THE RECEIVER OF MEMORY

THE RECEIVER OF MEMORY

       In the chapters 7 through 12 of The Giver, the author describes how Jonas got selected as the Receiver of Memory. At first, Jonas was very nervous to here about the selection because the Chief Elder explained that being the Receiver of Memory will be physically painful in a way that no one can describe it. This made Jonas very uncomfortable until he heard the four qualities that the Elders had been looking for in order to choose him as The Receiver of Memory, these were:intelligence,integrity, courage, and the capacity to see beyond. After the ceremony, everyone congratulated Jonas for being selected to one of the most honoured careers in the community. Even though Jonas got proudly selected to Receiver of Memory, he felt apartness, because this career was done alone with the Giver. When Jonas got home, he opened up the folder that the Chief elder gave to him and read the 8 rules of being The Receiver of Memory, which were: "Immediately go to training after school hours to the Annex room and present yourself to the attendant, immediately go to your dwelling after training hours, you may ask questions and you will receive answers, do not discuss training with anyone in the community, you are prohibited from dream telling, do not apply for any medication except for illness or injury, you are not permitted to apply for release, you may lie". The next day Jonas followed the rules and went straight to training after school. Once he got to the Annex room, he saw the elder that would give him his training. The elder gave him information about being the Receiver of Memory. He told Jonas about the pain he will encounter and the things he will learn that Jonas does not yet understand. After those discussions, the elder ordered Jonas to lay down in the bed, and to take off his tunic. Once Jonas has followed the instructions, the elder put his hands on Jonas' back, and gave him the memory of snow, a sled, and a hill. At first, Jonas did not know about all of those things, but the memory gave him the explanation automatically. Jonas was astounded at the end of the memory, but the elder told him that that was the beauty, but there was a lot of pain involved. As a matter of fact, the Giver gave him sunburn as a small painful memory. The next day, the Giver (the elder) and Jonas were talking about the capacity to see beyond and how that is happening to Jonas. Once both of them talked about "seeing beyond" and how Jonas sees strange things, the Giver gave him the memory of a rainbow and its colours.


       The quote I choose from the Giver is on page 58, chapter 7. The quote says "He hunched his shoulders and tried to make himself smaller in the seat. He wanted to disappear, to fade away, not exist". I like how the author chose the words in this quote, because the way Lois Lowry described how Jonas felt is very efficient. If I was in Jonas' state, I would react the same way she described it in the book. The other quote I chose from the Giver is on page 63, chapter 8. The author wrote "You will be faced, now, with pain of a magnitude that none of us here can comprehend because it is beyond our experience. The Receiver himself was not able to describe it, only to remind us that you will be faced with it, that you would need immense courage". This quote makes me wonder what the pain will be like. Will it be physical, emotional or mental? The way this quote makes me feel is surprised because one of the jobs in the community requires someone to have great pain.


       Now that I have read chapters 7 through 12, I can understand the book more clearly. Now I know that the world Jonas was living in, is colourless. I also now understand what the meaning of the title of the book is. I am very glad that Jonas got selected as the Receiver of Memory because it's the only career that is unique from the others.