The Giver Quotes
Chief Elder: When people have the freedom to choose, they choose wrong - every single time.
Movie: The Giver
The Giver: Her name was Rosemary. She was my daughter. I loved her.
Chief Elder: Precision of language.
The Giver: Haha! Could not be more precise.
Chief Elder: Precision of language.
The Giver: Haha! Could not be more precise.
Movie: The Giver
Jonas: ...I had learned that knowing what something is is not the same as knowing how something feels.
Movie: The Giver
Jonas: Your instructions said I can lie. Do you lie?
The Giver: Oh, all the time. Mostly for personal amusement - but I won't lie to you.
Jonas: How do I know THAT'S not a lie? [the Giver chuckles]
The Giver: Oh, all the time. Mostly for personal amusement - but I won't lie to you.
Jonas: How do I know THAT'S not a lie? [the Giver chuckles]
Movie: The Giver
Jonas: It was like a memory, but Fiona was there.
The Giver: You had a dream.
Jonas: A what?
The Giver: A dream. A combination of reality, fantasy, emotions and what you had for dinner. You've stopped taking your injections, haven't you?
Jonas: The emotion was so strong. And at the wedding, everyone all together, laughing and dancing, the old with the young, the bride and the groom... There was something there, but different from what we have.
The Giver: Yes. We don't have that anymore.
Jonas: What do you mean by that?
The Giver: Well, I'm talking about what you feel for someone else. And the mind can't explain it, and you... you can't make it go away.
Jonas: What is it?
The Giver: Love. It's called love.
The Giver: You had a dream.
Jonas: A what?
The Giver: A dream. A combination of reality, fantasy, emotions and what you had for dinner. You've stopped taking your injections, haven't you?
Jonas: The emotion was so strong. And at the wedding, everyone all together, laughing and dancing, the old with the young, the bride and the groom... There was something there, but different from what we have.
The Giver: Yes. We don't have that anymore.
Jonas: What do you mean by that?
The Giver: Well, I'm talking about what you feel for someone else. And the mind can't explain it, and you... you can't make it go away.
Jonas: What is it?
The Giver: Love. It's called love.
Movie: The Giver
The Giver: Memories are not just about the past. They determine our future. You can change things. You can make things better.
Movie: The Giver
Fiona: I don't have the words to describe it. [Jonas kisses her]
Jonas: Fiona, there is more. So much more. [kisses her]
Chief Elder's Assistant: What are they doing?
Jonas: Fiona, what do you feel?
Fiona: I don't have the words to describe it.
Jonas: Fiona, there is more. So much more. [kisses her]
Chief Elder's Assistant: What are they doing?
Jonas: Fiona, what do you feel?
Fiona: I don't have the words to describe it.
Movie: The Giver
The Giver: We are the only ones who understand it.
Jonas: Then it's our fault, you and me and all the Receivers, back and back and back and back and back. There has to be a way to show them, to give them the memories so they can understand.
The Giver: Yes.
Jonas: Because if you can't feel... what's the point?
The Giver: But what can you do?
Jonas: Then it's our fault, you and me and all the Receivers, back and back and back and back and back. There has to be a way to show them, to give them the memories so they can understand.
The Giver: Yes.
Jonas: Because if you can't feel... what's the point?
The Giver: But what can you do?
Movie: The Giver
The Giver: Everything is connected, everything is a balance. With good there is always bad. The two...
Jonas: Show me more.
The Giver: Let's go for a walk. [scoots his chair forward for another vision]
The Giver: A real one, with your legs.
Jonas: Show me more.
The Giver: Let's go for a walk. [scoots his chair forward for another vision]
The Giver: A real one, with your legs.
Movie: The Giver
Chief Elder: Jonas, what do you and the Receiver actually do?
Jonas: My rules say I am not allowed to share.
Mother: She's the Chief Elder. Jonas, she only wants to help.
Jonas: You're right. [to the Chief Elder]
Jonas: But you can't tell the Receiver I told you.
Chief Elder: You have my word.
Jonas: We sit in chairs and don't talk all day long, and then, when time is up, I come back here, and in the morning I do it all again.
Jonas: My rules say I am not allowed to share.
Mother: She's the Chief Elder. Jonas, she only wants to help.
Jonas: You're right. [to the Chief Elder]
Jonas: But you can't tell the Receiver I told you.
Chief Elder: You have my word.
Jonas: We sit in chairs and don't talk all day long, and then, when time is up, I come back here, and in the morning I do it all again.
Movie: The Giver
[last lines] 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. [distant singing]
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: 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.
Movie: The Giver
[first lines] Title Card: From the ashes of The Ruin, the Communities were built. Protected by the Boundary. All memories of the past were erased.
Jonas: After The Ruin we started over, creating a new society, one of true equality. Rules were the building blocks of that equality. We learned them as Newchildren. Rules like: use precise language, wear your assigned clothing, take your morning medication, obey the curfew, never lie.
Jonas: My name is Jonas. I don't have a last name. None of us did. That day, the day before graduation, I admit it, I was scared. Tomorrow we'd be assigned our jobs, our purpose. It seemed everyone knew theirs already. Not me. I was lost. I always felt like I saw things - differently; saw things other people didn't. I never said anything. I didn't want to be different. Who would?
