Summary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter 1

Summary

In the year 1625, in Gascony, a province of France, a young man named d'Artagnan is taking leave of
his father to journey to Paris, where he will seek out the prestigious Monsieur de Treville, captain of
the King's Musketeers and a childhood friend of d'Artagnan's father.

D'Artagnan's father has only three gifts which he can give to his son: fifteen ecus in money, a
ridiculous-looking horse about thirteen years old, and a letter of introduction to Monsieur de Treville. If
d'Artagnan can convince Treville to allow him to become a musketeer, he believes that he will have
his fortune made because the musketeers are a select group of swordsmen highly favored by the
king.

After a sentimental leave-taking from his mother, d'Artagnan begins his journey to Paris. He arrives at
the market town of Meung, where he sees an unknown nobleman who he believes is laughing at him,
or at least at his horse. D'Artagnan's impetuous temper causes him to insult the nobleman and pick a
quarrel with him. D'Artagnan is outnumbered, however, and before long he is carried unconscious
into the inn. Learning from the innkeeper that d'Artagnan has a letter to the powerful Monsieur de
Treville, the nobleman steals it from d'Artagnan's doublet.

When d'Artagnan recovers, he goes downstairs in time to see the nobleman talking with someone
whom he addresses as "Milady." Later, d'Artagnan discovers that his letter of recommendation to
Treville is missing, and after threatening the innkeeper and his servants, he learns that the mysterious
nobleman ransacked his belongings and apparently stole the valuable letter of introduction.
D'Artagnan departs, and when he arrives in Paris, he rents a room that he discovers is near the home
of Monsieur de Treville.

Analysis

This first chapter moves quickly. We see that our hero is a country boy, unaccustomed to the
sophisticated ways outside of his little town; he is also from a section of France which is famous for its
brave and daring young men. Throughout the novel, d'Artagnan's birthplace will be referred to as a
place famous for producing men of exceptional courage, military valor, and quick tempers.
D'Artagnan possesses all of these qualities — especially the latter. In fact, in the opening chapters of
this novel, we see that d'Artagnan is so impetuous that he quickly embroils himself in a series of duels
with three of the king's best swordsmen.

D'Artagnan's encounter with the as-yet-unnamed Count de Rochefort introduces us to the man who
will become d'Artagnan's mysterious nemesis (enemy). However, until the end of the novel, Rochefort
will be referred to only as "the man from Meung." At the end of the novel, when ordered to do so by
Cardinal Richelieu, Rochefort and d'Artagnan will put aside their differences and become allies and
friends.

The puzzling appearance here of "Milady" will become even more important to the plot than
d'Artagnan's chance encounter with Rochefort; Milady will play a major, pivotal role later in the novel.
The ultimate importance of both of these mysterious characters suggests that Dumas had the plot of
his novel well outlined before he began writing it.
CHAPTER 19

 Jonas starts to talk with The Giver about the twin that his father is releasing today. The Giver
frowns; he wishes they wouldn't do that to a twin baby. But Jonas reminds him that it would be
so confusing to have two identical people running around.
 He then says he wishes he could watch the ceremony, to see what happens to the twin who
goes Elsewhere.
 The Giver tells him that he can watch the ceremony if he wants to. It's in the rules, after all, that
he gets to ask any questions of anyone he wants.
 Jonas shrugs; it's too late now, he says, the morning's ceremony is already over.
 But The Giver reminds him that all ceremonies are recorded in the Hall of Records. If he
wants, he can go watch a tape of what happened.
 With a quick request to his Attendant, the Giver gets the video pulled up on the screen inside
his room.
 Jonas watches the video. In it, his father takes the twins and weighs each one on a scale.
 Jonas, who's taking the whole thing very casually, keeps making comments, and The Giver,
who knows what's up, keeps telling him to be quiet.
 Jonas's father hands the heavier baby (six pounds) to a nurse to take back to the Nursery.
 Jonas remarks that this is the part where his father cleans up the other baby and "makes him
all comfy."
 But then Jonas watches as his father… gives the baby a lethal injection to a vein in the
forehead.
 Oh.
 Then, as though it's no big deal, he drops the dead baby down the garbage chute.
 Oh…
 Jonas is outraged.
 The Giver says he watched the tape of Rosemary's release, except he turned away after she
asked to inject herself.

