Point of View

The book is written in the third person ("he/she"), but the narrative point of view is that of the main character, Jonas. From the first to final paragraph of the novel, the reader is always inside the head of Jonas, feeling with him the anxious moments leading up to the announcement of his Assignment, and feeling with him both the pleasurable and the painful memories passed on by The Giver.

Structure

The novel's structure is uncomplicated. The story is told in twenty-three, relatively short chapters, which describe a chronological narrative. The book is not divided into parts, but if it were there would be three

Chapters 1 through 8 describe the events leading up to Jonas's selection as the next Receiver of Memories. These first eight chapters establish Jonas as a quiet boy who indulges in a fair amount of self-reflection. He is an easy character for...