Pierce’s Plot Thoughts

Now that you’ve finished the novel, spend some time reflecting upon some significant events and ideas implied BEYOND the surface of Lois Lowry’s utopian/dystopian novel The Giver.  Select one topic below and, for the next 15 minutes, write without stopping. Allow your thinking to flow. Connect situations, setting, characters, themes, and symbols to events and ideas in our world. Your freewrite MUST BE AT LEAST 3 FULL PARAGRAPHS IN LENGTH. If you get stuck, reread the prompt and push your thinking further to reach greater ideas OR switch to another topic you can explore in depth.  If you switch topics, make sure to reference that in your writing.

•  (In a 3 + paragraph response, address each question. DO NOT LIST ANSWERS–WRITE IN PARAGRAPH FORM.)  What is your personal interpretation of the conclusion?  Where, exactly, are Jonas and Gabe? Supply at least 3 clues the author provides.  How do you feel about this?  Why do you think the authr made the decision to conclude with this particular scene? Is this an appropriate outcome for Jonas, Gabriel, the Giver, and the community? Explain thoroughly–with at least two fully developed reasons. 

 (In a 3 + paragraph response, address each question. DO NOT LIST ANSWERS–WRITE IN PARAGRAPH FORM.)  If you were the author of The Giver, how would you have concluded differently?  What mood would you want to establish for the reader?  Either explain how you would have ended the novel and give at least 3 clear examples and reasoning for your ideas, OR go ahead and write a different conclusion for the characters.  Make sure to include clear images as Lowry does so that your writing is consistent with the rest of the novel.

 (In a 3 + paragraph response, address each question. DO NOT LIST ANSWERS–WRITE IN PARAGRAPH FORM.)    What social commentary, theme, or underlying messages about real life do you think Lowry wants the reader to reflect upon after reading this novel, which is packed with conflicting ideas about the sacrifices a community had to make in order to create its version of “perfection”?  Consider three of the strongest and most vividly represented images from the beginning to the end of the novel, and connect these images to controversial ideas from our current and historic real world.  What does Lowry want “the children for whom we entrust the future” to understand about decisions past an present?  Do you think she makes her points in a valid and appropriate manner? Explain.

  Share the titles of your favorite books. For each book, include a mini-summary, and give readers an idea of what genre, or type of book, this is (ex: mystery, adventure, poetry, historical fiction, biography, informational, etc.)