Chapter 4 · The Giver

Copywork

He knew him, of course, since they had always been groupmates, but they had never talked about the boy's accomplishments because such a conversation would have been awkward for Benjamin. There was never any comfortable way to mention or discuss one's successes without breaking the rule against bragging, even if one didn't mean to. It was a minor rule, rather like rudeness, punishable only by gentle chastisement. But still.

It was a nuisance to keep oneself covered while changing for games, and the required apology if one had by mistake glimpsed another's body was always awkward. He couldn't see why it was necessary. He liked the feeling of safety here in this warm and quiet room; he liked the expression of trust on the woman's face as she lay in the water unprotected, exposed, and free.

Read both passages aloud. Each time, Jonas thinks about a rule. Which rule does he take more seriously?

For the educator Two passages, in story order: Jonas thinking about Benjamin and the rule against bragging, and Jonas in the bathing room. The first passage has four sentences. The first is long: it sets off “of course” with a pair of commas and joins its parts with “since,” “but” and “because.” The second runs on with “without breaking the rule against bragging” and ends after a comma with “even if one didn't mean to”; it has the possessive “one's” and the contraction “didn't.” The third sets off “rather like rudeness” with a pair of commas. The last is only “But still.” It is written the way Jonas thinks, and the student copies it as the book has it. The second passage has three sentences. The first joins two long parts with a comma and “and,” and has the possessive “another's.” The second is short, with “couldn't.” The third has two halves joined by a semicolon, each beginning “he liked,” and ends with a list of three, “unprotected, exposed, and free,” with a comma before “and.” The vocabulary word “awkward” comes from the first passage, and “nuisance” from the second; “awkward” appears in the second passage too. The talk prompt asks which rule Jonas takes more seriously. He calls the rule against bragging minor and still steers clear of it (“But still.”); he finds the covering rule a nuisance and “couldn't see why it was necessary.” Either answer can stand if the student points to the words.

Discussion

Narration Tell back the chapter in order. Start with Jonas riding slowly, looking for Asher's bicycle. Stop where Jonas helps Larissa out of the tub.

Jonas never talks with Benjamin about his great work, because of the rule against bragging. So why is it all right to tell a person's whole life out loud at a release? Theme
Jonas likes the trust on Larissa's face as she lies in the water “unprotected, exposed, and free.” How can she be unprotected and free at the same time? Inference
Larissa says “all lives are meaningful,” and right after that, “But Edna. My goodness.” Does she believe her own words? Moral reasoning
Jonas jokes that the committee might “study” the idea of a bigger room, and Larissa hoots with laughter. What are they laughing at? Tone

Make a Connection Think of a story, or a time in your own life, when people gave someone a happy send-off. What did the party do for the people saying goodbye?

Vocabulary

awkward: they had never talked about the boy's accomplishments because such a conversation would have been awkward for Benjamin. Uncomfortable and embarrassing, so no one knows quite what to say.
leisurely: Jonas rode at a leisurely pace, glancing at the bikeports beside the buildings to see if he could spot Asher's. Slow and relaxed, in no hurry at all.
luxury: The freedom to choose where to spend those hours had always seemed a wonderful luxury to Jonas A special pleasure or comfort that you don't usually get.
regulated: other hours of the day were so carefully regulated. Controlled by rules about exactly what to do and when.
hasten: he had even developed some machines and methods to hasten rehabilitation. To make something happen sooner or faster.
frail: Jonas squeezed cleansing lotion onto the clean sponge at the edge of the tub and began to wash her frail body. Thin and weak, easily hurt.
nuisance: It was a nuisance to keep oneself covered while changing for games, and the required apology if one had by mistake glimpsed another's body was always awkward. Something annoying that gets in your way.

Critical thinking

Roberto got a toast, but the Eleven in the whispered story got “no applause, no celebration.” Is a celebration here an honor, or just the usual thing?
Jonas grins and wishes he had seen Roberto's face. Should Larissa's happy story of Roberto's last day reassure Jonas, or make him wonder more?