History Literature / TheGiver

* AfterTheEnd: While ''The Giver'' implies that the world "evolved" for lack of a better term, into Sameness, its sequel ''Literature/GatheringBlue'' shows that the world takes place after a major upheaval known as the The Ruin.

* WorldOfNoGrandparents: {{Enforced}}. Since there are NoBloodTies, nobody knows who their biological grandparents (heck, nobody even knows who their biological ''parents'' are) are, and old people just go to the House of the Old.

The book spawned three pseudo-sequels, ''Literature/GatheringBlue'', ''Literature/{{Messenger}}'' and ''Literature/{{Son}}''. While ''Gathering Blue'' only implied it was set in the same universe, ''Messenger'' made the link much less ambiguous, and ''Son'' cemented it. Together, they formed the ''Literature/TheGiverQuartet''.

* ArrangedMarriage: All marriages in the Community are this.

** DaddysGirl: Lily appears to be this (at least to the extent that that sort of thing is possible in the Community).

* EroticDream: Jonas' dream of his "favorite female friend," Fiona, which prompts his mother to start giving him the pills.

* MentorsNewHope: This is part of the back story: The Receiver of Knowledge who mentors Jonas is revealed [[spoiler:to have had another protege in the past, hinted to have been his own biological daughter (in their society, children are assigned to parents other than their birthmothers), who committed suicide out of despair brought on by the knowledge she received from her mentor, and was unpersoned by the Community]].

* ObliviouslyEvil: [[spoiler:Jonas watches his own father commit infanticide, completely and blissfully unaware of what he's doing. The townspeople have no concept of death, and therefore, no idea that being "released" actually means being murdered. The Giver mentions this when Jonas protests that Fiona must be horrified during her training of caring for the Old.]]

* NoEnding: Was Jonas real and he escaped, or was it all a dream? The sequels give the answer, but the wonderful thing about them is you can accept them as sequels or not, and either interpretation is acceptable. Lois Lowry knew what she was doing.

** Jonas's father is a gentle, caring Nurturer (a person who takes care of newchildren at a special "Nurturing Center" before they're assigned to a family unit) who appears to genuinely enjoy (at least to the extent that a Community member CAN enjoy anything!) his job and his young charges. He even [[spoiler: convinces the Elders to allow him and his family unit to effectively foster Gabriel until the next Ceremony of One in the hopes that they can help him overcome his developmental delays (and thus avoid Release).]] Of course, [[spoiler: We (and Jonas!) DO eventually learn that he also routinely ''euthanizes'' newchildren who are deemed unfit to be part of the community (in some cases simply because they were unfortunate enough to be ''the smaller of a set of identical twins''). However, like Fiona, he honestly has no idea of what he's actually doing because he literally cannot comprehend it (in the film he eventually DOES realize the sordid truth- when Jonas's memories are returned to the Community- and he is [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone absolutely horrified)]].]]

** Jonas's father is a gentle, caring Nurturer (a person who takes care of newchildren at a special "Nurturing Center" before they're assigned to a family unit) who appears to genuinely enjoy (at least to the extent that a Community member CAN enjoy anything!) his job and his young charges. He even [[spoiler: convinces the Elders to allow him and his family unit to effectively foster Gabriel until the next Ceremony of One in the hopes that they can help him overcome his developmental delays (and thus avoid Release).]] Of course, [[spoiler: We (and Jonas!) DO eventually learn that he also routinely ''euthanizes'' newchildren who are deemed unfit to be part of the community (in some cases simply because they were unfortunate enough to be ''the smaller of a set of identical twins''). However, like Fiona, he honestly has no idea of what he's actually doing because he literally cannot comprehend it (in the film he eventually DOES realize the sordid truth- when Jonas's memories are returned to the Community- and he is [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone absolutely ''horrified'' )]].]]

** Jonas's father is a gentle, caring Nurturer (a person who takes care of newchildren at a special "Nurturing Center" before they're assigned to a family unit) who appears to genuinely enjoy (at least to the extent that a Community member CAN enjoy anything!) his job and his young charges. He even [[spoiler: convinces the Elders to allow him and his family unit to effectively foster Gabriel until the next Ceremony of One in the hopes that they can help him overcome his developmental delays (and thus avoid Release).]] Of course, [[spoiler: We (and Jonas!) DO eventually learn that he also routinely ''euthanizes'' newchildren who are deemed unfit to be part of the community (in some cases simply because they were unfortunate enough to be ''the smaller of a set of identical twins''). However, like Fiona, he honestly has no idea of what he's actually doing because he literally cannot comprehend it (in the film he eventually DOES realize the sordid truth- when Jonas's memories are returned to the Community- and he is [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone absolutely ''horrified'')]].]]

