Here are some key dystopian elements I found in The Giver and a potential thesis: 1. The community is highly structured and hierarchical, with citizens assigned roles. "It was Assignment Day." Everyone wears the same plain clothes. 2. Conformity is strictly enforced. Jonas notices differences but knows "it was not right to see more, or differently." Dissent is not tolerated. 3. Emotions are suppressed. Citizens take daily pills to blunt feelings. Memories are controlled by the Committee and Giver. 4. Constant surveillance through public address system and Assignment of labor. No sense of privacy. 5. Protagonist Jonas begins to question the strict rules of the community as he learns

1. The Chronicles of Narnia by by C.S. Lewis
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Twilight Series by Stephanie Myers
The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini
The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
The Graceling series Kristin Cashore
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
The Golden Compass series by Philip Pullman
The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefaver
Immortals Series by Tamora Pierce
Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series by
Ransom Riggs

2. Alternative History
Alternative Reality
Classic Fantasy
Classic Science Fiction
Comedy Fantasy
Comedy Science Fiction
Contemporary Fantasy
Dark Fantasy
Dystopian
Heroic Fantasy
Horror Fantasy
Literary Fantasy
Military Science Fiction
Science Fiction
Space Fantasy
Steampunk
Sword and Sorcery Fantasy
Time Travel
Urban Fantasy
Weird Romance Fantasy
Zombies

3. Refer to the lavender handout and
explain how Am I Blue? (825-829)
contains elements of good fantasy
(methods of suspending disbelief) and
low fantasy.

4.  a secondary world
 a seriousness of tone and importance of theme
 tests of identity, endurance and character
 tasks undertaken and imposed
 quests
 escapes from death
 journeys to other worlds
 tales of maturation
 incorporates themes, characters and archetypes from myth
 "internal crises or conflicts or processes of the characters
{that} are dramatized as if they were external individuals or
events" (Crosscurrents: 426)

5. Exercise: In Am I Blue? find all of the
characteristics that make it high
fantasy as well.

6.  Lois Lowry wrote her first book, A Summer to Die, in 1977 at the
age of forty. Since then she’s written more than thirty books for
children and teens, often tackling serious topics such as
debilitating illnesses, the Holocaust, and repressive
governments. The winner of two Newbery Medals and other
accolades, Lowry continues to write the types of stories she feels
represents her views about humanity.
 Lowry explains, “My books have varied in content and style. Yet
it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general
theme: the importance of human connections” (Source: Lois
Lowry's website). Born in Hawaii, Lowry, the second of three
children, moved all over the world with her Army dentist father.
She raised her own family of four children in Maine, but
currently lives in Cambridge Massachusetts where she continues
to write.

7. The Giver won the Newbery Medal in 1994, the
Heartland Award for Excellence in 1997, and the
Buckeye Children's Book Award, also in 1997.
Imagine living in a society of sameness where you find
no color, no family connections, and no memory; a
society where life is governed by rigid rules that resist
change and resent questioning. Welcome to the world
of Lois Lowry’s 1994 Newbery award-winning book
The Giver, a powerful and controversial book about a
utopian community and young boy’s dawning
realizations about oppression, choices, and human
connections.

8.  For Chapters 1-7, please find all of the traits that put the
beginning of The Giver into the category of good fantasy
and low fantasy.

9.  Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October
30, 1987) was an American mythologist, writer and
lecturer, best known for his work in comparative
mythology and comparative religion. His work is vast,
covering many aspects of the human experience.
 Campbell's concept of monomyth (one myth) refers
to the theory that sees all mythic narratives as
variations of a single great story. The theory is based
on the observation that a common pattern exists
beneath the narrative elements of most great myths,
regardless of their origin or time of creation.

10.  The Hero’s Journey is a pattern of narrative identified
by the American scholar Joseph Campbell that appears
in drama, storytelling, myth, religious ritual, and
psychological development. It describes the typical
adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the
person who goes out and achieves great deeds on
behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization.

