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Gathering Blue

 Gathering Blue
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TVTItem
 Gathering Blue
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Gathering Blue
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GatheringBlue
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Gathering Blue, written by Lois Lowry, is a story set within the universe of her earlier YA novel, The Giver. It is part of the The Giver Quartet and followed by Messenger.The novel is set in an isolated and backwards village led by the Council of Guardians. Its inhabitants are mean and only come together at the annual Gathering, in which the village's Singer sings a song telling the history of human civilization. Protagonist Kira was born with a deformed leg and was kept alive despite her Social Darwinist society due to the intervention of her influential mother. Upon her mother's death, her neighbors attempt to have her killed, but she is saved by the Guardians, who single her out for her exceptional embroidery skills. Kira is to become the next Threader — the person who will embroider the Singer's robe with the past, present, and future. Things get more complicated when Kira realizes that the Guardian's motives might not be as pure as they appear, and Matt discovers a utopian village previously alluded to in The Giver.Unlike The Giver, which takes place in a futuristic society, Gathering Blue takes place in a more obviously After the End technologically regressed society.
 Gathering Blue
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2024-03-22T03:46:10Z
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2024-03-22T03:46:10Z
 Gathering Blue
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DBTropes
 Gathering Blue / int_1484dba1
type
Foreshadowing
 Gathering Blue / int_1484dba1
comment
Foreshadowing: Towards the end of the book, Matt tells Kira about a boy about her age with bright blue eyes (in the village her father now lives in) and suggests she could marry him. Between Messenger and Son, she does just that. Also, the boy turns out to be Jonas.
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 Gathering Blue / int_2673425b
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Kid Hero
 Gathering Blue / int_2673425b
comment
Kid Hero: Kira is around fifteen when the story starts. Matt is even younger, around eight.
 Gathering Blue / int_2673425b
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Gathering Blue / int_2673425b
 Gathering Blue / int_27705cf8
type
Textile Work Is Feminine
 Gathering Blue / int_27705cf8
comment
Textile Work Is Feminine: Extremely prevalent. Kira, who is tasked with embroidery, is female (while Thomas is tasked with woodcarving). She learned the art of embroidery from her mother and the art of dyeing from an old woman, Annabella. On a societal level, it's explicitly the women who weave cloth for everyone.
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 Gathering Blue / int_27ab0123
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Offing the Offspring
 Gathering Blue / int_27ab0123
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Offing the Offspring: It is briefly mentioned that Vandara was accused of having killed one of her children by forcing him to eat oleander. Many in the village still believe that she did it, though she was let off because there was no evidence.
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Gathering Blue / int_27ab0123
 Gathering Blue / int_297ab1b9
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Parental Abandonment
 Gathering Blue / int_297ab1b9
comment
Parental Abandonment: Kira, whose mother dies in the opening and whose father was supposedly taken by "beasts" shortly before she was born (towards the end of the book she reunites with the latter and we learn that he was actually brutally attacked—and left sightless—by a rival who wanted him dead. His life was saved only because of the timely arrival of a benevolent group of strangers from another village.). Also Thomas and Jo, who are similarly orphaned. We eventually learn that the Council deliberately creates these situations, often by killing the parents, in order to gain control of children with extraordinary talents.
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 Gathering Blue / int_2dff6b95
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Two Guys and a Girl
 Gathering Blue / int_2dff6b95
comment
Two Guys and a Girl: Kira, Matt, and Thomas form a group of sorts later on. Gender-reversed with Kira, Thomas, and Jo.
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 Gathering Blue / int_3149c4b0
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It Will Never Catch On
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It Will Never Catch On: Kira, while in the Council of Edifice's building, is exposed to indoor plumbing for the first time. She finds it interesting, but thinks how it is simply just easier to go down to the river to do bathroom activities.
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 Gathering Blue / int_334e48a1
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After the End
 Gathering Blue / int_334e48a1
comment
After the End: The Ruin, which is explained to be a series of wars, and natural disasters. The book implies that it is not a single event, but a recurring event throughout history.
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 Gathering Blue / int_3bce9346
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Ragnarök Proofing
 Gathering Blue / int_3bce9346
comment
Ragnarök Proofing: Unless the elders knew far more than they let on, it would be impossible to have workable indoor plumbing complete with hot water without electricity and a source of pressurized water.
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 Gathering Blue / int_44dd01be
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Tagalong Kid
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Tagalong Kid: Matt for Kira. He follows her around a lot.
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 Gathering Blue / int_4efc4fae
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Good Scars, Evil Scars
 Gathering Blue / int_4efc4fae
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Good Scars, Evil Scars: Vandara has a scar that goes down her face and uses it to boast how she fought off a beast. Subverted with Christopher, Kira's father, who still has scars from the supposed "beast attack" years later.
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 Gathering Blue / int_504a1991
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Body Horror
 Gathering Blue / int_504a1991
comment
Body Horror: The description of the chains around the Singer's feet, and their disgusting effects on him, are rather grotesque and intended to horrify.
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 Gathering Blue / int_5313c266
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Bookends
 Gathering Blue / int_5313c266
comment
Book Ends: The book begins with Kira sitting with her mother's body, saying goodbye to her and looking at an uncertain future. It ends with her saying goodbye to her father whom she thought was dead and looking forward to helping to create a new future for her village.
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 Gathering Blue / int_6ad1eeb8
