If you are looking for the beginning of the study for The Giver then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of available book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!
Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)
What did Jonas experience for the first time “in his twelve years of life”? (pg. 82)
What would each of the new twelves be doing in their dwellings that night? (pg. 83)
Where was Lily planning to spend her first volunteer hours? (pg. 84)
How was Jonas’ folder of instructions different than most of the other twelves? (pg. 86)
What was Jonas’ immediate reaction to his new rules, that is to say, what did he lament first? (pg. 87)
What was the first rule to “startle” Jonas? (pg. 87)
Which rule did Jonas feel “no reaction to”? (pg. 89)
What “unintentional lie” did Jonas once tell? (pg. 89)
What thought, which occurred to Jonas for the first time, was “terrifying” to him? (pg. 90)
Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)
Why is it that “for years the children had memorized the required lessons for school, often yawning with boredom” but now they would begin to “eagerly” memorize their new rules? What accounts for the difference? (pg. 83)
As an extreme form of punishment the Romans sometimes practiced what was called “damnatio memoria” wherein a person's name was scrubbed from the record of history so as to make it like they never existed. How has something similar taken place in this story?
What do Rules 4, 5, and 8 have in common? (pg. 86-87)
Why might the above rules be important for Jonas’ training?
Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)
What makes friendships form and what makes them fall apart? Give some examples.
Is having time for “recreation” important? Why or why not? What purpose does it serve individuals and communities?
Can a person lie unintentionally or does lying involve the intention to deceive? Explain and defend your answer?
Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)
Read Exodus 20:16. Does this commandment conflict with rule 8 of Jonas’ instructions? Why or why not?
Read Joshua 2. How does this story affect our thinking about Jonas being told that he may lie?
Read Number 23:19. How should this statement about God’s nature and character affect our thinking about lying and truth telling?
Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)
Ignorance, Doubt, Fear