** Jonas's father is a gentle, caring Nurturer (a person who takes care of newchildren at a special "Nurturing Center" before they're assigned to a family unit) who appears to genuinely enjoy (at least to the extent that a Community member CAN enjoy anything!) his job and his young charges. He even [[spoiler: convinces the Elders to allow him and his family unit to effectively foster Gabriel until the next Ceremony of One in the hopes that they can help him overcome his developmental delays (and thus avoid Release).]] Of course, [[spoiler: We (and Jonas!) DO eventually learn that he also routinely ''euthanizes'' newchildren who are deemed unfit to be part of the community (in some cases simply because they were unfortunate enough to be ''the smaller of a set of identical twins''). However, like Fiona, he honestly has no idea of what he's actually doing because he literally cannot comprehend it (in the film he eventually DOES realize the sordid truth- when Jonas's memories are returned to the Community- and he is absolutely ''horrified'').]]

** Jonas's father is a gentle, caring Nurturer (a person who takes care of infants at a special "Nurturing Center" before they're assigned to a family unit) who appears to genuinely enjoy (at least to the extent that a Community member CAN enjoy anything!) his job and his young charges. He even [[spoiler: convinces the Elders to allow him and his family unit to effectively foster Gabriel until the next Ceremony of One in the hopes that they can help him overcome his developmental delays (and thus avoid Release).]] Of course, [[spoiler: We (and Jonas!) DO eventually learn that he also routinely ''euthanizes'' infants who are deemed unfit to be part of the community (in some cases simply because they were unfortunate enough to be ''the smaller of a set of identical twins''). However, like Fiona, he honestly has no idea of what he's actually doing because he literally cannot comprehend it (in the film he eventually DOES realize the sordid truth- when Jonas's memories are returned to the Community- and he is absolutely ''horrified'').]]

* WorldOfNoGrandparents: {{Enforced}}. Since there are NoBloodTies, nobody knows who their biological grandparents are, and old people just go to the House of the Old.

* WeWillHaveEuthanasiaInTheFuture: Everybody except the Receiver of Memory (and his protégé) has the right to commit suicide whenever they want and euthanasia (which is called being "ReleasedToElsewhere") is practiced on the elderly, the smaller of identical twins, and babies that don't develop correctly (with the "issue" sometimes being as simple as the baby being unable to ''sleep through the night''), as well as on people who cause too much trouble (airplane pilots who make too many mistakes, for instance). Consent is an issue in the latter case, though, since they don't know it's euthanasia rather than exile. Due to the way this society works, even the people who perform "Release" don't fully understand what they are doing. Only the Giver and the Receiver, the only people who possess all of the knowledge the society has given up, understand that "Release" means death. [[spoiler: One chilling scene is when the main character realizes his father kills the "defective" infants]].

* WeWillHaveEuthanasiaInTheFuture: Everybody except the Receiver of Memory (and his protégé) has the right to commit suicide whenever they want and euthanasia (which is called being "ReleasedToElsewhere") is practiced on the elderly, the smaller of identical twins, and babies that don't develop correctly (with the "issue" sometimes being as simple as the baby ''not being able to sleep through the night''), as well as on people who cause too much trouble (airplane pilots who make too many mistakes, for instance). Consent is an issue in the latter case, though, since they don't know it's euthanasia rather than exile. Due to the way this society works, even the people who perform "Release" don't fully understand what they are doing. Only the Giver and the Receiver, the only people who possess all of the knowledge the society has given up, understand that "Release" means death. [[spoiler: One chilling scene is when the main character realizes his father kills the "defective" infants]].

* WeWillHaveEuthanasiaInTheFuture: Everybody except the Receiver of Memory (and his protégé) has the right to commit suicide whenever they want and euthanasia (which is called being "ReleasedToElsewhere") is practiced on the elderly, the smaller of identical twins, and babies that don't develop correctly, as well as on people who cause too much trouble (airplane pilots who make too many mistakes, for instance). Consent is an issue in the latter case, though, since they don't know it's euthanasia rather than exile. Due to the way this society works, even the people who perform "Release" don't fully understand what they are doing. Only the Giver and the Receiver, the only people who possess all of the knowledge the society has given up, understand that "Release" means death. [[spoiler: One chilling scene is when the main character realizes his father kills the "defective" infants]].

** Rosemary is about as straight an example of this as you can possibly get. After [[spoiler: she Released herself, causing her memories to escape into the Community and cause chaos]] the Elders [[spoiler: retired her name, forbidding its use for any new child going forward]].

** Rosemary is about as straight an example of this as you can possibly get. After [[spoiler: she Released herself, causing her memories to escape into the Community and cause chaos]] the Elders [[spoiler: retired her name, forbidding it to be used for any new child going forward]].

