The Giver
Chapter 6 — Teaching Companion
Lois Lowry · Trailblazers 4th–6th
Coaching, not a script — and not an answer key: every question here has more than one defensible answer.
This chapter's big question
If the lost Caleb and the released Roberto are both gone for good, why does the community mourn only one of them?
The tension "Release was not the same as Loss": the first Caleb, drowned in the river, is murmured away over a whole day and then murmured back for his replacement, while the new Roberto takes the name of a man released last week with no ceremony at all.
Today's focus
What the two days of Ceremony show about how the town marks each new year and how it handles those who are lost, sent away or out of step.
Two core ideas
- Each step of the Ceremony, and each rule around it, also teaches a habit, such as needing others, keeping order or not getting attached.
- The town mourns the lost Caleb aloud but passes Roberto's name on without a murmur, and Jonas, sure that every choice is carefully made, does not stop to ask why.
The shape at a glance
The chapter covers the two days of the yearly Ceremony. At home, Mother ties Lily's hair ribbons while Jonas reminds Lily of the good things each year brings: the front-buttoned jacket at Seven, volunteer hours at Eight, a bicycle at Nine. The whole community gathers in the Auditorium, and Jonas sits in the balcony with the Elevens. Gabe is not among the newchildren being named. He has not gained enough weight or begun to sleep soundly, and instead of being labeled Inadequate and released, he has been labeled Uncertain after Father's plea and given an extra year; every member of the family has signed a pledge not to become attached to him. At the Naming, Fiona's family receives a brother named Bruno. A couple whose first Caleb, a Four, wandered away and fell into the river receives a new Caleb. The town, which once murmured the name for a whole day at the Ceremony of Loss, now murmurs it back in the Murmur-of-Replacement. Another newchild is named Roberto, after Roberto the Old, released last week, and there is no murmur for him. Lily becomes an Eight and receives a jacket with pockets. On the second day, the Nines receive bicycles, and Fritz from next door bumps the podium with his; the Tens' hair is cut; the Elevens receive new clothes with no speech. At lunch the Elevens stand apart, anxious. Asher tells a story of a man who did not get the Assignment he expected, swam the river and joined another community, and Jonas says somebody made it up. Asher adds that by the rules, someone who doesn't fit in can apply for Elsewhere. Jonas wonders how anyone could not fit in, thinks of how carefully the Elders make every Match and every Assignment, and is certain his own will be right. The signal comes, and the crowd moves back toward the doors.
A way in
Before reading, ask the student how a birthday is marked at home, and whether anything they own shows how old they are. Read aloud to “the first very visible symbol of growing up.” and stop: ask what each jacket is meant to teach. Read on through Gabe's extra year, and stop at “without protest or appeal” to ask what the family has promised. Read the Naming slowly, from “The audience applause” to “Release was not the same as Loss.” Do not explain the last sentence. Ask only what happened for the new Caleb and what did not happen for the new Roberto, and leave the why for the last written question. Read the second day through to lunch, and stop at “How could someone not fit in?” to ask how the student would answer Jonas. Read to the end.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in three parts. First the morning at home: Lily's ribbons, the jackets, and Jonas's joke about taking Lily flying. Then the first day: Gabe's extra year and the pledge, the Naming, the two Calebs, the new Roberto, and Lily becoming an Eight. Last the second day: the Nines and Fritz, the Tens and the Elevens, and lunch, with Asher's swimmer story and Jonas's certainty. Ask for three or four sentences of the student's own for each part.
Imitate the author After copying, the student writes three sentences of their own about something that marks growing up in their own life. Ask for one sentence that names a thing twice, the second time after a comma, like “the first sign of independence, the first very visible symbol of growing up.” Ask for one sentence that sets a short phrase off with two commas in the middle, like “The bicycle, at Nine, would be”. Ask for one sentence that fades as it goes, through a string of phrases set off by commas, like “less and less frequently, softer in volume,”.
Debate Take sides on the last written question. First make two lists together: everything the town does when the first Caleb is lost and when the new Caleb is named, and everything it does for the new Roberto. One side argues the town mourns only Caleb because a loss is an accident and a release is planned. The other argues the town keeps itself from mourning release, though the chapter calls Gabe's release, had it happened, “a real failure and sadness,” and those released “never returned.” Each side gives a reason and a line from the chapter, and answers one from the other side. No one may say what release is or where Elsewhere is; the chapter does not tell.
