Ideas for Reports and Papers

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1. Read one or two other dystopian novels, such as 1984 and Brave New World. Compare and contrast the characteristics of the societies they depict with those in The Giver. Consider the traits their protagonists share, if any, and how they respond to their respective societies.

2. Memory is a significant theme in Lowry's Anastasia Krupnik and Autumn Street. Compare and contrast what these books suggest about the value and pain associated with memory.

3. Choose one of the memories Jonas receives and write a story that incorporates it. Explore the characteristics of the person who first experienced this memory and why it was significant to them.

4. The novel ends on an ambiguous note. Based on your careful reading, write a continuation of the story from where Lowry left off. You might also describe the events in the community after Jonas's departure and the impact his memories have on those who suddenly receive them.

5. Examine Lowry's use of "color" in the novel and consider whether "colors" and the absence of color have any symbolic meaning within the story.

6. Visit the library to research the meanings of the names used in the novel. Specifically, investigate "Jonas" and "Gabriel" and their biblical counterparts. Consider the significance of The Giver's daughter being named Rosemary, which in an old rhyme is interpreted as "remembrance."

7. In 1988, John Christopher published When the Tripods Came, a prequel explaining how the dystopian world of his White Mountains books originated. Based on a close reading of The Giver, write an essay describing how the "community" was established and how it isolated itself from the rest of the world.

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