Language

The language of the community

The language used by the members in the community from Lois Lowry’s novel The Giver must be neat and accurate. Those who do not follow this rule are punished. Jonas, for example, tells about his friend Asher, who has problems expressing himself properly: "Jonas was careful about language. Not like his friend, Asher, who talked too fast and mixed things up, scrambling words and phrases until they were barely recognizable and often very funny." (Chapter 1, 27%). 

Asher therefore often has to endure punishments because he does not use the right words or cannot speak clearly.

The language of the members is unemotional and sober. Their form of expression is factual, without creativity and imagery. It reflects a world in which there are no colors, no music, no literature, and no true feelings. 

At the beginning of the novel, for example, Jonas is trying to find the best term to report on how he is feeling: "It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No. Wrong word, Jonas thought." (Chapter 1, 0%).

The words must always be carefully chosen. Jonas uses various synonyms to describe his feeling and to find the appropriate expression. For example, Jonas is first said to feel "frightened": "Jonas was beginning to be frightened" (Chapter 1, 0%), then he is said to feel "fear": "Now, thinking about the feeling of fear" (Chapter 1, 13%).

Another good...