Can someone explain the end of "The Giver" by Lois Lowry to me?

Question

At the end of the book, Jonas hears laughter, and thinks it could be the wind, or something like that, it's been a while since i read the book. Can somebody tell me what Lowry means by this? My friend told me Jonas is dying, but I'm not that sure. What do you think about the ending?

Answer 1

The ending of The Giver is extremely ambiguous and highly controversial. It can be read in two ways: either Jonas and Gabriel have finally arrived at a populated section of Elsewhere—a place that holds on to the traditions that existed before Sameness, where they will be welcomed and loved—or they are both freezing to death, and in their delusion ecstatically imagine details from some of Jonas’s stored memories. Some readers feel that the interpretation of the ending determines the message of the book. If the first interpretation is correct, the novel is optimistic, whereas the second one conveys a completely pessimistic and hopeless message. However, though the ambiguity provokes interesting questions and though the idea of Jonas and Gabriel freezing to death on the sled is a sad one, the message of the book remains optimistic no matter what has happened. In either case, Jonas is filled with real joy when he hears the music and sees the lights, and the story ends with Jonas and Gabriel full of hope, love, happiness, and uncertainty—all things that would never have been a part of their lives had they stayed in the community. When Jonas thinks over the choices he has made on his journey, he decides that “if he had stayed, he would have starved in other ways.” A life full of choice, color, and emotion is more valuable to him than the alternative, no matter how long that life is. If Jonas does die at the end, he still dies only after having really lived. Note how at the end of the novel, Gabriel is referred to as a baby, not a newchild. Jonas and Gabriel are now both more human.
In either case, too, Jonas’s escape from the community has sent his accumulated memories streaming back into the consciousness of the community. Whether or not he hears or imagines their singing behind him, Jonas knows that he has given them what he set out to give them: love and loneliness, freedom and choice. He has become the ultimate Giver of Memory, awakening his entire community to the possibilities of life. If the Christmastime village Jonas sees at the end of the novel does not really exist—if it is only a hallucination—we can still rest assured that in leaving his memories to the community, Jonas is turning his own community into that Christmas village. Enhanced by a new kind of sensory experience—music—that did not exist in Jonas’s received memories, the village is as much a prophecy as it is a memory. The society is moving forward and looking back. The ending is undeniably hopeful.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/giver/section10.rhtml

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/giver/summary.html

Answer 2

I love the ending of "The Giver". Having read Lois Lowry's "Gathering Blue" and "Messenger", I know that Jonas doesn't die, but finds a community far different from the one he is used to. Still, for those who haven't read these other 2 books, the ending of "The Giver" allows a reader to draw their own conclusions about what happens to Jonas, and that is the genius of it.

Answer 3

Jonas does not die, his hearing laughter is a sign of hope. Laughter is not something he heard back at his old home, but it is something he will hear much of in his new home. Emotions like joy and happiness had been erased where he came from, but they still exist where he is going.
To get more out of reading "The Giver" also read the rest of the trilogy, "Gathering Blue" and "Messenger." Then you will have the full story.

Answer 4

Lowry has been quoted stating that Jonas does not die at the end of the book. She, in fact, created another novel, Gathering Blue, that references that Jonas is still alive. That kind of ends that debate... but, in my opinion, she sure as hell makes it appear that he dies.

Answer 5

NO HE DID NOT DIE. There is a sequel to it....it is part of a trilogy. He made it to a vilage. You need to read the books Gathering Blue and Messenger to understand it completley.

If you want to know what happend...he became a leader of a village and fell in love with a girl named Kira.

HIH!

Answer 6

I always thought he died, and I think that would have been a really good ending... however, Lowry decided to make a sequel. So technically, he survives. I forget the name of the sequel.

Answer 7

Jonas does not die. He and the baby finally finds the "color world" and when he is sliding down the hill he hears laughter, music, and beautiful colored lights.

Answer 8

actually Jonas recalls the memory of the sled, not the harmful one but rather the soft calming one. And then he gets the givers favorite memory but he is living them out this time rather than recalling them...very confusing concept though

Answer 9

I've always liked that ending because it's so open. If you want to believe he froze to death out there, go for it. If you'd rather think he found a new home where they still understood concepts like "love" and "family," you can do that too.

I've avoided the sequels because I don't want that ending ruined for me. I liked making up my own conclusion.

Answer 10

i dont know i didnt understand the book myself i thought it was boring.i mean could u imagine being a birth mother wouldnt that hert having that many kids but i feel worse for the guys that have to give all the spem theyd be dry.i mean it was real boring because all they talked about was giving him feelings.i had to read it in sixth grade and fell asleep but im happty for u that u could read it all