CHAPTER 20

 Jonas, still raging, refuses to go home and see his father. He's crying, and The Giver, once
again, says, "Be quiet," but this time in a comforting voice. He tells Jonas that no one can see
or hear him sobbing. He also says Jonas can stay there for the night if he wants.
 Once the moral outrage at killing babies dies down a bit, Jonas is consumed with outrage that
his Father has been lying to him.
 The Giver tries to explain that his Father was just following the rules, that he doesn't know how
to act any differently.
 Jonas wants to know if The Giver has ever lied to him; the old man answers no, he never has.
 Then Jonas asks if Release is death for everyone, even the elderly. The Giver confirms that
yes, it is. Even Fiona, who works with the Elderly, is being trained to do lethal injections.
Because those people don't know how to have emotions, it doesn't mean anything to them.
 Once he calms the boy down a bit, The Giver explains that the two of them are the only ones
with real feelings in the entire community. The problem with holding the memories, he says, is
that it's lonely—memories are meant to be shared.
 The Giver says the two of them need to make a plan. They know that things can be different
than they are now, because they've seen the past through the memories they share. Spending
time with Jonas has made The Giver realize that things have to change. And he thinks there
might be a way…
  In a brilliant, suspense-building shift, we don't get to hear their plan. We cut to the post-
planning, where the two have come up with an idea.
 Jonas is sitting wrapped up in The Giver's robe, the kind the Elders wear. He knows that if their
plan doesn't work, he will very likely be killed.
 Jonas asks The Giver to come with him, but the old man refuses. Jonas needs to escape to
Elsewhere—knowing that he can never come back—and then the memories he's taken will be
released to the community. The Giver hopes that, through these memories, the citizens will
acquire some wisdom. He has to stick around to help them.
 Both Jonas and The Giver know that the Elders will try to pick a new Receiver, and quickly too,
to take the memories and ease the burden. But The Giver knows that there isn't another one
ready.
 Jonas reminds him that there's a young girl with light eyes, except she's only a Six. The fact is,
the community will have to deal with the memories themselves.
 Besides, says The Giver, he's too old and weak to make the journey. He doesn't even see
colors anymore, he admits, which really hits home for Jonas.
 Speaking of colors, Jonas would like to know more about what The Giver meant so long ago.
He said that he "perceived beyond" when he was young, too, except it wasn't colors that he
perceived.
 The Giver says that the only way Jonas will understand is if he transmits to Jonas the memory
in question. He's been holding on to it, he says, a bit selfishly. It's music, he says. He used to
hear music.
 Of course, Jonas doesn't know what this is. But he refuses to take the memory from The Giver,
insisting that the old man should keep it for himself.
 When Jonas finally goes home, he pretends everything is hunky-dory with his Father.
 Jonas spends the next day at school going over the plan in his head, which at last we get to
hear about: for the next two weeks, as the December Ceremony approaches, Jonas will get
ready to escape to Elsewhere. The Giver will transmit memories of courage to help him.
 Then, the night before the big Ceremony, Jonas will sneak out of his house and hide his
bicycle and clothes by the river. Then he'll come to the Annex, where The Giver will be waiting
for him.
 As the plan goes, his parents will wake up and find a cheery note about Jonas having gone for
an early bike ride. They'll wait and wait, and, finally, they'll just leave for the Ceremony without
him. No one will notice his absence all day because they'll be so wrapped up in the festivities.
 Meanwhile, The Giver, who typically does not attend the December Ceremony, would order a
vehicle, send the driver away under some pretense, and hide Jonas inside the truck.
 By the time everyone has found Jonas's bicycle and clothes by the river, the boy will be long
gone, and the community will turn to The Giver to help them through the crisis.
 The Giver will explain that Jonas accidentally drowned in the river, and then he will help them
cope with the new memories.
 That's the plan. While he knows that The Giver needs to stay, Jonas still wants him to come
along on the escape.
 The Giver explains that he will stay to help the citizens. After that, he says, he wants to be with
his daughter—Rosemary.

CHAPTER 21

 So they're convinced that their plan is going to work.

