The Giver, Chapter 12 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What does Jonas dream about at the beginning of Chapter 12?

   • Swimming in a warm lake with his family unit
   • Walking through a forest filled with colorful flowers
   • Flying over the community and seeing it from above
   • Correct answer: Sliding down the snow-covered hill again and again

   Jonas dreams again and again of sliding down the snow-covered hill, sensing a destination beyond the place where the snow stops the sled. He wakes feeling that he needs to reach that something, though he does not know how to get there.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What change does Jonas notice about Fiona?

   • Correct answer: Her hair appears to change in the same mysterious way the apple once did
   • She speaks differently and uses words Jonas does not recognize
   • Her eyes seem to reflect light in an unusual pattern
   • She seems taller and more confident since starting her assignment

   Jonas notices the same fleeting change in Fiona's hair that he previously observed in an apple and in the audience at the Ceremony. The Giver later explains this is because Fiona's hair is red.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Instead of transmitting a new memory, what does The Giver ask Jonas to do?

   • Close his eyes and imagine a world without Sameness
   • Correct answer: Recall the sled memory on his own and look at the sled
   • Try to transmit a memory back to The Giver
   • Describe every detail of his dream from the night before

   The Giver instructs Jonas to call up the sled memory himself, demonstrating that it now belongs to Jonas. When Jonas does, he notices the sled possesses the same mysterious quality — it is red.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What is the first color Jonas learns to identify by name?

   • Blue, the color of the sky in old memories
   • Green, which he had been seeing in the trees and grass along the river
   • Correct answer: Red, which he had been seeing in the apple and Fiona's hair
   • Gold, the color of sunshine that no longer exists

   The Giver explains that Jonas has been seeing the color red. The apple and Fiona's hair changed for an instant because they are red; the sled in the memory did not change but simply was red, "a memory from the time when color was."

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5. 5

   Question 5. According to The Giver, why can't people in the community see color?

   • The Elders decided that color was too distracting and banned it through a formal decree
   • A genetic modification at birth removes color perception from everyone except the Receiver
   • The daily medication that all citizens take blocks their ability to perceive color differences
   • Correct answer: The community chose Sameness, giving up color along with sunshine and differences

   The Giver explains that the community chose to adopt Sameness, which meant relinquishing color, sunshine, and all differences. It was a trade-off: they gained control but lost beauty and individuality.

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6. 6

   Question 6. How does Jonas react when he learns the community gave up color?

   • He feels sad but understands why the choice was made for safety
   • He is confused and asks The Giver to explain the choice of Sameness in more detail
   • Correct answer: He is immediately angry and declares the community should never have given it up
   • He remains calm and asks The Giver how color could be restored

   Jonas reacts with immediate indignation, fiercely declaring that the community should never have given up color. The Giver is startled at the certainty of Jonas's reaction.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What surprises The Giver about Jonas's emotional response?

   • Correct answer: That Jonas reached his conclusion about Sameness so quickly, when it took The Giver many years
   • That Jonas wants to restore color to the community immediately
   • That Jonas compares the community unfavorably to the world in the memories
   • That Jonas is able to express anger, which most citizens cannot feel

   The Giver remarks that it took him many years to reach the same conclusion Jonas arrived at almost instantly. This highlights Jonas's exceptional capacity for moral reasoning and feeling.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What memory does The Giver say he will give Jonas at the end of Chapter 12?

   • A memory of a field of wildflowers in every imaginable color
   • Correct answer: A memory of a rainbow stretching across a vivid sky
   • A memory of an autumn forest with red, gold, and brown leaves
   • A memory of a sunset over the ocean with brilliant orange and pink hues

   The Giver has thought of a way to help Jonas with the concept of color, and he ends the chapter by saying, "I'm going to give you a memory of a rainbow."

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9. 9

   Question 9. How does The Giver explain the change Jonas saw in the faces at the Ceremony?

   • The faces looked red because the audience was excited and emotional
   • The Auditorium's special lighting altered the faces for an instant
   • Several people in the audience had red hair, exactly like Fiona's
   • Correct answer: Flesh is not red, but it has red tones, which is what Jonas saw in the faces

   The Giver says that flesh "has red tones in it." Today flesh is all the same, and what Jonas saw in the faces was the red tones, probably not as deep as the apple or Fiona's hair.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of the following events actually happens in Chapter 12?

    • Correct answer: Jonas calls back the sled memory himself, with no new transmission
    • The Giver shows Jonas a book filled with photographs of colorful landscapes
    • Jonas successfully transmits a memory of color back to The Giver
    • Jonas tells his family unit about his dream of the snow-covered hill

    The Giver instructs Jonas to recall the sled memory himself, and Jonas successfully does so — noticing for the first time that the sled is red. This demonstrates that transmitted memories become the Receiver's own.

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11. 11

    Question 11. In the context of Chapter 12, what does 'relinquished' mean when The Giver says the community 'relinquished color'?

    • Destroyed completely so that it could never be recovered or restored
    • Correct answer: Voluntarily gave up or surrendered something that had been valued
    • Gradually forgot about over many generations until no memory remained
    • Rejected through a formal vote after extensive community deliberation

    'Relinquished' means to voluntarily give up or surrender something. The Giver uses this word to emphasize that eliminating color was a deliberate choice the community made, not something that happened accidentally.

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12. 12

    Question 12. Why is it easy for Jonas to stay quiet while the other new Twelves describe their training?

    • He believes it would be impolite to interrupt their excited descriptions
    • He is afraid the others will ridicule him for being selected as Receiver
    • Correct answer: He has no words that could give them the experience of snow or sunshine
    • He is exhausted from his long first day of training in the Annex

    Jonas may not discuss his training, but it would be impossible anyway: he cannot describe a sled without a hill and snow, and no words could give another "the experience of sunshine." So it is easy for him to be still and listen.

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