. The student decides how Fiona feels about it, from the way she says it. It takes up one part of the last written question: a few minutes later Jonas will judge the loss of color at once, and fiercely; here a punishment goes by in a list. The talk should stay on what Fiona says and how; the chapter names the wand and does not show it used.

One reading

It surprises her. She stops her own list to ask, “did you know,” as if she has just found it out and wants Jonas to be surprised too. She points out that the Old get the same as the very young, so she has noticed it.

• did you know that they use a discipline wand on the Old
• the same as for small children

Another reading

It is one more thing to learn. It sits between the dietary rules and occupational therapy, and she hurries on. She is happy about her new work, and nothing in her voice stops for long.

• There's administrative work, and the dietary rules, and punishment for disobedience
• I really think I'll like it better than school

Listen for

• Notices where the wand comes in Fiona's list, and what comes just before and after it.
• Notices the words “did you know,” and that she compares the Old to the very young, and says what that shows about her.
• Notices that Jonas says nothing about the wand, only “Me too” about liking the work.
• Does not say what the wand does or how it is used; the chapter only names it.

If stuck

• What else is on Fiona's list?
• Where does she stop to ask Jonas something?
• How does Fiona feel about her new work?

A strong answer A strong response might say it surprises her: she breaks off to ask, “did you know,” and points out that the Old get the same as the very young. Another might say it is only one more thing to learn, sitting between “the dietary rules” and “occupational therapy,” and she ends glad: “I really think I'll like it better than school.” A careful answer may notice that both readings fit a girl who notices something and still does not judge it, while Jonas, that same afternoon, judges the loss of color in a moment.

What it asks It asks the student to decide whether a joke is funny, and to say why. The Giver has just told Jonas that flesh was once “many different colors” and that “Today flesh is all the same.” Then he “chuckled, suddenly”: “We've never completely mastered Sameness. I suppose the genetic scientists are still hard at work trying to work the kinks out. Hair like Fiona's must drive them crazy.” The joke is easy to pass by. It shows that Sameness is not finished, and that it is still being worked on people's bodies. It takes up one part of the last written question: what the people “gained control” of, and what it takes to keep it. The talk should not say what the scientists do to anyone; the chapter says only that they are “still hard at work.”

One reading

Yes. One red-haired girl has beaten a whole team of scientists, and the picture of them going crazy over her hair is funny. The Giver enjoys it; he has noticed her hair before and likes it.

• We've never completely mastered Sameness.
• quite distinctive, actually; I've noticed it before.

Another reading

No. Under the joke, people are at work making bodies the same, and hair like Fiona's is what gets in their way. Flesh was once many colors and now is not. That is hard to laugh at right after Jonas has seen how beautiful red is.

• I suppose the genetic scientists are still hard at work trying to work the kinks out.
• Today flesh is all the same

Listen for

• Says in the student's own words what the scientists are trying to do, using “still hard at work.”
• Notices that The Giver laughs “suddenly,” right after talking about flesh that was once “many different colors.”
• Sets the joke beside Jonas's cry, “The red was so beautiful!”
• Does not say what the scientists do to anyone; the chapter does not show it.

If stuck

• What are the genetic scientists trying to do?
• Why would hair like Fiona's drive them crazy?
• Can something be funny and sad at the same time?

A strong answer A strong response might laugh along: the scientists have “never completely mastered Sameness,” and The Giver plainly likes Fiona's hair, “quite distinctive, actually.” Another might not laugh: the scientists are “still hard at work trying to work the kinks out,” and “Today flesh is all the same.” A careful answer may say the joke is both at once: The Giver laughs at the scientists, but what they are working on is people.

What it asks It asks the student to weigh a loss that no one feels. Fiona's hair is the chapter's clue: “Your friend Fiona has red hair,” The Giver says, and the faces Jonas saw were not “as deep or vibrant” as it. Jonas sees it change only “for that flickering instant,” and until today he had no word for it: “The what?” No one around him can remember a time of color; everyone has only “one-generation memories.” Jonas asks, “Why can't everyone see them?” The Giver answers, “We relinquished color.” The student decides whether Fiona has lost something, and writes it with a reason from the chapter. It takes up one part of the last written question: Jonas's “We shouldn't have!” says something real was lost, and this asks what a loss is when the people who lost it do not know. The card must not say who chose Sameness, or that Jonas will keep the colors.

