The Summary of the Novel.

 I must have taught Lowry’s ‘The Giver’ some eight years back. I still remember how I felt at that time, at the end of my tether without any notes, without even any knowledge of the novelist. I remain grateful to Mr.S.K.G., my colleague at that time, who helped me with the summary of the novel some months after I had started teaching.

I am as knowledgeable about Louis Lowry today as I was some eight years back. Naturally, I had to depend on the information provided at the back of the novel about the authoress. After I had spent some time on the title, cover illustrations and the blurb as I was supposed to as per the teacher’s manual, what follows is all I could talk about her in the first class:

Louis Lowry is a popular woman writer. She is a vociferous reader and avid movie-goer. She is a good cook and has a great collection of books on cooking. She has a kind of personal library with racks full of books. She is also a great photographer and the cover of ‘The Giver’ is her own artwork. She has written a number of novels, essays and short stories, mainly for young children like you. Unfortunately, she lost her only son due to an airplane crash some years back.

Then it was time to introduce the novel. I told them that ‘The Giver’ is her best book till date. Years of experience and research have gone into the writing of the novel. One such experience relates to her father, who, at that time, was in a nursing home, having lost his memory. On a particular day during her visit to the hospital, Lowry realized that if one is left without memories, one has no pain. It was at that precise moment that she began to visualise a society in which the pains of the past are deliberately forgotten. I must have asked the students to share their memories, inorder to make them realize the importance of memory for connecting to the past, for a better, brighter future. I concluded the first lesson by asking the students to go through the first chapter of the novel during the weekend.

Today, exactly six months after I took over standard XA from Madam Bidha, while writing the summary of chapter – 12 on the board, the thought of blogging the summary came to my head. It must have been prompted by the memory of the time when I felt lost and lonely with very little help from anywhere to let me have a sure shot at the novel. Another factor might have gone behind the thinking – this afternoon when I was in my class (XI SC.’B’), I came across many copies of a book called “Concise Physics” authored by one of our most mild-mannered, soft-spoken and decent of all colleagues, Mr.Krishnamoorthy.

Now as far as my writing motives and potentials go, I can’t see myself as a writer even in the remotest future. But this afternoon in the seventh period in standard- X, while summing up the chapter on the green board for the students, I thought: Why don’t I start blogging the summaries of the chapters I’ve taken a lot of pains to make for my class? It might not amount to much, but even if it helps a handful of students to comprehend the content of the novel better, I shall deem my work not to have gone in vain.

Summary of The Giver: 

Chapter-1

Jonas is worried about the job to be assigned to him during the upcoming December Ceremony. He knows ‘frightened’ is not the right word to describe his feelings for the occasion. He was frightened when the pilot flew over their community. The pilot was to be released subsequently. Jonas’ family has the practice of sharing their feelings at the end of the evening meal. Everyone has to share their experiences. Finally Jonas talks about his worry about the December Ceremony.

Chapter – 2

Father comforts Jonas by telling him that December is the time for excitement and fun. Jonas agrees with his father and remembers the December his family received Lily, his sister.  Father also talks about the December he turned 12, but he already knew the job he was to be assigned.

 He also talks about the rule he has already broken by looking up the child’s name in the Naming List to help him with his nurturing. His father also has broken another rule by trying to teach Katya, his sister, to cycle before she was nine.

The most important elder in their community is the Receiver. He is the one responsible for rule-changes. Jonas considers for a moment the likelihood of being selected a Nurturer like his father, as he spends most of his times with new children. Jonas wonders about the jobs to be assigned to him as well as to his friend, Asher.

Chapter – 3.

Jonas’ father brings home the child with pale eyes. Lily’s remark about the same colour of their eyes annoys Jonas.

Lily tells them that she would like to be a birthmother. But the family thinks that may not be a good idea. Mother tells her there is no honour in the job. Birthmothers are treated very well for three years, and then they become labourers till they enter the House of the Old. Father suggests that it is best to be a Nurturer, if she likes babies and Jonas thinks the assignment that would suit Lily best is the Speaker.

Thinking about the Speaker reminds him of what had happened at the recreation Centre the day he was playing catch and throw with Asher. As he threw the apple to Asher, he thought he had seen it changing. To resolve the suspicion, he took the apple home. Later on, he was chastened for his unruly act.

Chapter – 4.

Jonas looks for Asher and finally finds him at the House of the Old along with Fiona, a friend.

He thinks of Benjamin, one of his group mates, who spends all his volunteer hours at the Rehabilitation Centre. People have no doubt about his assignment as he has excelled there making machines and methods. But Jonas did not praise him as it would be against the rules of the community.

He gets inside and decides to bathe Larissa, an aged inmate. Larissa talks about the release of Roberto, who, in her words, led a vibrant life (At one time he was the instructor of Eleven, became a member of the planning Committee and designed the City Plaza).

Regarding his release, Larissa tells him that first there was the telling of his Life, followed by a toast and the chanting of the National Anthem. Roberto then delivered a farewell speech. Others did the same and finally very contented and happy, Roberto entered the release room. Jonas, curious, tells Larissa that he would have loved to be there during the release.

Chapter – 5.

At the daily ritual of dream telling, Lily shares her dream of being caught by the Security Guard for riding her mother’s cycle. Mother talks about her dream in which she was being chastened for an infraction/infringement. Father has no dream to share.

As children in their community join in the dream-telling by the time they are three, they do not know if Gabrielle dreams.  Then Jonas, though uncertain about the details, shares his dream. He was back to the Bathing Room with Fiona standing by a tube. He was trying to tell her to take her clothes off and get into the tub though he knew it was not the right thing to do.

Father asks him about his strongest feeling during the dream. It was, says Jonas, the feeling of wanting. Mother thanks him for his dream and asks him to wait as Father and Lily leave the room. Mother tells him that the strongest feeling he experienced was what is called stirrings. He has to take pills to keep the feelings of stirrings away. She informs him that many people in their community take pills till they enter the House of the Old.

As Jonas leaves home to head for school, the feelings of the pleasurable stirrings are gone.

To be continued .......