60 Important 'The Giver' Quotes For All Dystopian Fiction Lovers
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'The Giver' is a famous dystopian young adult dystopian novel written by Lois Lowry.
'The Giver' helps you understand the value of choice. The main message of the book is that choice is not really destructive but it is the lack of choice that can destroy a society.
The Giver in the novel is a Receiver of Memory and he is charged with the training of Jonas, someone who is to be the next Receiver of Memory, this is what he 'gives'. 'The Giver' symbolizes the good in all of us, to give is a blessing.
He is also the one person who suffers since he carries the burden of memory. 'The Giver' was also banned as it was thought to be too violent and not suited for children.
If you like this article, you may also like ['The Outsiders' quotes] and ['The Bluest Eye' quotes].
Book Quotes About The World Of 'The Giver'
'The Giver' book quotes are really inspiring. Some of the quotes help us understand the place and community in which the book is set.
1. "How could someone not fit in? The community was so meticulously ordered, the choices so carefully made."
- Chapter Six, 'The Giver'.
2. "It's the way they live. It's the life that was created for them. It's the same life that you would have if you had not been chosen as my successor."
- Chapter 20, 'The Giver'.
3. "The Giver told him, then, something he had not known. 'All private ceremonies are recorded. They’re in the Hall of Closed Records. Do you want to see the morning’s release?' Jonas hesitated. He was afraid that his father wouldn’t like it, if he watched something so private. 'I think you should,' The Giver told him firmly."
- Chapter 19, 'The Giver'.
4. “After Twelve, age isn't important. Most of us even lose track of how old we are as time passes, though information is in the Hall of Open Records."
- Chapter Two, 'The Giver'.
5. "Have you ever once known of anyone—I mean really known for sure, Asher, not just heard a story about it—who joined another community?"
- Chapter Six, 'The Giver'.
6. "What if others — adults — had, upon becoming Twelves, received in their instructions the same terrifying sentence? What if they had all been instructed: You may lie?"
- Chapter 10, 'The Giver'.
7. "What's important is the preparation for adult life, and the training you'll receive in your Assignment."
- Chapter Three, 'The Giver'.
8. "But each child knew his number, of course. Sometimes parents used them in irritation at a child’s misbehavior, indicating that mischief made one unworthy of a name."
- Chapter Seven, 'The Giver'.
9. "He had been frightened then. The sense of his own community silent, waiting, had made his stomach churn. He had trembled."
- Chapter One, 'The Giver'.
Book Quotes On Memory From 'The Giver'
Memory is important in 'The Giver'. Here are some 'The Giver' quotes based on memory.
10. "If you were to be lost in the river, Jonas, your memories would not be lost with you."
- Chapter 18, 'The Giver'.
11. "Oh, your instructors are well trained. They know their scientific facts. Everyone is well trained for his job. It’s just that… without the memories it’s all meaningless."
- Chapter 13, 'The Giver'.
12. "'Why do you and I have to hold these memories?' 'It gives us wisdom,' The Giver replied."
- Chapter 14, 'The Giver'.
13. "Jonas did not want to go back. He didn’t want the memories, didn’t want the honor, didn’t want the wisdom, didn’t want the pain. He wanted his childhood again, his scraped knees and ball games."
- Chapter 16, 'The Giver'.
14. "The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared."
- Chapter 20, 'The Giver'.
15. "Simply stated, although it's not really simple at all, my job is to transmit to you all the memories I have within me. Memories of the past."
- Chapter 10, 'The Giver'.
16. "Memories are forever"
- Chapter 19, 'The Giver'.
17. "If I go with you, and together we take away all their protection from the memories, Jonas, the community will be left with no one to help them."
- Chapter 20, 'The Giver'.
Book Quotes On Love From 'The Giver'
'The Giver' quotes on love are quite poignant. Without them, the book seems like any other popular dystopian novel.
18. "I liked the feeling of love,' [Jonas] confessed."
- Chapter 16, 'The Giver'.
19. "There could be love," Jonas whispered."
- Chapter 17, 'The Giver'.
20. "But if he had stayed… His thoughts continued. If he had stayed, he would have starved in other ways. He would have lived a life hungry for feelings, for color, for love."
- Chapter 22, 'The Giver'.
21. "For the first time, he heard something that he knew to be music."
- Chapter 23, 'The Giver'.
22. "They were satisfied with their lives, which had none of the vibrance his own was taking on. And he was angry at himself, that he could not change that for them."
- Chapter 13, 'The Giver'.
23. "Of course they needed to care. It was the meaning of everything."
- Chapter 20, 'The Giver'.
24. "He liked the feeling of safety here in this warm and quiet room; he liked the expression of trust on the woman’s face as she lay in the water unprotected, exposed, and free."
- Chapter Four, 'The Giver'.
25. "I love you, Jonas," he said. "But I have another place to go."
- Chapter 20, 'The Giver'.
26. "'Everybody would have the memories. You know the memories,'" he whispered, turning toward the crib."
- Chapter 17, 'The Giver'.
27. "The next morning, for the first time, Jonas did not take his pill. Something within him, something that had grown there through the memories, told him to throw the pill away."
- Chapter 16, 'The Giver'.
Book Quotes On Choice From 'The Giver'
Here are some 'The Giver' quotes on choice.
28. "Once he had yearned for choice. Then, when he had had a choice, he had made the wrong one: the choice to leave. And now he was starving."
