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The Giver
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Does this Ceremony truly honor differences, or only the ones that fit a job?
The tension The Chief Elder announces "today we honor your differences," yet when she moves from Eighteen to Twenty there is "a sudden hush," his groupmates "avert their eyes," and Jonas wants "to disappear, to fade away, not to exist."
How the Ceremony of Twelve speaks of honoring each new Twelve, while its stories and silences teach them how to see themselves.
The chapter covers the Ceremony of Twelve up to Jonas's turn. The Elevens sit in the front of the Auditorium by their birth numbers, which are rarely used after the Naming except when a grown-up scolds a toddler. Jonas is Nineteen, and for a few hours there are two Eleven-nineteens: Jonas and a shy new Eleven named Harriet. Fiona, Eighteen, sits on his left; Pierre, Twenty, a worrier about rules, sits on his right; Asher, Four, sits in the row ahead. The Chief Elder tells the Elevens they have spent their years learning to fit in, but that “today we honor your differences.” She describes four of them without names, and Jonas recognizes Fiona and Benjamin but hears nothing that sounds like himself. The Assignments begin: Madeline is made Fish Hatchery Attendant; Inger is made Birthmother, a job Jonas's mother once called “a job without honor,” though Jonas thinks the Committee chose well; Isaac is made Instructor of Sixes. At Asher's turn, the Chief Elder jokes that the committee never thought of making him an Instructor of Threes, and the audience howls. Then she brings up how, as a Three, he said “smack” for “snack,” and the audience laughs again. Jonas laughs too, and remembers the discipline wand, the lashes that left marks on Asher's legs, and the time Asher stopped talking. “But he learned,” the Chief Elder says. Asher is made Assistant Director of Recreation, and she thanks him for his childhood, as she thanks each new Twelve. Fiona is made Caretaker of the Old. Then the Chief Elder calls “Twenty,” Pierre. The crowd falls silent. Jonas knows she does not make mistakes. He sits dazed through the Thirties and Forties while his groupmates glance at him and look away. He wants to disappear, does not dare look for his mother and father, and bows his head, asking himself what he did wrong.
Before reading, ask the student what it is like to wait for a turn while a crowd watches. Read aloud to “They have determined your futures.” and stop: ask what the Chief Elder wants the Elevens to believe. Read on through Inger's Assignment and ask what Jonas thinks of her. Read Asher's turn slowly, from “All of us in the community know and enjoy Asher,” to “thank you for your childhood.” Do not laugh along or hurry past the wand. Ask only what the student thinks of the story and of the room's laughter, and leave the judgment for the written questions. Read the rest straight through without stopping, so the gap lands as it does for Jonas. At the end, ask what Jonas feels. Do not say why he was skipped: the chapter does not say, and the next chapter should keep its surprise.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in three parts. First the seating and the speech: the Elevens in order by birth number, the two Eleven-nineteens, and the Chief Elder's words about fitting in and honoring differences. Then the Assignments through Asher: Madeline, Inger, Isaac, and Asher's turn, with the snack story and the wand. Last Fiona's turn, the gap after Eighteen and the long wait to the end. 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 waiting for a turn. Ask for one sentence in which the speaker's words are broken by who is speaking, like “‘This is the time,’ she began, looking directly at them, ‘when we acknowledge differences.’” Ask for one sentence that ends in a list of three phrases, each beginning with “to”, like “to fit in, to standardize your behavior, to curb any impulse”. Ask for one sentence that sets a single word off with two commas, like “glance at him, embarrassed, and then avert their eyes”.
Debate Take sides on the last written question. First make two lists together: every difference the chapter praises (caretaking, a love of newchildren, science, physical labor, Fiona's gentleness, Asher's good humor), and every difference it corrects or keeps down (the impulses the Elevens learned to curb, Asher's mixed-up words, Inger's laziness). One side argues the Ceremony truly honors differences, because each Twelve gets work that fits and goes back to their seat smiling. The other argues it honors only the ones that fit a job, using Asher's story and the hush at the gap. Each side gives a reason and a line from the chapter, and answers one from the other side. No one may say what Jonas will be given, or that the Chief Elder made a mistake; the chapter says “The Chief Elder made no mistakes.”