Purpose Close with the writer's choice of pace. The Caleb and Roberto paragraphs come in the middle of a long, cheerful festival of ribbons, pockets, bicycles and haircuts, and the Roberto paragraph is only three short sentences. Right after “Release was not the same as Loss.” comes “He sat politely through the ceremonies of Two and Three and Four, increasingly bored as he was each year.” Read the two sentences one after the other and ask the student why the writer might move on so quickly, and what Jonas's boredom does to the line before it. Point out, too, how often the chapter says “neatly”: Lily's ribbons, the Tens' haircuts, a bicycle wheeled into its port. Leave the question open, as the chapter does.
Easier Read aloud together from “The audience applause” to “Release was not the same as Loss.” Make two lists: what the town does for the new Caleb, and what it does for the new Roberto. Talk through the second discussion question (the pledge) and the third (Fritz's small slips), then answer the last written question aloud.
On level Talk through all four discussion questions in order, then have the student write answers to the three written questions in complete sentences, each with a reason and a line from the chapter.
Harder Ask the student to write the last written question as an argument: a claim, the strongest reason against it, and an answer to that reason. Then bring in Asher's words at lunch about the person who applied for Elsewhere: “Not even a Ceremony of Release.” So release can be marked in some way, just not with a name murmured back. Ask whether the reused names, Caleb and Roberto, belong to a person or to a place in the town, and whether that changes the student's answer.
Discussion
- Until Seven, jackets button down the back, and then the buttons move to the front. Which matters more in Jonas's town: needing each other, or doing things on your own?Theme
What it asks It asks the student to weigh the two lessons the jackets teach. Fours, Fives and Sixes wear jackets that fasten down the back so that they “would learn interdependence.” At Seven, the front-buttoned jacket is “the first sign of independence,” and at Nine the bicycle moves a person “away from the protective family unit.” Lily's pockets at Eight and the Nines' bicycles each mark a step toward doing more alone. Yet the grown-ups in the same chapter wait on the Committee of Elders for a spouse, for newchildren and for their life's work. The student decides which lesson the town holds onto as people grow up. It takes up one part of the last written question: what each public sign of growing up teaches people to do.
One reading
Doing things on your own. Every year brings a new sign of it: buttons in front at Seven, pockets at Eight for keeping track of your own things, a bicycle at Nine. The town calls each one a step forward, and Lily can hardly wait for hers.
The front-buttoned jacket was the first sign of independence, the first very visible symbol of growing up.
indicating that she was mature enough now to keep track of her own small belongings
Another reading
Needing each other. The back buttons teach it first, and the lesson never really ends. Even grown-ups do not choose a spouse or their work for themselves; the Elders weigh those choices for them.
so that they would have to help each other dress and would learn interdependence
the Assignments were scrupulously thought through by the Committee of Elders
Listen for
- Says what the back buttons teach and what the front buttons teach, in the chapter's words or the student's own.
- Notices where the bicycle takes a Nine: “out into the community”, not off on their own.
- Brings in something grown-ups do, such as the Matching of Spouses or the Assignments, and asks who chooses.
- Treats both lessons as real; does not call the jackets a trick.
If stuck
- Why do the youngest jackets button down the back?
- What does each new gift let a person do alone?
- Who chooses a grown-up's spouse and work in Jonas's town?
A strong answer A strong response might say the town cares more about doing things on your own, because every Ceremony hands over a new sign of it, from front buttons to pockets to a bicycle. Another might say it cares more about needing each other, because the lesson of the back buttons never stops: grown-ups still wait for the Elders to choose a spouse and a life's work. A careful answer may notice where the bicycle takes a Nine: “out into the community”. Growing up here may mean leaning less on your family and more on the town.
- Every member of Jonas's family, even Lily, signs a promise not to get attached to Gabe. Who is that promise for?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to think about the pledge. Gabe is not ready to be placed with a family unit: he has not gained enough weight or begun to sleep soundly at night. After Father's plea, he gets an extra year at the Nurturing Center and spends his nights with Jonas's family. Each of them, “including Lily,” signs a pledge not to become attached to “this little temporary guest,” and to give him up “without protest or appeal” at next year's Ceremony. The student decides whom the promise serves. It takes up one part of the last written question: how the town handles a newchild who does not fit its plan. The family still takes Gabe in every night, and Lily and Father hover over him, so the talk should not treat the pledge as only cold.
