Gathering Blue

Matt is the focus of the third novel in The Giver quartet, Messenger. What kind of “messages” does he carry in Gathering Blue? In other words, what do we learn from his character—including his friendship with Kira, his bond with his dog, and his willingness to travel so far from home to find the blue that Kira needs?

Comparatively analyze Katrina and Vandara, focusing specifically on how each approaches motherhood. How are each woman’s choices a response to the brutality of the society in which she lives? Which of them exercises more power in the face of that brutality?

Comparatively analyze Christopher and Jamison, focusing on the different role they each play in Kira’s artistic development. At what moments and through what means are both men catalysts for important realizations Kira has as she develops her sense of self?

Analyze the relationship between Kira and Thomas by exploring their conversations about art and artistic inspiration in the context of a comparison of their similarities and differences. Why is Kira the one poised to be their leader at the end of the novel?

Examine the characters of Jo and Annabella in the context of their relationship to Kira. How and why does each one enable or encourage different aspects of Kira’s development?

Explore the significance of the Fen. How are the people there different from the rest of the villagers? In a society so invested in sameness, why is the Fen allowed to persist? What function does it have in society?

What is the overall significance of color in this novel? What is the meaning of blue in particular, and why is it the only color missing from the people’s history?

How is it significant that the Council Edifice was once a church and that the people still worship, once a year, the “Worship-object” (a cross) when they have no cultural memory or understanding of what it means?