Asher: [bicycle bell dinging]Jonas!
Fiona: I apologize, we're late. I got Asher to come say goodbye to Teacher.
Jonas: I accept your apology.
Jonas: [narration continues]Asher and Fiona. We'd been friends our whole lives. Asher was the boy who made everyone laugh. Fiona, well, she was the girl who made everyone smile.
Asher: [standing on his bicycle pedals]... Take that back! Whoever is listening, please, please, do not make me Vice Chancellor of Waste Management! Please!
Jonas: [narration continues]We lived in a world where differences weren't allowed. There was no popular. No fame. No losers and no winners. Our Elders had eliminated all of that so there'd be no conflict between us. Fear, pain, envy, hate, they weren't words so much as sounds. Their echoes were gone to the other side of history. I'm asked if I should apologize for what I did. I'll let you decide.
Jonas: After The Ruin we started over, creating a new society, one of true equality. Rules were the building blocks of that equality. We learned them as Newchildren. Rules like: use precise language, wear your assigned clothing, take your morning medication, obey the curfew, never lie.
Jonas: My name is Jonas. I don't have a last name. None of us did. That day, the day before graduation, I admit it, I was scared. Tomorrow we'd be assigned our jobs, our purpose. It seemed everyone knew theirs already. Not me. I was lost. I always felt like I saw things - differently; saw things other people didn't. I never said anything. I didn't want to be different. Who would?
Asher: [bicycle bell dinging]Jonas!
Fiona: I apologize, we're late. I got Asher to come say goodbye to Teacher.
Jonas: I accept your apology.
Jonas: [narration continues]Asher and Fiona. We'd been friends our whole lives. Asher was the boy who made everyone laugh. Fiona, well, she was the girl who made everyone smile.
Asher: [standing on his bicycle pedals]... Take that back! Whoever is listening, please, please, do not make me Vice Chancellor of Waste Management! Please!
Jonas: [narration continues]We lived in a world where differences weren't allowed. There was no popular. No fame. No losers and no winners. Our Elders had eliminated all of that so there'd be no conflict between us. Fear, pain, envy, hate, they weren't words so much as sounds. Their echoes were gone to the other side of history. I'm asked if I should apologize for what I did. I'll let you decide.
Movie: The Giver
The Giver: [grabbing hold of him]There is no way for me to prepare you for what I'm going to do now. You can take comfort in knowing you are completely helpless. [sighs]
The Giver: If any of this proves too much for you, tell me immediately.
Jonas: I just have... [passes into a trance]
The Giver: If any of this proves too much for you, tell me immediately.
Jonas: I just have... [passes into a trance]
Movie: The Giver
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: 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...
Movie: The Giver
The Giver: 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.
Movie: The Giver
Chief Elder: [beginning her commencement speech]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.
Movie: The Giver
Chief Elder: Number 51, Asher. Unruly, careless. Sometimes those most in need of responsibility learn best by being the practitioners of it. Drone Pilot. Thank you for your childhood.
Asher: You can keep it!
Asher: You can keep it!
Movie: The Giver
The Giver: Just like music, there's something else you can't see with your eyes, something... that lives deep inside you. Something these morning injections take away.
Jonas: I thought the injections are for our health.
The Giver: No. They remove something.
Jonas: What?
The Giver: Emotions.
Jonas: You mean like feelings?
The Giver: Feelings are just fleeting, on the surface, but emotions, they're very deep, primal. They linger. Now, Jonas, you might not understand where you are or what's happening, but don't think about what you're seeing. Listen. Listen to what's calling from inside.
Jonas: I thought the injections are for our health.
The Giver: No. They remove something.
Jonas: What?
The Giver: Emotions.
Jonas: You mean like feelings?
The Giver: Feelings are just fleeting, on the surface, but emotions, they're very deep, primal. They linger. Now, Jonas, you might not understand where you are or what's happening, but don't think about what you're seeing. Listen. Listen to what's calling from inside.
Movie: The Giver
Jonas: [as to the Giver's dwelling]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.
Movie: The Giver
Jonas: I apologize. [no reply]
Jonas: I apologize?
The Giver: Don't say that. I apologize. Don't apologize to me ever again. Not here. We haven't the time. I apologize. That's an automatic pleasantry. It doesn't mean anything.
Jonas: I apologize. I'm sorry. I mean...
Jonas: I apologize?
The Giver: Don't say that. I apologize. Don't apologize to me ever again. Not here. We haven't the time. I apologize. That's an automatic pleasantry. It doesn't mean anything.
Jonas: I apologize. I'm sorry. I mean...
Movie: The Giver
Jonas: Father, do you love me?
Mother: Jonas, precision of language. Please.
Lilly: What does love mean?
Father: [taking Gabriel]I got him, Lilly
Mother: [to Lilly]Jonas used a word so antiquated that it no longer has any application. Okay?
Father: [to Jonas]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?
Mother: Jonas, precision of language. Please.
Lilly: What does love mean?
Father: [taking Gabriel]I got him, Lilly
Mother: [to Lilly]Jonas used a word so antiquated that it no longer has any application. Okay?
Father: [to Jonas]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?
Movie: The Giver