One reading
The family. The pledge expects Gabe to go to a family unit of his own next year, and a promise not to get attached is meant to keep that parting from hurting. Jonas is already comforting himself that once Gabe is placed, they will still see him often.
Each family member, including Lily, had been required to sign a pledge that they would not become attached to this little temporary guest
At least, Jonas thought, after Gabriel was placed next year, they would still see him often
Another reading
The committee and its plan. The promise asks for no protest and no appeal, so no one will fight to keep Gabe when the plan says he goes. Father has already pleaded for him once.
they would relinquish him without protest or appeal
Father had gone before the committee with a plea on behalf of Gabriel
Listen for
- Uses “without protest or appeal” and says who would hear a protest.
- Notices that Lily has to sign too.
- Notices that the family takes Gabe in every night, and that Lily and Father hover over him.
- Does not say what will happen to Gabe next year; the chapter shows only the extra year.
If stuck
- Where does Gabe sleep this year?
- What does the family promise to do at next year's Ceremony?
- Can a promise not to get attached protect the person who makes it?
A strong answer A strong response might say the promise is for the family: Gabe is “this little temporary guest,” and not getting attached would make it easier to let him go. Another might say it is for the committee: the family must give him up “without protest or appeal,” so the plan can go ahead with no one fighting it. A careful answer may notice that the family still brings Gabe home each night, and that Lily and Father hover over him anyway, and may ask whether a promise like this can be kept.
- Fritz is scolded again and again for small slips, like shoes on the wrong feet. What harm do slips like that do in Jonas's town?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh what a small mistake costs in this town. Fritz, who lives next door, has been “summoned for chastisement again and again.” His slips are “small ones, always: shoes on the wrong feet, schoolwork misplaced, failure to study adequately for a quiz.” The chapter gives the town's reason: each one made it look as if Fritz had not been guided well, and each one “infringed on the community's sense of order and success.” The Nines, who broke a rule by practicing in secret for weeks, are met only with chuckles and small jokes when they ride home. The student decides whether Fritz's slips do real harm, and to whom. It takes up one part of the last written question: what the town protects when someone is out of step.
One reading
Real harm. The slips make Fritz's mother and father look as if they have not guided him well, and in a town this carefully ordered, one person out of step shows. Even Jonas's family dreads a bike left lying on the front walk.
But each such error reflected negatively on his parents' guidance
which they realized would probably too often be dropped on the front walk instead of wheeled neatly into its port
Another reading
Hardly any harm. Shoes on the wrong feet hurt no one. What suffers is a “sense” of order, the way things look. The Nines break a real rule, and everyone laughs, because they ride off in perfect balance and look like a success.
His transgressions were small ones, always
who in technical violation of the rule had been practicing secretly for weeks
Listen for
- Names Fritz's slips from the chapter and says how small they are.
- Uses the chapter's reason, “the community's sense of order and success,” and asks whether a sense of order is the same as order.
- Sets Fritz beside the Nines who practiced in secret, and notices how the town treats each.
- Judges the town's worry, not Fritz himself; does not call Fritz bad.
If stuck
- What kinds of mistakes does Fritz make?
- What rule do the other Nines break, and what does everyone do about it?
- Can a mistake matter because of how it looks, even if it hurts no one?
A strong answer A strong response might say the slips do real harm in this town: each one makes Fritz's mother and father look as if they have not guided him well, and Jonas, Mother and Father all cringe when Fritz bumps the podium almost as soon as he has his bike. Another might say they do almost no harm, since shoes on the wrong feet hurt no one, and point out that the Nines break a real rule and get only friendly jokes. A careful answer may notice the word “sense” in “sense of order and success,” and ask whether the town minds the mistake itself or the way it looks.
- At lunch, Asher tells of a man who swam across the river to another community. Jonas says his father heard the same story when he was a Twelve. Why would a story like that keep being told?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to think about why the swimmer story lasts. At lunch Asher tells of a man who was sure he would be assigned Engineer, was given Sanitation Laborer instead, swam across the river and joined another community. “Nobody ever saw him again.” Jonas laughs: somebody made it up, and Father heard the same story when he was a Twelve. The student decides what keeps such a story alive among those waiting for their Assignments. It takes up one part of the last written question: someone who is gone and never seen again. The chapter never says whether the story is true, and the talk should leave that open.