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Sliding Scale of Gender Inequality
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Sliding Scale of Gender Inequality: Level 3. Women can't learn how to read or write. Kira is even afraid to watch as Thomas writes the names of plants she is narrating to him for fear she will be accused of learning how to read.
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 Gathering Blue / int_84c5ec0b
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Free-Range Children
 Gathering Blue / int_84c5ec0b
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Free-Range Children: Due to the Abusive Parents, many children go around doing whatever they want. Matt in particular actually left his village and was gone for days to get something for Kira. Of course, he never went back home.
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 Gathering Blue / int_85debad9
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Plucky Girl
 Gathering Blue / int_85debad9
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Plucky Girl: Kira manages to keep going, despite her mother's death and the mistreatment she gets from the villagers.
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 Gathering Blue / int_89631688
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The Chosen One
 Gathering Blue / int_89631688
comment
The Chosen One: Kira, as well as Thomas and Jo, were chosen for special roles in their society due to their talents.
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 Gathering Blue / int_994928f9
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Crapsack World
 Gathering Blue / int_994928f9
comment
Crapsack World: Unlike in The Giver, where the crap sack is more subtle, Gathering Blue's community is at a medieval tech level and inhumane to their fellow citizens.
 Gathering Blue / int_994928f9
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 Gathering Blue / int_9dab0a6e
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Continuity Nod
 Gathering Blue / int_9dab0a6e
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Continuity Nod: A boy looking like Jonas in another community is mentioned to Kira (Messenger hints at this even more strongly, and Son outright confirms that the two are one and the same).
 Gathering Blue / int_9dab0a6e
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 Gathering Blue / int_a4d8473b
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Stealth Sequel
 Gathering Blue / int_a4d8473b
comment
Stealth Sequel: Subtle, but a boy Kira's age with bright blue eyes is described by Matt in the utopian village, hinting that Jonas finally reached Elsewhere. The two novels connect in Messenger.
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 Gathering Blue / int_a8e5bc60
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All Hail the Great God Mickey!
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All Hail the Great God Mickey!: A group of survivors worship a cross recovered from a Christian church. They don't know what Christianity actually was composed of before the apocalypse, but they do know that the cross had some importance.
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 Gathering Blue / int_ac0f4761
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Future Imperfect
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Future Imperfect: The Christian Cross is simply known as "The Worship Object." Information about it has been lost, but the citizens know that it was special to their ancestors, so they bow to it out of sheer respect.
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 Gathering Blue / int_b11ac9f5
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Abusive Parents
 Gathering Blue / int_b11ac9f5
comment
Abusive Parents: It's implied that abusive parents aren't the norm (most notably, Kira expresses skepticism at the idea that a father would commit suicide and leave his young daughter alone), but we never seem to see the ones who aren't (except at the very end, with Kira's father). Very few parents are shown as positive. Neglect, beatings, and emotional abuse are all used against "tykes" and there is little sympathy for them. Kira's mother is the lone aversion, and she's dead.
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 Gathering Blue / int_b51128fa
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Gilded Cage
 Gathering Blue / int_b51128fa
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Gilded Cage: Kira notes that while she has better food, equipment, and living conditions at the Edifice, she's also far more restricted by the Council's expectations and isn't free at all.
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 Gathering Blue / int_b8ab7dc4
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Treacherous Advisor
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Treacherous Advisor: Jamison turns out to be one.
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 Gathering Blue / int_d8f3dc8
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Eternal Recurrence
 Gathering Blue / int_d8f3dc8
comment
Eternal Recurrence: The Gathering is the time when everyone is told how the world ends, rebuilds, ends, rebuilds, and ends over and over again, and will continue to do so in the future.
 Gathering Blue / int_d8f3dc8
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 Gathering Blue / int_e6a901a3
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Meaningful Rename
 Gathering Blue / int_e6a901a3
comment
Meaningful Rename: Citizens, when born, have only one syllable in their name, but as they grow older and more established, they gain additional syllables. (eg. Ann —> Anna —> Annabell —> Annabella). They actually refer to their ages in terms of syllables in their names.
 Gathering Blue / int_e6a901a3
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 Gathering Blue / int_ffad4e9f
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Shown Their Work
 Gathering Blue / int_ffad4e9f
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Shown Their Work: The characters lament that they can produce any color except blue. In real life, blue has historically been one of the hardest colors to synthesize.
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Gathering Blue

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

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All Hail the Great God Mickey! / int_dd0da414
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Future Imperfect / int_dd0da414
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Gilded Cage / int_dd0da414
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Handy Helper / int_dd0da414
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It Will Never Catch On / int_dd0da414
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Loose Lips / int_dd0da414
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Ragnarök Proofing / int_dd0da414
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Rite-of-Passage Name Change / int_dd0da414
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Shrouded in Myth / int_dd0da414
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Tiered by Name / int_dd0da414
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Young Adult Literature / int_dd0da414