Purpose Close with the writer's choice of order. The chapter opens with numbers: every Eleven sits by birth number, Jonas “had always been Nineteen,” and the Assignments go One, Two, Three, Four, in a steady count. Read aloud “Eighteen, Fiona, on his left, was called.” and then “‘Twenty,’ he heard her voice say clearly.” Ask the student what the steady count did to them as a reader, and why the writer spends the chapter's first page on numbers. Then look at the last line. The chapter stops on Jonas's own question, with no answer. Ask why the writer might end there, on Jonas turning the blame on himself, and not on what has happened. Leave the question open, as the chapter does.
Easier Read aloud together from “Eighteen, Fiona, on his left, was called.” to the end. Make two lists: what the room does during Asher's turn, and what it does when Twenty is called. Talk through the third discussion question (“But he learned”) and the first written question (Asher hearing his story told), then answer the last written question aloud.
On level Talk through the three 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 Pierre, who sits on Jonas's right and is always whispering, “Have you checked the rules, Jonas?” He is the one called in Jonas's place, “with a startled look.” Ask why the writer might seat a boy who worries over every rule right beside the gap, and whether that changes the student's answer. The answer must not say what Jonas will be given, or that he is being punished for breaking rules: the chapter does not say why he was skipped.
1. The Chief Elder describes four of the Elevens, and Jonas hears nothing that sounds like himself. Why might the writer tell us that before the Assignments begin?Author's choice
What it asks It asks the student why the writer lets Jonas find nothing of himself in the speech. The Chief Elder describes “this year's group and its variety of personalities,” though “she singled no one out by name”: one with skills at caretaking, one who loves newchildren, one with “unusual scientific aptitude,” and one for whom physical labor is a pleasure. Jonas matches Fiona and Benjamin. Then the writer gives one line a paragraph of its own: “He heard nothing that he recognized as himself, Jonas.” The student weighs why that line comes before the Assignments begin. It takes up one part of the last written question: whether the speech's idea of difference has room for every Eleven. The chapter never says what is different about Jonas, and the talk should not guess what he will be given.
A warning. The four differences she names are skills and loves that lead to work, and nothing in the list fits Jonas. The writer plants a small worry early, so the skipped number later does not come from nowhere.
He heard nothing that he recognized as himself, Jonas.
a fourth for whom physical labor was an obvious pleasure
Nothing strange yet. She describes only four of the Elevens, and the count later runs into the Forties, so most of the group heard nothing about themselves. The line shows how hard Jonas is listening, and how much he wants to be seen.
Jonas shifted in his seat, trying to recognize each reference as one of his groupmates.
as they moved into the Thirties and then the Forties, nearing the end
A strong answer A strong response might call the line a warning: the four differences the Chief Elder names are skills and loves that lead to work, and Jonas hears “nothing that he recognized as himself,” so the skipped number has been prepared for. Another might say it is not strange at all: she describes only four Elevens, and the count runs on into “the Thirties and then the Forties,” so most of the group heard nothing about themselves; the line shows how hard Jonas is listening. A careful answer may notice that the writer gives the line a paragraph of its own, and that the chapter never says what is different about Jonas.
2. Jonas thinks Inger is a little lazy, and that her later work as a Laborer will “impose self-discipline.” Is her Assignment a reward for who she is, or a way to change her?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to judge Inger's Assignment. When Inger is made a Birthmother, Jonas remembers that his mother called it “a job without honor,” but he thinks the Committee chose well. He sees Inger as “a nice girl though somewhat lazy,” with a strong body. She will enjoy three pampered years, give birth “easily and well,” and then become a Laborer, work that “would use her strength, keep her healthy, and impose self-discipline.” The student decides whether the Assignment rewards who Inger is or sets out to change her. It takes up one part of the last written question: what the Ceremony does with a difference such as laziness.
