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A Newbery Medal-winning young adult novel by Lois Lowry. Known for its expertly merciless [[Deconstruction]] of the [[Utopia]],
In 2014, a [[The Giver (film)|film adaptation]] was released, starring [[Jeff Bridges]], [[Meryl Streep]] and Brenton Thwaites.
* [[After the End]]: While ''The Giver'' implies that the world "evolved" for lack of a better term, into Sameness, its sequel ''[[Gathering Blue]]'' shows that the world takes place after a major upheaval known as
▲=== In addition to its exploration of the [[Utopia]], this novel provides examples of: ===
▲* [[After the End]]: While ''The Giver'' implies that the world "evolved" for lack of a better term, into Sameness, its sequel ''[[Gathering Blue]]'' shows that the world takes place after a major upheaval known as the The Ruin.
* [[Ambiguous Disorder]]: Gabriel does not meet typical developmental goals for babies/toddlers. It's vaguely implied that he had some kind of Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Note that when the book was written, PDD and Autism were thought to be much rarer than they are today.
** Jonas' slightly goofy, fun-loving friend Asher shows some signs of ADHD such as hyperactivity, impulsiveness, and blurting things out without thinking them through.
* [[Bureaucratically Arranged Marriage]]: All couples are arranged this way.
* [[Canon
* [[The Chosen One]]
* [[City in
* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]: Blue (or at least "pale") eyes are linked to the special Receiving ability.
* [[Conditioned to Accept Horror]]
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* [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]]: The Giver's real name is not revealed.
* [[False Reassurance]]: The language of the Community is ''full'' of doublespeak and euphemisms - although what that means in a community that literally has no way of knowing it is left as an exercise for the reader.
* [[First Time in
* [[Gainax Ending]]: {{spoiler|Either Jonas escapes, or the ending is a [[Dying Dream]]. Lois Lowry responded with a [[Shrug of God]] when asked about it.}}
** One fan theory says that {{spoiler|Jonas and Gabe were always on that hill, and the whole novel was [[All Just a Dream]] caused by hypothermia. Whether they live or not is still open-ended...}}
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* [[Grammar Nazi]]: Proper and precise word use are important in The Community. Jonas was punished for hyperbole when he claimed he was starving. He was also asked to use less vague language when he asked his parents if they loved him. Young children are not given an exemption: one toddler is beaten for saying "smack" instead of "snack", and for a time refuses to speak at all.
** To clarify, he asked for a "smack," and received it.
* [[Instrumentality]]{{context}}<!-- MOD: Toward what? (E.g. that question is an instrumentality toward getting a description of this example placed on the page.) -->
* [[Happiness Is Mandatory]]: Well, actual happiness might disrupt things with excess energy, more "Quiet Contentment Is Mandatory."
* [[Heroes Want Redheads]]
* [[How Do You Like Them Apples?]]{{context}}
* [[Karma Houdini]]: Jamenson in ''Gathering Blue'' manipulates the protagonist and had {{spoiler|attempted to murder her father.}} His punishment? Nothing, he gets off scot-free.
* [[Meaningful Name]]: Ophelia in ''[[Hamlet]]'' reminds us that "There's [R]osemary, that's for remembrance" - is it any wonder the community banned her name after what she did to them?
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* [[Mind Screw]]: The ending left a large number of readers hopelessly confused, especially the younger ones.
* [[Multiple Demographic Appeal]]
* [[Never Say "Die"]]: Nobody *dies* in the Community, they are "released" - or in rare cases, "lost".
* [[No Blood Ties]]
** [[Averted]] in that the reader is meant to assume, when the Giver reveals that {{spoiler|Rosemary was his daughter, that he is actually the biological father of Rosemary, Jonas, the female Six, and Gabe.}} And, when you think about it, male genetic DNA has to come from ''somewhere''...
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* [[Population Control]]: Every family is allowed two children. If a child dies, the parents either can apply or are simply given another baby of the same gender and given the same name, as a replacement.
* [[Released to Elsewhere]]: [[Trope Namer]].
** Somewhat played with, as while the trope itself is "mandatory euphemism for death," the premise of the book twists this a bit. Since the Givers contain more-or-less all the community's knowledge, we have no reason to believe that ''anybody'' knows that "release" is death, which in turn means they refer to it as "released to elsewhere" not as part of some Big Brotheresque Newspeak, but [[Fridge Horror|because they don't
* [[Renowned Selective Mentor]]: The community only has one titular Giver at a time. Each Giver must choose a child as his successor during his lifetime. The main character Jonas becomes the Giver's student, and he is considered to have a special rank in the community.
* [[Science Fantasy]] / [[Mohs Scale of Sci Fi Hardness]]: Everything that happens in the book is mostly within the realm of reality, except for the psychic way memories are passed from The Giver to The Receiver. No science is involved, just physical contact and concentration, implying use of some form of magic or supernatural ability. But in the sequels, especially ''Messenger'', certain people possess "gifts" that are essentially magical powers that perform a set task. There is even a [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|forest that changes itself to reflect the attitudes of the members of a community]].
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* [[Sinister Surveillance]]: ''No one can turn the speakers off''...
** Except the Giver
* [[Someone Has to Do It]]{{context}}
* [[Spiritual Successor]]: Gathering Blue was consider this to The Giver for several years. It wasn't until The Messenger that the two stories were connected.
* [[Town
* [[Unperson]]: The Community has removed {{spoiler|Rosemary}}, the previous Receiver of Memory, going as far as to decree that her name cannot be used for a newchild ever again, after {{spoiler|the memories she received dissipated out into the community when she applied for Release (assisted suicide, and she knew what it was - she even asked to administer the lethal injection herself) and the members of the Community had to feel emotion and pain for the first time. This fiasco is the source of the current rule that the Receiver is barred from asking for Release.}}
* [[The Voice]]: The Speaker who makes the announcements and warnings over the loudspeaker.
* [[The World Is Not Ready]]: for the memories.▼
* [[War Is Hell]]: Jonas receives a horrible memory about war.
* [[What Is This Thing You Call Love?]]: When Jonas learns about love through memories received from the Giver and asks his parents if they love him, they admonish him for not using precise language and say that asking "Do you enjoy me?" or "Do you take pride in my accomplishments?" would have been better.
* [[World of No Grandparents]]: Literally.
* [[Writers Cannot Do Math]]: Poorly
** Each family unit is allowed a maximum of 2 children, the same number of children are born each year and they are all assigned to a family unit. Not all adults have children, and not all family units have the maximum of 2 children.
** Birthmothers, the only job that allows giving birth, are only allowed to have 3 children each before they become laborers. This would require that at least 2/3 of all women become birth mothers to maintain a stable population, but this doesn't happen at the beginning of the book as the administration is handing out jobs to graduates.
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{{reflist}}
{{Top 100 Banned Books 1990s}}
{{Top 100 Banned Books 2000s}}
{{Top 100 Banned Books 2010s}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Young Adult Literature]]
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:Literature of the 1990s]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giver, The}}
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