REMEMBERING PAIN

Jonas has already had his first day of training. When he is walking with Fiona to the Ammex building, he realizes that something about her hair seems to change. Jonas tries to tell The Giver about these experiences he’s having. The Giver starts talking to him and tells him, like the Chief Elder said at the ceremony of December, he has the capacity to see beyond. The Giver explains that he is starting to see something that the old was filled with, something that cannot be described, colors.

 He even tries to transmit the memory of the color red to his friend Asher, by looking at some flowers. But unfortunately it doesn’t work. Jonas is frustrated by the fact that the community had to give up something as amazing as colors. The Giver explains that having colors would want people to make their own choices and decisions. Days went by and Jonas starts learning about this new, wonderful thing known as colors. He knows his world would never be the same again now that he has the memories of colors and even pain. Jonas’s attention is caught on a particular memory, one that some dark skinned men are hunting an elephant. He notices that once there were different flesh colors, and that there was once real life elephants. The Giver finally tells him that today is the day that he would receive his first memory of pain. The memory starts at the top of the hill with the sled, Jonas starts descending the hill when abruptly the sled flips over. Jonas falls on his leg, breaking his bone. When he wakes up, he can still feel the pain!

"May I have relief-of-pain, please?" he begged… But The Giver said no, and looked away. Limping, Jonas walked home, pushing his bicycle, that evening.”

How can you feel pain by remembering?



 He can feel the pain from a memory! Even after he wakes up! Why does The Giver refuse to give him something for his pain, maybe pill or something? What lesson do you learn from breaking a leg? Maybe the pain actually will give Jonas wisdom of some sort in the future.



After some days of learning and receiving memories of pain, Jonas starts gaining more and more wisdom from the memories. Jonas is really confused on why must the memories of pain be transmitted instead of only the happy and joyful ones. He soon realizes that if we have memories from the past, he would know what not to do from our previous mistakes. That’s why they need a Receiver to guide the elders and help them make decisions. Jonas’s father has being taking care of a newborn named Gabriel at nights. One night Jonas suggests that maybe Gabriel should sleep in his room. His parents agree and Jonas puts the crib on his room. Gabe wakes in the middle of the night, crying. Jonas starts patting his back, and while he does so, he remembers a memory transmitted by The Giver of a sail boat. Soon the memory fades and Jonas realizes he accidentally gave Gabe one of his memories.

“He was not aware of giving the memory; but suddenly he realized that it was becoming dimmer, that it was sliding through his hand into the being of the new child. Gabriel became quiet.”

Jonas also as the power to transmit memories! Why was Gabriel able to receive the memory unlike Asher? Does this has anything to do with his light colored eyes? Maybe only people with light colored eyes have the ability to receive memories…or even have the capacity to see beyond.




Jonas has more pain yet to discover. He as many things to find out. There are things that are being hidden from him. Jonas has a whole adventure before him.