Chapter 19 Practice Quiz — The Giver
by Lois Lowry — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 19
Why does the Giver offer to show Jonas the recording of the release?
Because Jonas, as the Receiver of Memory, has the authority to view any recording in the community. When Jonas mentions his father is releasing a twin that day, the Giver decides it is time for Jonas to learn the truth.
How does Jonas's father decide which twin to release?
He weighs both identical twins on a scale. The smaller, lighter twin is selected for release.
Describe the tone of Jonas's father during the release procedure.
He speaks in a cheerful, singsong voice throughout the entire procedure, even as he kills the baby. He treats it as a routine, mundane task.
How does Jonas's father physically carry out the release of the twin?
He injects a syringe into the top of the newchild's head (the fontanel/soft spot). The baby twitches, cries briefly, and then stops moving.
What does Jonas's father say after the baby dies?
He says 'Bye-bye, little guy' in a casual, cheerful tone, then places the body in a small cardboard carton and sends it down a disposal chute.
How does Jonas recognize that the baby has died?
He recognizes the baby's twitching and stillness as identical to what happened to the dying soldier in the battlefield memory the Giver had transmitted to him earlier.
What is the central revelation of Chapter 19?
Release means death. The community has been systematically killing people—the elderly, rule-breakers, and undersized babies—under the euphemism of 'release.'
What does Jonas now understand about the release of elderly people?
He realizes that the release ceremonies for the elderly, which the community celebrates as a joyful transition, are actually executions—the old people are killed through lethal injection.
What does the Giver reveal about Rosemary's release?
The Giver reveals that Rosemary injected herself—she chose to perform the lethal injection on her own body. The Giver watched helplessly as his previous trainee died.
Why is Gabriel now in danger after Jonas learns the truth about release?
Gabriel has been struggling to meet developmental benchmarks and sleep through the night. If he fails to improve, he will be 'released'—which Jonas now knows means killed.
Why is it significant that Jonas's father does not understand he is killing?
It shows how thoroughly the community's conditioning and controlled language have stripped citizens of moral awareness. His father can kill a baby cheerfully because the community has eliminated the knowledge and emotions needed to understand the act as wrong.
What is the literary term for using a mild word like 'release' to disguise something harsh like killing?
Euphemism. The community uses the word 'release' as a euphemism for death/killing to keep citizens from understanding the true nature of the act.
Why does Jonas refuse to go home at the end of Chapter 19?
He cannot face his father or family knowing the truth about release. His trust and love for his father have been destroyed, and he can no longer pretend life is normal.
Where does Jonas stay instead of going home?
He stays with the Giver in the Annex Room. The Giver holds Jonas and comforts him as he weeps.
How does Chapter 19 connect the battlefield memory to the present?
The dying soldier's twitching in the battlefield memory is mirrored exactly by the baby's twitching after the injection. This parallel is how Jonas recognizes that the baby is dying/dead.
What does Chapter 19 reveal about the true cost of the community's 'Sameness'?
Sameness requires not just the suppression of emotions and memories, but the routine killing of anyone who does not conform—identical twins, the elderly who have served their purpose, and rule-breakers—all hidden behind pleasant language.
Why is Chapter 19 considered the point of no return for Jonas?
After witnessing the release, Jonas can never go back to his old life. His innocence is permanently destroyed, and his motivation to escape or change the community becomes absolute.
What is dramatic irony in the context of Chapter 19?
The reader and Jonas see Jonas's father killing a baby, while the father himself does not comprehend that he is committing an act of killing. The gap between what the audience knows and what the character understands creates dramatic irony.
How does Jonas's view of his father change in this chapter?
Jonas previously saw his father as a gentle, caring Nurturer who loved the babies he tended. After watching the release, Jonas sees his father as someone who routinely kills helpless infants without any moral awareness or guilt.
What is a fontanel?
A fontanel (or fontanelle) is the soft spot on an infant's skull where the bones have not yet fused. Jonas's father injects the lethal syringe into this area on the baby's head.