Copyright Credits

All Chapter summaries were taken from Bookrags:
The Giver from BookRags Book Notes. ©2000-2009 by BookRags, Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapter 23

Although he cannot see or hear anything, Jonas feels that he is getting closer to his destination--Elsewhere. When it begins to snow, riding becomes impossible. Jonas must abandon the bicycle and continue the journey. For a moment, he thinks that he would like to give up and drop beside the bicycle. All the memories that he received from The Giver have been shed, returning to the people of the community. When Jonas calls back the memory of sunshine, nothing comes at first, but a few moments later, it comes to him. Jonas transmits the memory to Gabriel to warm him. Renewed by this brief moment of warmth, Jonas begins to climb a steep hill. Occasionally, he tries to call back memories of warmth to protect himself and Gabriel from the cold. He regrets that there was not more time for him to receive memories of warmth from The Giver, but Jonas suddenly begins to be happy. Although he is still exhausted and cold, he remembers his family, his friends, and The Giver.

Chapter 22

Jonas moves ahead into an unfamiliar territory with untended roads. There are also more trees, forests, and streams. For the first time, they see a waterfall and wildlife. They even see a bird flying over them which Jonas vaguely remembers from the memories he received from The Giver. Soon, more birds appear as well as a deer and an animal he cannot identify. Jonas is happy looking around the new landscape, never having encountered these things before in the community with "a life of Sameness and predictability."
But there are new fears as well, one of them being the fear of starvation.

Chapter 21

Despite the careful planning, however, Jonas is forced to flee immediately that very night, unable to wait until the day of the Ceremony. Earlier in the evening, Father announced that Gabriel had been voted to be released. When he was taken to the Nurturing Center to sleep, Gabriel cried all night, and a decision had been made to release the child the very next morning.




Taking some leftover food and his father's larger bicycle with a childseat in the back to carry Gabriel, Jonas sets out on his journey. He transmits a calm memory of a hammock swinging back and forth by a beach on an island to Gabriel to soothe the child into falling asleep. He pedals steadily, leaving the community. He is leaving without the memories of courage and strength that The Giver had promised, but he hopes that the ones he has now will suffice. After stopping by a stream to eat with Gabriel, Jonas takes the newchild in his arms to sleep. To help the baby sleep, Jonas transmits another memory--this time, that of exhaustion.

Sleeping by day and pedaling by night, Jonas can no longer count how many days have passed. Despite his aching legs, Jonas continues his journey. At times, planes fly closely over the land. Remembering that these planes are equipped with devices that can detect body warmth, Jonas gives Gabriel memories of snow and saves some for himself so that their bodies will go undetected by the searchers. As Jonas journeys further away from the community, he realizes that his memories are becoming weaker and fainter. He is shedding the memories so they can make their way back to the people. Soon, the search planes become less frequent as Jonas moves ahead into an area uninhabited by people.

Chapter 20

Weeping and trembling, Jonas shouts vehemently that he refuses to go home. The Giver speaks to the attendant behind the wall speakers, instructing her to tell Jonas's family that he will stay for the night for further training. The Giver calmly explains to Jonas that his father is simply doing what he is told to do, knowing nothing else. "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, pg. 153

Chapter 19

When Jonas tells The Giver about the selection his father is making between the two newborn twins, The Giver says that he wishes they wouldn't do such things. Jonas says that he would like to watch, but unfortunately, children are not allowed to watch. The Giver reminds him that he can; the Receiver can ask anything of anyone. In the community, all private ceremonies are taped and placed in the Hall of Closed Records. Talking into the speakers on the wall, The Giver asks to see the release of the twin.
On a video screen, Jonas can see the Nurturing Center and his father appear with an assistant Nurturer. There are two identical twin babies on the bed. After weighing them, Jonas's father hands over one of the babies to the assistant who walks out of the room. Jonas tells The Giver that his father will clean the other baby, but instead, his father inserts a syringe into the newchild's forehead. After all the liquid in the syringe has been injected, the child moves for awhile until it falls limp. For awhile, Jonas thinks that he recognizes the "gestures and posture and expression" of the infant. They look familiar; he has seen them before. Then the memory of the young soldier dying on the battlefield comes back to him, and he realizes with horror that his father has killed the child.

Chapter 18

The next day, Jonas asks The Giver about release. The Giver tells him that sometimes his pain makes him want to apply for a release, but he is not allowed to do it until Jonas is trained. Jonas is not ever permitted to request for a release because of the failure of the Receiver ten years ago. Upon Jonas's pleading, The Giver relents and tells him the story about the failed Receiver.
The new Receiver had been a female named Rosemary who had been selected and assigned just as Jonas had been during the Ceremony. She had been "a remarkable young woman," "self-possessed and serene...intelligent, eager to learn." The Giver had loved Rosemary just as he loves Jonas.