 Their plan definitely does not work.
 We cut to the image of Jonas, who has been "forced to flee" that very night, two
weeks before the Ceremony, guiding his bicycle over the bridge in the darkness.
  What happened? Now we go back in time to find out.
 So Jonas is eating dinner with his family when his Father cheerily announces that Gabriel is
going to be released the next morning. They just haven't been able to get him to sleep through
the night when they brought him to the Nursery, so it's bye-bye for this little toddler.
 Now we cut back to Jonas, still crossing the bridge on his bike in the dark.
 Actually, it's not his bike; it's his Father's. He took his Father's bike because it had a baby seat
attached to the back.
 Which means, of course, he took Gabriel, too.
 Before he stole the toddler, Jonas transmitted to Gabriel the memory of a rocking hammock.
Fortunately, this kept the little tyke asleep and quiet while Jonas got them out of the house.
 As time passes, Jonas tires as he continues to pedal and pedal. When dawn breaks, he stops,
puts the bike down, and has breakfast with Gabriel by the side of a stream.
 He hides them in the grass and they both sleep through the daylight hours.
 Days go by, and Jonas is still biking. He's gotten into a routine now of hiding in the day and
traveling at night. Mostly, he worries when the low-flying search planes come by overhead,
especially because he knows they have heat-seeking devices. (No, really, the text says "heat-
seeking devices." Apparently Jonas learned about it in school.)
 When he sees the planes, Jonas tries to hold on to memories of cold, in the hopes that that will
neutralize the heat-seekers.
 Jonas notices that his memories are fading a bit, which is what he and The Giver had
expected: as he moves further and further away from the community, the memories should be
released to the citizens and thus fade from his mind.
 As the days go on, the planes become less and less frequent. Finally, they stop altogether.

CHAPTER 22

 As Jonas bikes further and further away form the community, the landscape starts changing.
The roads are more makeshift, filled with ruts and stones.
 At one point, Jonas hits a stone and the bicycle turns over. Gabriel is fine, but Jonas has
twisted an ankle.
 Yet Jonas is undaunted, and the little duo continues to travel.
 Since the search-planes aren't coming by anymore, Jonas starts to travel in daylight.
 The landscape becomes more and more rural. Jonas even sees a bird pass by overhead—the
first he's ever seen in real life.
 As they move into forest-like territory, they see more and more animals. Jonas is happy about
this, a fact only slightly dampened by their impending starvation.
 Right, about that… Jonas is running out of food. Amazingly, he goes Survivorman, makes a
net out of Gabriel's blanket, and catches two fish from a stream, which they eat raw.
 He tries to conjure up memories of food, but they're dim and fleeting.
 Jonas takes a moment to ponder the fact that, had he stayed in the community, he would
definitely not be starving right now. He made a choice, he realizes, and it was the wrong one.
 On the other hand, if he had stayed… well, Gabriel would have died. Jonas also would have
starved in other ways, starved for color and emotion.
 Then Jonas encounters hills for the first time. On the one hand, he's all excited to see hills. On
the other hand, he's on a bike and he has a sprained ankle, so this isn't exactly the best time.
 Then it starts raining. Again, this is fun as far as novelty goes, but that's about it. Now they're
starving and wet and freezing.
 Gabriel, understandably, starts crying.
 Jonas does, too, but not for himself. He's not worried about saving himself anymore; he's just
concerned about saving Gabriel.
CHAPTER 23

 Jonas starts to feel that he's getting very close to Elsewhere. But he also starts to feel that he'll
probably die before he gets there.
 Confirming the latter suspicion, it starts to snow. Jonas wraps the baby inside his jacket to
keep him warm.
 He gets to a steep hill and, in the increasing snow, finds that he can pedal no further. He let's
the bike fall to the ground and begins to walk.
 Then Jonas has the idea of using a memory to help—except he's not sure that, this far from
the community, he still has the ability to recall a memory or to transmit it to Gabriel.
 But when he starts to think about sunshine, it works. Jonas tries to transfer the warmth he feels
to Gabriel.
 That works for about thirty seconds or so before they're both freezing again. As he continues to
trudge up the hill, he musters up all the memories he has of warmth and sunshine.
 As Jonas gets closer and closer to the top of the hill, he realizes that he's completely freezing,
exhausted, and going numb. And yet, he feels happy. Joyous even. He's flooded with
memories of Fiona, Asher, his family, and The Giver.
 He whispers to Gabe that they're almost to the top. He knows, he says, because he
remembers it. This is a memory of his own.
 And then, Jonas finds the sled from his first memory, waiting for him at the top of the hill. He
settles on to it, pulls Gabriel close to him, and feels hopeful as he begins to surge down the
other side of the hill.
 Jonas struggles to stay conscious as they fly downwards. He knows that Elsewhere is waiting
for him at the bottom of the hill.
 Looking ahead, Jonas can see lights and colors. He knows he's going to a place of love.
 Then, Jonas hears music for the first time. He knows they are others waiting for him.
 Jonas thinks for a moment that he hears music coming from behind him, too, back from where
he came. "But perhaps it was only an echo."