- Chapter 22, 'The Giver'.
29. "It’s the choosing that’s important, isn’t it?"
- Chapter 13, 'The Giver'.
30. "Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness. Before my time, before the previous time, back and back and back."
- Chapter 12, 'The Giver'.
31. "Even trained for years as they all had been in precision of language, what words could you use which would give another the experience of sunshine?"
- Chapter 12, 'The Giver'.
32. "We really have to protect people from wrong choices."
- Chapter 13, 'The Giver'.
Book Quotes On Pain From 'The Giver'
Here are a few more 'The Giver' quotes on pain.
33. "There was just a moment when things weren't quite the same, weren't quite as they had always been through the long friendship."
- Chapter Nine, 'The Giver'.
34. "We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others."
- Chapter 12, 'The Giver'.
35. "'And now I understand better, what it meant, that there would be pain.' The man didn't respond. He sat silently for a second. When Jonas says he understands what pain is like after experiencing the memory of a sunburn, the Giver is at a loss for words, his compassion wrestling with his sense of duty."
- Chapter 11, 'The Giver'.
36. "Sometimes I wish they'd ask for my wisdom more often - there are so many things I could tell them; things I wish they would change. But they don't want change. Life here is so orderly, so predictable - so painless. It's what they've chosen."
- Chapter 13, 'The Giver'.
Moving Quotes From ‘The Giver’
37. "Comprehending all of those things as he sped downward, he was free to enjoy the breathless glee that overwhelmed him: the speed, the clear cold air, the total silence, the feeling of balance and excitement and peace."
- Chapter 11, 'The Giver'.
38. "There’s much more. There’s all that goes beyond – all … that is Elsewhere – and all that goes back, and back, and back. I received all of those, when I was selected."
- Chapter 10, 'The Giver'.
39. "I don't know how, but there must be some way for things to be different. There could be colors."
- Chapter 17, 'The Giver'.
40. "Today, he felt happiness."
- Chapter 17, 'The Giver'.
41. "He knew that there was no quick comfort for emotions like those. They were deeper and they did not need to be told. They were felt."
- Chapter 17, 'The Giver'.
42. "Things could change, Gabe," Jonas went on. "Things could be different."
- Chapter 16, 'The Giver'.
43. "There’s nothing we can do. It’s always been this way. Before me, before you, before the ones who came before you. Back and back and back."
- Chapter 20, 'The Giver'.
44. "He heard people singing. Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps, it was only an echo."
- Chapter 23, 'The Giver'.
'The Giver' Movie Quotes
'The Giver' has also been adapted to the silver screen. Here are some of the movie quotes:
45. "I didn’t know what to think to believe. Have faith, The Giver told me. He said that faith, that was seeing beyond. He compared it to the wind. Something felt but not seen."
- Jonas, 'The Giver'.
46. "Love is just a passion that can turn. And with turn we have contempt and murder."
- Elder Chief, 'The Giver'.
47. "The Giver: They're called books.
Jonas: My name…
The Giver: I know who you are.
Jonas: Who are you?
The Giver: The Giver. When the elders need guidance, I provide wisdom using the memories of the past."
- 'The Giver'.
48. "The Giver: Jonas
Jonas: There has to be a way to show them.
The Giver: You can stop this. You can change things."
- 'The Giver'.
49. "I got lost. The good kind of lost. I saw science and sounds. I could not have the words to describe. Faces would flash of all different colors. I felt so alive. "
- Jonas, 'The Giver'.
50. "Just like music, there’s something you can’t see with your eyes…inside you."
- 'The Giver'
Fiona: "Do you know how to fly those?"
Asher: "Absolutely"
Jonas: "Do you get to fly to the edge?"
Asher: "Oh yeah"
Jonas: "What's past there?"
Asher: "Don't know, we're not allowed to fly past that."
Jonas: "Let's go!"
Asher: "It's against the rules, Jonas."
- 'The Giver'.
51. "Love is just a passion that can turn. And with turn we have contempt and murder."
- 'The Giver'.
52. "Color, race, religion; they created sameness. If we were different, we could be envious, angry, resentful. Consumed with hatred. We need sameness. Don’t you think?"
- 'The Giver'.
53. "I know that there is something more, something that has been stolen."
- Fiona, 'The Giver'.
54. "Faith is seeing beyond."
- Jonas, 'The Giver'.
55. "Listen to what's calling from inside."
- 'The Giver'
56. "If you can't feel, what's the point?"
- Jonas, 'The Giver'.
57. "A dwelling is not a home. A home is more."
- 'The Giver'.
58. "Memories are not just about the past - they determine our future."
- 'The Giver'.
59. "When people have the freedom to choose, they choose wrong."
- Chief Elder, 'The Giver'.
60. "You have the courage. Let me give you the strength."
- 'The Giver'.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 'The Giver' quotes then why not take a look at 'The House On Mango Street' quotes, or ['The Book Thief' quotes]?
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Bachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art
Georgia StoneBachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art
Georgia is an experienced Content Manager with a degree in French and Film Studies from King's College London and Bachelors degree from Université Paris-Sorbonne. Her passion for exploring the world and experiencing different cultures was sparked during her childhood in Switzerland and her year abroad in Paris. In her spare time, Georgia enjoys using London's excellent travel connections to explore further afield.
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