A reward. The Assignment fits her as she is. She is strong, she will enjoy being pampered, and she is smiling when she sits down. Jonas thinks the Committee chose well.
She would enjoy the three years of being pampered that would follow her brief training
Inger was smiling when she resumed her seat.
A way to change her. Jonas expects the Laborer work to cure her laziness, and the job itself is “lacking in prestige.” Her difference is put to use, not praised.
the task of Laborer that would follow would use her strength, keep her healthy, and impose self-discipline
Birthmother was an important job, if lacking in prestige.
A strong answer A strong response might call it a reward: Inger is strong, she “would enjoy the three years of being pampered,” and she is “smiling” when she sits down. Another might call it a way to change her: Jonas expects the Laborer work to “impose self-discipline,” and the job is “lacking in prestige.” A careful answer may notice that Jonas is only guessing at the committee's reasons, and that he finds both a fit and a fix in the same Assignment.
3. Little Asher went silent for a while, and the Chief Elder says, “But he learned.” What did he learn?Character
What it asks It asks the student to say what Asher's punishment taught him. As a Three, Asher said “smack” for “snack” and was struck with the discipline wand, again and again, until the lashes “left marks on Asher's legs.” For a while he stopped talking altogether. Before the whole community, the Chief Elder brings up “the difference between snack and smack” and the time “we had a silent Asher!” She says, “But he learned,” and adds that his talk now has “greater precision” and that “His corrections and apologies are very prompt.” The student decides what the lesson was. It takes up one part of the last written question: what became of a difference the town did not want. Asher is “beaming” at his Assignment; the talk should not claim he resents the Chief Elder or the punishment.
To speak with care. The wand was meant to teach exact speech, and it worked: his slips are now “very few.” He is cheerful and has a fine Assignment.
When he began to talk again, it was with greater precision.
And now his lapses are very few.
To be afraid of his own mistakes. First he learned to go silent, and then to apologize fast. A slip of the tongue had brought him pain.
Eventually, for a period of time, Asher stopped talking altogether, when he was a Three.
His corrections and apologies are very prompt.
A strong answer A strong response might say Asher learned what the Chief Elder says he learned: to speak with “greater precision,” so that his lapses are “very few.” Another might say he learned to fear his own mistakes: he went silent for a while, and now “His corrections and apologies are very prompt.” A careful answer may hold both, and notice that the Chief Elder names the change in Asher but never the marks on his legs.
1. When the Chief Elder brings up “snack and smack,” Asher nods and the audience laughs. What is it like for Asher to hear that story told in front of everyone?
What it asks It asks the student to stand inside Asher at the Ceremony. The Chief Elder jokes that the committee did not consider “for an instant” making Asher an Instructor of Threes, and “The audience howled with laughter.” Asher laughs too, “looking sheepish but pleased at the special attention.” Then she brings up “the difference between snack and smack,” and “Asher nodded ruefully, and the audience laughed aloud.” The story she points to is the one Jonas remembers: the discipline wand, the lashes that “left marks on Asher's legs,” and the time Asher stopped talking. The student decides what hearing it told this way is like for Asher, and writes it with a reason from the chapter. It takes up one part of the last written question: what the Ceremony does with a difference the town once punished. Asher is “beaming” at his Assignment; the talk should not claim he resents the Chief Elder or the punishment.
He enjoys it. Asher is known for his good humor, he grins and laughs along, and he likes the whole community's attention. The story ends well for him, with a fine Assignment and a cheering crowd.
Asher laughed, too, looking sheepish but pleased at the special attention.
Then he turned and left the stage as the audience cheered.
It stings a little under the smile. He nods “ruefully,” a little sorry, and the slip the room laughs at once brought lashes and a long silence. Laughing along is what the room expects of him.
Asher nodded ruefully, and the audience laughed aloud.
escalating to a series of painful lashes that left marks on Asher's legs
A strong answer A strong response might say Asher enjoys it: he laughs, “looking sheepish but pleased at the special attention,” and leaves the stage “as the audience cheered.” Another might say it stings a little under the smile: he nods “ruefully,” and the slip the room laughs at once brought lashes that “left marks on Asher's legs” and a time when he “stopped talking altogether.” A careful answer may notice that the Threes once “laughed nervously” at the same slip, and ask what the grown-up laughter leaves out.
