The Giver Quotes

I had learned that knowing what something is is not the same as knowing how something feels.

I hadn't been wrong. THIS was wrong. They hadn't eliminated murder. They brought it home. They just called it by a different name.

Memories are not just about the past. They determine our future. You can change things. You can make things better.

When people have the freedom to choose, they choose wrong - every single time.

You have the courage. Let me give you the strength.

You see, no one in our Community has any memory of the past. Only me. When the Elders need guidance on matters that are beyond their experience, I provide wisdom. That is now your role, to provide guidance in the present using memories of the past.

Beginnings... From disorder and chaos, from great suffering, great pain. From confusion and envy and hatred came a solution: Communities. Serene, beautiful place where disorder became harmony.

Jonas : I wish I had been there when the memories returned. They were the truth. The Elders and their rules were the lie, so I do NOT apologize. I knew Fiona was safe, that I'd see her again, and that I held the future there in my arms.
Jonas : The Giver had led us here, to this house. It was real. From far behind me, from the place I had left, I thought I heard music, too. Perhaps it was only an echo, but it was enough. It would lead us all home.

Jonas : Asher, there's something I have to do that is right, but is sort of against the rules.
Asher : If it's the right thing to do, how can it be against the rules?
Jonas : There are things that I've learned that you don't know, that you can't know, not because it's your fault...

Asher and I, we used to dare each other to get close to his place. It was built right on the Edge. We'd all heard of people getting Lost to the Edge, never to be seen again, and yet, here I was, being told that I'd have to get close to it every day - for the rest of my life.

Jonas : Father, do you love me?
Mother : Jonas, precision of language. Please.
Lilly : What does "love" mean?
Father : I got him, Lilly
Mother : Jonas used a word so antiquated that it no longer has any application. Okay?
Father : If you ask "Do you enjoy me?" the answer is certainly yes; or, do Mother and I take pride in your accomplishments? Well, of course we do. Do you understand?