One reading
As a warning. The man did not accept his Assignment, and he was never seen again. The story seems to reach each group around the time they become Twelve, when it is most likely to make them take what they are given.
and instead they gave him Sanitation Laborer
Nobody ever saw him again.
Another reading
As a way out. The story says there is somewhere else to go if an Assignment is wrong. Asher does not laugh with Jonas; he looks at the river and worries that he cannot swim.
He was eyeing the river where it was visible behind the Auditorium.
I can't even swim very well
Listen for
- Notices who tells the story and when: the Elevens, on the day of the Ceremony of Twelve.
- Uses Asher's look at the river, not only Jonas's laugh.
- Notices that Father heard it at the same age, so it has been told for a long time.
- Does not say the story is true or untrue; the chapter leaves it open.
If stuck
- What happened to the man in Asher's story?
- What does Asher do after Jonas laughs?
- Why might a story that may not be true still get passed on?
A strong answer A strong response might say the story lasts as a warning: a man would not take his Assignment and “Nobody ever saw him again,” and it seems to reach each group around the time they become Twelve. Another might say it lasts because it offers a way out, and Asher, “eyeing the river,” seems to be measuring it against himself. A careful answer may notice that both readings start from the fear the Elevens share at lunch, when they stand “anxiously” apart: that an Assignment could be wrong.
Critical thinking
- The chapter uses one word twice. Jonas's family promises to “relinquish” Gabe when he gets a family of his own. At Ten, the boys “relinquished their long childish hair.” Why might the writer use the same word for both?
What it asks It asks the student to notice one word the chapter uses twice. On the first day, each member of Jonas's family signs a pledge to “relinquish” Gabe “without protest or appeal” when he is assigned to his own family unit at next year's Ceremony. On the second day, at the Ceremony of Ten, the females lose their braids, and the males, too, “relinquished their long childish hair.” Laborers sweep the hair away, and at lunch the new Tens stroke their short hair while the females shake their heads to feel how light it is. The student decides why the writer might use the same word for giving up hair and giving up a baby, then writes a claim with a reason from the chapter. It takes up one part of the last written question: how the town teaches people to let go of what they lose. The chapter does not say what will happen to Gabe next year.
One reading
Because the town wants both to feel the same. Each is a planned step that comes when the Ceremony says so, and each is given up without fuss. The hair is swept away at once, and the family has promised to give Gabe up with no protest.
Laborers moved quickly to the stage with brooms and swept away the mounds of discarded hair.
they would relinquish him without protest or appeal
Another reading
Because the two are not the same, and the word makes us feel it. The Tens enjoy how light their heads feel without the heavy braids. Gabe sleeps in the family's home every night, and Lily and Father hover over him. A word that fits a haircut sounds strange when it is used for a baby.
the females shaking their heads to feel the unaccustomed lightness without the heavy braids they had worn so long
though he didn't hover over the little one the way Lily and his father did
Listen for
- Finds both places the word is used and says what is given up each time.
- Says how the new Tens seem to feel about their short hair, using the lunch scene.
- Says how the family seems to feel about Gabe, such as Lily and Father hovering over him.
- Writes in complete sentences with a reason and a line from the chapter; does not say whether Gabe will be placed or released.
If stuck
- What does “relinquish” mean?
- What do the Tens give up, and how do they seem to feel about it at lunch?
- Is giving up a baby the same kind of thing as giving up long hair?
A strong answer A strong response takes a position and backs it with a line. A student might argue the word shows the town wants both to feel the same: a planned step, taken when your turn comes, with no fuss, the way Laborers sweep the hair away and the family must give Gabe up “without protest or appeal.” Another might argue the word is there because the two are not the same: the Tens enjoy “the unaccustomed lightness” without their braids, while Lily and Father hover over Gabe. A careful answer may notice that the town asks a family to let go of a baby as calmly as a Ten lets go of long hair, and may ask whether anyone can do that.
- Jonas won't believe Asher's story without proof. Does Jonas have proof that the Elders always choose right?