One reading

Yes. The red is really there in her hair, whether she sees it or not. The Giver says it is deeper than the red tones in faces. Not knowing what you are missing does not make it any less missing.

• Your friend Fiona has red hair
• it wasn't as deep or vibrant as the apple, or your friend's hair

Another reading

No, not for her. You cannot miss a thing you have never had. No one in the community remembers back to color, so no one feels it gone. Even Jonas did not miss red before today; he did not know the word.

• Everyone in the community has one-generation memories like those.
• "The what?"

Listen for

• Says what Fiona cannot see, using The Giver's words about her hair.
• Notices that Jonas himself had no word for red until today: “The what?”
• Notices that no one's memory reaches back to color: everyone has “one-generation memories.”
• Weighs whether a loss counts when the one who has lost it does not feel it; writes in complete sentences with a line from the chapter, and does not say who chose Sameness, or that Jonas will keep the colors.

If stuck

• What does The Giver say about Fiona's hair?
• Did Jonas miss red before he saw it?
• Can you miss something you have never seen?

A strong answer A strong response might call it a loss: “Your friend Fiona has red hair,” and the faces were not “as deep or vibrant as the apple, or your friend's hair”; not knowing does not make it less hers. Another might say it is no loss to her: “Everyone in the community has one-generation memories,” so no one remembers color to miss it, and Jonas himself, before today, could only ask, “The what?” A careful answer may notice that, either way, the people who let go of color cannot feel what they lost; only Jonas and The Giver, who have seen it, can. That is where Jonas's “We shouldn't have!” comes from.

What it asks This is the last question the student meets, and it gathers the earlier ones. Jonas has just learned the word red. The Giver says, “Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness,” and then, “We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others.” Jonas answers “fiercely”: “We shouldn't have!” The Giver looks “startled at the certainty of Jonas's reaction,” smiles “wryly,” and says it took him “many years” to reach the same place: “Maybe your wisdom will come much more quickly than mine.” Only a moment earlier, “Jonas wasn't interested, just then, in wisdom. It was the colors that fascinated him.” The student decides whether deciding so quickly is a good thing, and defends it. The chapter does not say who made the choice, what the control was for, or that Jonas will keep the colors; no answer may claim them.

One reading

Yes. Jonas has seen what was lost with his own eyes, and he does not need years to know it was beautiful. The Giver reached the same answer in the end, and he even wonders whether Jonas's wisdom will come faster than his.

• The red was so beautiful!
• Maybe your wisdom will come much more quickly than mine.

Another reading

No, or not yet. Jonas has seen one color and none of what Sameness gave. A moment before, he did not even care about wisdom. The Giver's wry smile and his “many years” suggest that this judgment needs more than one afternoon, even if it ends in the same place.

• Jonas wasn't interested, just then, in wisdom.
• We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others.

Listen for

• States The Giver's account fairly: something was gained, “control of many things,” as well as lost.
• Uses the chapter's own words for Jonas's answer, “fiercely” and “certainty.”
• Weighs The Giver's reply: does his wry smile and “Maybe your wisdom” sound like praise, a warning, or both?
• Writes in complete sentences, takes a position with a line from the chapter, and answers the other side; does not say who chose Sameness, or that Jonas will keep the colors.

If stuck

• What does The Giver say the people gained, and what did they let go?
• How long did it take The Giver to agree with Jonas?
• If a fast answer turns out the same as a slow one, does the speed matter?

A strong answer A strong response takes a position and tests it. A student might argue it is good: Jonas has seen red and found it “so beautiful,” and The Giver himself says, “Maybe your wisdom will come much more quickly than mine.” Another might argue it is too fast: a moment before, “Jonas wasn't interested, just then, in wisdom,” and he has not weighed what The Giver says they gained, “control of many things.” A careful answer may notice that The Giver reached the same conclusion and still smiles “wryly”: Jonas's answer may be right while the way he reached it is still untested.