11. 1. THE ORDINARY WORLD. The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is
introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or
dilemma. The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity,
and personal history. Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in
different directions and causing stress.
2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE. Something shakes up the situation, either from
external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero
must face the beginnings of change.
3. REFUSAL OF THE CALL. The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to
turn away from the adventure, however briefly. Alternately, another
character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead.
4. MEETING WITH THE MENTOR. The hero comes across a seasoned traveler
of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will
help on the journey. Or the hero reaches within to a source of courage and
wisdom.
5. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD. At the end of Act One, the hero commits to
leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with
unfamiliar rules and values.

12. 6. TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES. The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in the
Special World.
7. APPROACH. The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the
Special world.
8. THE ORDEAL. Near the middle of the story, the hero enters a central space in the
Special World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear. Out of the
moment of death comes a new life.
9. THE REWARD. The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing
death. There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure
again.
10. THE ROAD BACK. About three-fourths of the way through the story, the hero is
driven to complete the adventure, leaving the Special World to be sure the treasure
is brought home. Often a chase scene signals the urgency and danger of the
mission.
11. THE RESURRECTION. At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the
threshold of home. He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of
death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level. By the hero’s action,
the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved.
12. RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR. The hero returns home or continues the journey,
bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as
the hero has been transformed.

13. Identify and explain the significance of
the elements of Jonas’s hero’s journey
in The Giver (Chapters 1-19).

14. A dystopia is a fictional society, usually portrayed as existing in a future time,
when the conditions of life are extremely bad due to deprivation, oppression, or
terror. Science fiction, particularly post-apocalyptic science fiction, often
features dystopias. Social critics also use the term dystopian to condemn trends
in post-industrial society they see as negative. In most dystopian fiction, a
corrupt government creates or sustains the poor quality of life, often
conditioning the masses to believe the society is proper and just, even perfect.
Most dystopian fiction takes place in the future but often purposely incorporates
contemporary social trends taken to extremes. Dystopias are frequently written
as warnings, or as satires, showing current trends extrapolated to a nightmarish
conclusion.
To have an effect on the reader, dystopian fiction typically has one important
trait: familiarity. It is not enough to show people living in a society that seems
unpleasant. The society must have echoes of today, of the reader's own
experience. If the reader can identify the patterns or trends that would lead to
the dystopia, it becomes a more involving and effective experience.

15.  Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
 Divergent series by Veronica Roth
 The Maze Runner series by James Dashner
 The Moon Dwellers Series by David Estes
 Feed by M.T. Anderson
 Matched series by Allie Condie
 The Legend series by Marie G. Lu
 The Shatter Me series by Tahera Mafi
 The Giver by Lois Lowry
 The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld
 The Razorland series by Ann Aguirre
 The Dustlands series by Moira Young
 Ender’s Game series by Orson Scott Card

16.  a hierarchical society
 state propaganda programs and educational systems that coerce most citizens into
unquestioningly accepting the state and its government, in an attempt to convince them
into thinking that life under the regime is good and just
 strict conformity among citizens and the general assumption that dissent and
individuality are bad
 a common view of traditional life as primitive and nonsensical
 a penal system that lacks due process laws and often employs psychological or physical
torture
 constant surveillance by state police agencies
 the banishment of the natural world from daily life
 a back story of a natural disaster, war, revolution, uprising, spike in overpopulation or
some other climactic event which resulted in dramatic changes to society
 a standard of living among the lower and middle class that is generally poorer than in
contemporary society
 a protagonist who questions the society, often feeling intrinsically that something is
terribly wrong

17. 1. What are the dystopian elements of The Giver? Find
quotes and phrases to support your findings.
2. Reviewing all of your notes on good fantasy, high
fantasy and the hero’s journey, as well as the dystopian
elements you have just found, the book and the
handouts, write a sample thesis for your essay on The
Giver. Remember, your thesis does not have to be just
one sentence, nor should it follow a formula of a three
part thesis.