What it asks It asks the student to turn Jonas's test back on Jonas. At lunch he waves off Asher's swimmer story: “have you ever once known of anyone—I mean really known for sure, Asher, not just heard a story about it—who joined another community?” Asher admits he has not. A few moments later Jonas is “certain” that his Assignment, and Asher's, “would be the right one.” He trusts the Elders because “The community was so meticulously ordered, the choices so carefully made,” and because Mother and Father's Match “had always been a successful one.” The student decides whether Jonas's trust meets the standard he set for Asher, and writes a claim with reasons. It takes up one part of the last written question: what Jonas notices and what he passes over. Jonas is sure of his town here; the chapter does not show him doubting it.
One reading
Yes. Jonas has seen a Match work in his own home, not in a story: Mother is more intelligent, Father is calmer, and they balance each other. He knows how long the Elders take, sometimes months or years, before they approve a Match.
They balanced each other.
sometimes an adult who applied to receive a spouse waited months or even years before a Match was approved and announced
Another reading
No. One family is not “always.” The rest is what Jonas has been told about how carefully things are done. When Asher says his mother called her story “really true,” Jonas only shrugs.
The community was so meticulously ordered, the choices so carefully made.
Jonas shrugged. It didn't worry him.
Listen for
- States Jonas's test in the student's own words: knowing for sure, not hearing a story.
- Names what Jonas has seen for himself, such as Mother and Father's Match, and what he has only been told.
- Notices Asher's answer to the swimmer story (“No”) and his mother's claim that someone “did that once.”
- Writes in complete sentences with reasons from the chapter; does not say Jonas secretly doubts his town.
If stuck
- What does Jonas ask Asher to prove?
- What has Jonas seen with his own eyes that makes him trust the Elders?
- Is one good example enough to show that something always works?
A strong answer A strong response tests Jonas by his own rule. A student might say his trust passes: he has watched Mother and Father's Match at home, where they “balanced each other,” and he knows the Elders wait “months or even years” before approving one. Another might say it does not: one Match is not proof that every choice is right, and much of his certainty rests on what he has been told, that “the choices” were “so carefully made.” A careful answer may notice that Asher's mother said her story was “really true,” and that Jonas, who asked for proof a moment before, answers her with a shrug.
- At the Naming, the whole town murmurs the name Caleb again, but not the name Roberto. If the lost Caleb and the released Roberto are both gone for good, why does the community mourn only one of them?
What it asks This is the last question the student meets, and it gathers the earlier ones. The first Caleb, a cheerful Four, wandered away unnoticed and fell into the river. The whole community said his name for a day, softer and softer, until he seemed to fade away. Now, as a newchild is named Caleb, the town murmurs the name back, “as if the first Caleb were returning.” Another newchild is named Roberto, and Jonas remembers that Roberto the Old was released only last week. There is no Murmur-of-Replacement for the new Roberto. “Release was not the same as Loss.” The student explains why one going is mourned and the other is not, and defends the answer. The chapter does not say what release is or where Elsewhere is; the answer must rest on how the town acts.
One reading
Because release is planned and loss is not. The first Caleb was lost by accident in a town that is meant to be safe, so everyone grieves together. Release is something the town decides, done the way it is meant to be done, so there is nothing to mourn.
The community was extraordinarily safe, each citizen watchful and protective of all children.
Release was not the same as Loss.
Another reading
Because mourning a release would mean saying out loud that it is sad. Those released never return, any more than the lost Caleb does. The chapter even says Gabe's release would have been “a real failure and sadness.” The town gives release no murmur, so that sadness is never spoken.
were sent Elsewhere and never returned to the community
so Gabriel would have represented a real failure and sadness
Listen for
- Sets the two Calebs beside the two Robertos and says what the town does for each.
- Uses “Release was not the same as Loss.” and says what makes the two different in the town's eyes.
- Notices that the chapter calls Gabe's release, had it happened, “a real failure and sadness”, and asks why that sadness gets no ceremony.
- Writes in complete sentences, takes a position with a line from the chapter, and answers the other side; does not say what release is or where Elsewhere is.
If stuck
- What did the town do when the first Caleb was lost?
- What happened when the new Roberto was named?
- Can people feel sad about something that was planned?
A strong answer A strong response takes a position and tests it. A student might argue the town mourns only Caleb because his loss was an accident in a town that is “extraordinarily safe,” while release is the town's own plan: “Release was not the same as Loss.” Another might argue the town does not let itself mourn release, though those released “never returned,” and Jonas knows that if Gabe were released, “they would not see him again. Ever.” A careful answer may notice that the town's two ceremonies for Caleb work in opposite directions, letting the name fade and then bringing it back, and that release gets neither.