** Rosemary is about as straight an example of this as you can possibly get. After [[she Released herself, causing her memories to escape into the Community and cause chaos]] the Elders [[retired her name, forbidding it to be used for any new child going forward]].

** The Giver had this in the past when learning [[spoiler:Rosemary applied for Release.]]

* RenownedSelectiveMentor: The Giver is an example of this trope. The task of the Receiver of Memory is to remember the details of their history and how the world used to be, only when a successor is chosen does the Receiver take on the title of "Giver" as he begins to transfer these memories to his replacement. Usually this is a once in a lifetime kind of thing, but the current Receiver had a protege that failed many years ago and has had to carry on as the remember for a long time while waiting for the next suitable replacement. Jonas becomes the Giver's student, and he is considered to have a special rank in the community.

* WeWillHaveEuthanasiaInTheFuture: Everybody except the Receiver of Memories has the right to commit suicide whenever they want and euthanasia (which is called being "ReleasedToElsewhere") is practiced on the elderly, the smaller of identical twins, and babies that don't develop correctly, as well as on people who cause too much trouble (airplane pilots who make too many mistakes, for instance). Consent is an issue in the latter case, though, since they don't know it's euthanasia rather than exile. Due to the way this society works, even the people who perform "Release" don't fully understand what they are doing. Only the Giver and the Receiver, the only people who possess all of the knowledge the society has given up, understand that "Release" means death. [[spoiler: One chilling scene is when the main character realizes his father kills the "defective" infants]].

** Jonas's father is a gentle, caring Nurturer (a person who takes care of infants at a special "Nurturing Center" before they're assigned to a family unit) who appears to genuinely enjoy (at least to the extent that a Community member CAN enjoy anything!) his job and his young charges. He even [[spoiler: convinces the Elders to allow him and his family unit to effectively foster Gabriel until the next Ceremony of One in the hopes that they can help him overcome his developmental delays (and thus avoid Release).]] Of course, [[spoiler: We (and Jonas!) DO eventually learn that he also routinely ''euthanizes'' infants who are deemed unfit to be part of the community (in some cases simply because they were unfortunate enough to be ''the smaller of a set of identical twins''). However, like Fiona, he honestly has no idea of what he's actually doing because he literally cannot comprehend it (in the film he eventually DOES realize the sordid truth- when Jonas's memories are returned the Community- and he is absolutely ''horrified'').]]

** Jonas's father is a gentle, caring Nurturer (a person who takes care of infants at a special "Nurturing Center" before they're assigned to a family unit) who appears to genuinely enjoy (at least to the extent that a Community member CAN enjoy anything!) his job and his young charges. He even [[spoiler: convinces the Elders to allow him and his family unit to effectively foster Gabriel until the next Ceremony of One in the hopes that they can help him overcome his developmental delays (and thus avoid Release).]] Of course, [[spoiler: We (and Jonas!) DO eventually learn that he also routinely ''euthanizes'' infants who are deemed unfit to be part of the community (in some cases simply because they were unfortunate enough to be ''the smaller of a set of identical twins''). However, like Fiona, he honestly has no idea what he's actually doing because he literally cannot comprehend it (in the film he eventually DOES realize the sordid truth- when Jonas's memories are returned the community- and he is absolutely ''horrified'').]]
* NoBloodTies: Babies are produced by women whose job title was [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Birthmother]] but raised in 'family units' composed of a man and a woman ([[ArrangedMarriage matched up by the Elders]]), and one male and one female child. Given that everybody's sex drive is chemically inhibited (pills for "Stirrings"), it's safe to assume that the kids are fertilized ''in vitro'' (which is confirmed in ''Son'').

*** To join Rosemary would, in fact, mean being released himself -- something which he mentions that he often thinks of when containing the memories is too much for him. This may be less than noble, since it implies that he wants to die... which, if he does before the people in the community have dealt with the memories, would probably destroy the community and their way of life, and give him revenge for [[spoiler: the deadth of his daugther]]

* ExactWords: "Precision of language" is [[SeriousBusiness a very big deal]] in the Community. The Chief Elder tells a story of when Asher was a toddler and demanded 'a smack', when he wanted a snack...so the Instructor smacked him. Later, then Jonas asks his parents if they love him, he is chastised for using a word that is [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove so vague and imprecise it's practically obsolete]].

* FictionalAgeOfMajority: The book begins with Jonas going through his [[RiteOfPassage Ceremony of Twelve]], in which twelve-year-old members of his community are given their "Assignments" (i.e. jobs) and become legal adults. TheFilmOfTheBook gives the characters an AgeLift and changes the age of majority to 18