2. Jonas wonders if he heard wrong, and then if he forgot his own number. Why does he end up asking what he did wrong?
What it asks It asks the student to explain where Jonas's search for a reason ends. When the Chief Elder calls Twenty, his first thought is “Had he heard wrong?” Then: “A mistake. She made a mistake.” But he knows “The Chief Elder made no mistakes.” Through the Thirties and Forties he wonders, “Could he have forgotten his own number?” and answers himself, “He had always been Nineteen.” No one explains anything. His groupmates look away, and the chapter ends with him searching his mind for what he had done wrong. The student explains why his reasons end on himself, and writes it with a reason from the chapter. It takes up one part of the last written question: how being set apart feels to the one set apart. The chapter does not say why he was skipped, and the talk should leave that open.
Because every other reason falls away. He did not hear wrong, the Chief Elder makes no mistakes, and his number is right. What is left is something about himself.
The Chief Elder made no mistakes.
He had always been Nineteen.
Because his life has taught him that being set apart means trouble. Grown-ups use a toddler's number when he misbehaves, and the Elevens learned to curb whatever sets them apart. Now his groupmates look at him and quickly look away.
indicating that mischief made one unworthy of a name
He saw the others in his group glance at him, embarrassed, and then avert their eyes quickly.
A strong answer A strong response might say every other reason falls away: he did not hear wrong, “The Chief Elder made no mistakes,” and “He had always been Nineteen,” so only he is left. Another might say his life has taught him that standing apart means trouble: grown-ups use a toddler's number when “mischief made one unworthy of a name,” and his groupmates look away, “embarrassed.” A careful answer may notice that most of his reasons were about himself from the start, and that no one in the chapter says the gap is about anything he did.
3. The Chief Elder says, “today we honor your differences.” Does this Ceremony truly honor differences, or only the ones that fit a job?
What it asks This is the last question the student meets, and it gathers the earlier ones. The Chief Elder says the Elevens have spent their years learning “to fit in,” and then that “today we honor your differences.” She praises skill at caretaking, a love of newchildren, a gift for science and a pleasure in physical labor. Fiona, gentle, becomes Caretaker of the Old; Asher, praised for his good humor, becomes Assistant Director of Recreation. But Asher's old difference, his mixed-up words, met the discipline wand, and Jonas expects work to “impose self-discipline” on Inger. When the count skips Nineteen, the room goes silent, and Jonas wants “to disappear, to fade away, not to exist.” The student weighs the speech against what the chapter shows, and defends an answer. The chapter does not say why Jonas was skipped or what he will be given; the answer must rest on what happens to the others and in the room.
It truly honors them. Each Twelve gets work that fits who they are, and the committee knows them well: Madeline's hours at the Hatchery, Fiona's gentleness, Asher's cheer. Each one smiles or beams at the end, and the Chief Elder thanks each one for their childhood.
It was perfect for such a sensitive, gentle girl
She clipped on his new badge as he stood beside her, beaming.
Only the ones that fit a job. A useful difference gets praise. One that is not useful, like Asher's mixed-up words, was smacked away, and Jonas expects Inger's to be worked away. The Elevens were taught to curb anything else, and the one break in the count brings a hush, not honor.
to curb any impulse that might set you apart from the group
He wanted to disappear, to fade away, not to exist.
A strong answer A strong response takes a position and tests it. A student might argue the Ceremony truly honors differences: Fiona's gentleness makes her Assignment “perfect,” Asher is “beaming,” and each Twelve is thanked by name. Another might argue it honors only the differences that fit a job: Asher's mixed-up words met the wand, Jonas expects work to “impose self-discipline” on Inger, and the Elevens were taught “to curb any impulse that might set you apart from the group.” A careful answer may notice that where the count breaks, the chapter shows no honor yet, only “a sudden hush,” and a boy who wants “to disappear.”