However, the chapter opens with Jonas thinking about the unidentified aircraft that flew over his head the previous year.

In chapter 1 the reader also finds out that Jonas is apprehensive about the upcoming Ceremony of Twelve. He shares this idea during dinner with his family.

The apple is an important symbol in The Giver. The reader recalls a time in Chapter 3 when Jonas and Asher are playing catch with it, and Jonas notices a change.



The apple can be interpreted in multiple ways as a symbol for understanding, or new found knowledge.

Clues to this meaning are apparent on page 23. Jonas is anonymously reprimanded for “hoarding” the apple. It is also the first time Jonas sees beyond and has knowledge of color.

This symbol alludes to either biblical origin or myth. The apple that started the Trojan Wars in the Iliad, or possibly the fall of Adam and Eve.

The author only gives her readers a hint of the biblical allusion associated with this symbol. In the Genesis story, Adam and Eve supposedly ate an apple from the tree of infinite wisdom. In the act of taking that first bite they gained understanding of both good and evil, much like Jonas does in the book as he receives both good, and bad memories.

Chapter 1

In this chapter we meet Jonas. His world is