Discussion Topic
Examples of figurative language in The Giver by Lois Lowry
Summary:
Examples of figurative language in The Giver by Lois Lowry include metaphors, similes, and personification. For instance, "The life where nothing was ever unexpected. Or inconvenient. Or unusual. The life without color, pain, or past" uses metaphor to emphasize the monotony and control within the community. Similes are used to compare emotions and experiences, enhancing the reader's understanding of the characters' inner lives.
What examples of figurative language are in chapters 4-6 of The Giver?
Examples of figurative language in chapters 4–6 of The Giver include alliteration, euphemism, and symbolism.
In chapter 4 of The Giver, Jonas volunteers at the House of Old. There are a few examples of alliteration here. An old woman walks down the hallway, and Lowry tells us "she shuffled along in her soft slippers." Here we see repetition of words that start with the letter s and the sh sound. Jonas helps to wash some of the elderly, and we see repetition again as he fills the tub and "watched as the warm water flowed in."
The old woman talks to Jonas about the release of Roberto and reflects on the ceremony of "release." This is an example of a euphemism that the community uses. Jonas even asks Larissa what happens during a release and where those people go, but she does not know, either. Later in...
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the book, Jonas will learn what "release" really means.
A euphemism also comes up in chapter 5. When Jonas dreams about Fiona and the feeling of wanting, his mother tells him he is experiencing "the Stirrings." This is a euphemism for puberty and sexual desires that come with it. Jonas worries about the treatment, but his mother reassures him he just has to take a pill.
"No, no," she said. "It's just the pills. You're ready for the pills, that's all."
...
"That's all?" he asked.
"That's all," she replied.
Repetition is used here to show how Jonas's mother tries to be reassuring.
Chapter 6 shows us the start of the Ceremony, and we see a number of symbols. The community uses things like braids and bikes to symbolize age and growing up. Each new year comes with a new symbol for the children.
Repetition is also used we are told that the loss of a child is "very, very rare," alliteration is used in the phrase "midday meal," and rhyme is used as Jonas affectionately thinks of his sister as "Lily-billy."
How is figurative language used in chapter 6 of The Giver?
In The Giver, Lois Lowry highlights the sacrifices that become necessary in any society, suggesting that perfection is a purely subjective state of being. The perfect world that exists in The Giver means huge compromises where personal choices are not possible and where control is essential in maintaining the illusion. Figurative language is used to reveal seemingly harmless and innocuous events and circumstances which are far more sinister than their names and descriptions suggest. Taken at face value, the language does not cause any offense and using words such as "The Ceremony," "The Nurturers" and "The Naming" is intentionally misleading as perfection comes at a high price.
As the families attend the "Ceremony" where life-changing decisions are made collectively, there is much excitement surrounding the allocation of "newchildren"; children are assigned to families when they are considered ready. Gabe, allocated to Jonas's family, failed to reach his milestones appropriately and would have been labelled "inadequate, released" and transferred "Elsewhere" had Jonas's father not made an appeal. It is clear that being inadequate is quite an understatement as it not something from which a child can recover. He is "released Elsewhere," clearly a euphemism for a less than ideal place where children and people go (elsewhere) to die (be released).
Euphemism is extensively used and another example is when Caleb is described as a "replacement" child. The reader is told that "the first Caleb" was "lost"; in other words, he died. There is a morbid feeling as Caleb is clearly not a child in his own right; he is even assigned the same name designated during the "Murmur-of-Replacement." It has the capacity to send shivers down the reader's spine.
The exaggeration (hyperbole) is apparent when "newchildren," babies, are given their names and applause is accompanied by "an exuberant swell" and parents "glowing" with pride. These metaphors belie the reality of the situation, especially when these exaggerations are used to describe reactions to "replacement children," such as Caleb.
Fiona makes a face when she learns of her brother's name, "Bruno." Families do not choose their own names and this reveals how impersonal and insincere such choices are. Jonas considers his parents who, according to the committee, had "balanced each other" because their differences complimented their respective personalities. This is particularly ironic because the balance referred to exists in the minds of the decision makers and is a subjective belief, whereas this community is supposed to exist in a state of objective perfection.
In The Giver by Lois Lowry, what examples of figurative language are in chapter 13?
In addition to personification and onomatopoeia, there are several other instances of figurative language in this chapter. For example, when the Giver says to Jonas, "I cannot shield you forever," he is not referring to physical barrier used to protect a warrior in battle. Instead, he is using the word "shield" in a figurative sense—he means that he cannot protect Jonas from knowing the truth about his community. Other examples of figurative language (when words are used in a figurative sense, beyond their literal denotations) are when Jonas feels "weighted" with knowledge, when he "ached" for a memory to end, and when he tries to transfer a memory "with all his being." Another example of figurative language is the simile Jonas uses to explain how a human brain works. A simile is a sentence that compares two things using the words "like" or "as." Jonas tells the Giver that he learned from scientists that the brain is "like a computer" in order to explain how the brain uses electric impulses to send information. Then the Giver uses hyperbole, or exaggeration, when he responds that the scientists "know nothing." He doesn't mean that they actually know nothing, but there is a lot that scientists don't know, especially when it comes to human emotions.
There are a few examples of figurative language in chapter 13 of The Giver. The most pivotal event in this chapter is when Jonas is given the memory of poachers killing an elephant for its tusks. During this scene, a vehicle of some sort speeds off, its tires spinning fast. The spinning tires "spit pebbles." The description of an object performing a human motion (in this case, spitting) is called personification. Onomatopoeia is also used in the chapter. During the poacher scene, Jonas hears the "sharp crack" of guns being fired and the "crashing thud" of something falling. The words crack and thud are identified as onomatopoeia because the words themselves resemble the sounds they make. The imagery in this chapter is vivid, and the figurative language fits well with the scenes.
In The Giver by Lois Lowry, what examples of figurative language are in chapter 15?
While this isn't strictly an example of figurative language, one literary device in chapter 15 is allusion. An allusion is a brief reference to a person, place, thing, idea, or event of historical importance. An allusion typically only gives hints about the event that is being referenced.
At the beginning of chapter 15 of The Giver, Jonas enters the Annex Room for his training and realizes that it is the type of day where The Giver will most likely send him away. He instead offers to help and in return is given a detailed memory of war.
As soon as Jonas enters the memory, he finds himself in a field of men that are groaning, injured, or dying. Lowry gives a few indirect hints that might help readers understand that they are reading about war. On page 118, a "wild-eyed horse ... trots frantically through the mounds of men."
Additionally, Jonas sees a young boy wearing a gray uniform laying injured in the field. This image allows the reader to infer that Jonas could be viewing the American Civil War, as people often associate gray uniforms with the Confederate Army.