The Giver

Ceremonies happen each December for the community’s children. For instance, all 50 children born in the previous year become "Ones" during the Ceremony of One—if none of them have been released. After being assigned a number at birth, each child receives a name and a family at this ceremony. Jonas learns that his father peeked at the name the struggling baby will receive at this ceremony if he is not released. The baby’s name is Gabriel. Jonas’s father hopes that by using this name with the child at home, he can help him thrive.

Jonas is surprised that his father has broken a rule. This rarely happens in the community, except in the case of bicycles. Children receive bikes when they become "Nines" and aren’t supposed to ride them before this. However, many kids help their younger siblings learn how to use them beforehand. Jonas is helping Lily learn how to ride a bike already. There has been talk of lowering the age for bicycle assignment, but rules are difficult to change in this society. If a rule is important, the community’s most important elder, the Receiver, must weigh in on it. The narrator explains that the Receiver lives alone, and the Committee of Elders doesn’t bother him with nonessential questions. Jonas has never seen the Receiver.

At the Ceremony of Twelve, the last of the childhood ceremonies, each child receives a job assignment for his or her adult life. Soon afterward, they begin training for these jobs and age doesn’t matter much anymore. Jonas’s father says he wasn’t overly nervous about his Ceremony of Twelve because he had a good sense of what his assignment would be. He had spent most of his volunteer hours at the Nurturing Center because he had “always loved the newchildren more than anything” (15), and the community’s elders had observed that he had an aptitude for newborn care. The position also seemed like a good fit for his quiet, shy nature. Jonas has also seen the elders observing his own activities, taking notes, and talking with his teachers. Jonas’s father says that the elders make careful decisions about job assignments, and citizens are usually satisfied with the roles they are given. Plus, if they are disappointed in their assignments, there is an appeal process. However, appeals usually result in the Committee of Elders doing a study that does not produce quick results. Jonas wonders what assignment his friend Asher will receive. Asher is lots of fun but lacks serious interests, so Jonas is concerned. Even though he feels reassured when his parents describe the care with which the elders assign jobs, Jonas knows he might feel uneasy tomorrow because he has no idea what his assignment will be.

Other changes follow the Ceremony of Twelve. As the children begin preparing for their adult lives and occupations, they no longer spend their days with all of the other kids their age. They no longer log volunteer hours, they play less frequently, and their friendships aren’t as close. School continues, but it isn’t as important as it was before. The children are expected to adjust, just as they do after other ceremonies that come with important changes. For instance, when children become "Eights," each must give up his or her comfort object, a special toy assigned at birth. Lily had a stuffed elephant for a comfort object, and Jonas had a bear. They perceive these toys as “imaginary creatures” (19)because they have never seen animals.

Gabriel, the newchild in danger of release, comes to stay with Jonas’s family in the evenings. Lily points out that the baby has the same kind of “funny” (20)eyes as Jonas. Nearly everyone in the community has dark eyes, but Jonas, Gabriel, and a handful of others have "pale eyes" (20) that give them a look of “depth” (21). Lily wonders if Jonas and Gabriel have the same birthmother. Lily’s comments are considered impertinent. Although avoiding such commentary is not a rule, it is “considered rude to call attention to things that were unsettling or different about individuals” (20). For this reason, no one does it. Similarly, people are rarely singled out when being reprimanded. When Jonas saved an apple from snack time instead of eating it right away, the Speaker reminded all male Elevens that this is not allowed. Jonas knows that he is required to apologize in such instances, so he does.

Lily thinks Gabriel is adorable and comments that she would like to be a Birthmother. Her mother tells her never to say this again, that Birthmother is an assignment with little honor. Each Birthmother bears three children that she doesn’t get to see. Even though she is pampered while pregnant, she must perform hard physical labor after her childbearing duties are finished. This continues until she enters the House of the Old. Lily’s father says she might be a good Nurturer and suggests that she volunteer at the Nurturing Center. All children must start volunteering when they become Eights, as she is about to do.

Jonas recalls a strange incident involving the apple from the snack basket. When he and Asher were playing catch with the piece of fruit, it appeared to change in midair. It was something else for an instant before resuming its usual state. Jonas asks Asher if he noticed anything odd about the apple. Asher did not. Jonas studies the apple under a magnifying glass and rolls it around, but there is “absolutely nothing remarkable about [it]” (24). It did not change size or shape, and it’s the same dull shade as before. Nevertheless, Jonas feels uneasy. He tries to forget the incident, but this is difficult.