The fabric on the furniture is more luxurious, the wood is carved instead of plain, and bed cover is embroidered with intricate designs. But the biggest difference is the large bookcases filled with hundreds, or even thousands, of books! Until now, Jonas has never seen any books except for the dictionary, the Book of Rules, and the community book. No one else knows that other books exist.
The Receiver welcomes Jonas, saying, "Welcome, Receiver of Memory."
Jonas is confused. He protests apologetically, "you are the Receiver of Memory. I'm only, well, I was only assigned, I mean selected, yesterday. I'm not anything at all. Not yet."
The Receiver explains, "Beginning today, this moment, at least to me, you are the Receiver." He tells Jonas that he has been the Receiver for a long time, and although his job has great honor, it is also a great burden. He is very tired and he needs to train his successor, because his job is very important. But he is not allowed to talk about his job, so he doesn't know how to explain everything very well. And the last time he tried to train a successor, he failed. So he will try to explain everything, but if it's not clear to Jonas, he wants Jonas to ask questions.
Jonas has a lot of questions, but he doesn't know which one to ask yet. So he stays quiet and lets the man continue speaking. The man thinks, sighs, and speaks again. "My job is to transmit to you all the memories I have within me. Memories of the past."
Jonas still doesn't understand. He thinks the man is talking about his own memories, so the man explains more. "It's not my past, not my childhood that I must transmit to you. It's the memories of the whole world. Before you, before me, before the previous Receiver, and generations before him... I received all of those, when I was selected. And here in this room, all alone, I re-experience them again and again. It is how wisdom comes. And how we shape our future." (pp. 77-78)
The man tells Jonas he feels so much weight from the memories, and Jonas is concerned. The man tries to explain what it feels like. He says it is like going downhill through deep snow on a sled- at first it's exhilarating, but then you have to start pushing hard to keep going. Jonas doesn't understand what he is talking about. He has never seen a sled, a hill, or snow. So the man instructs Jonas to take off his shirt and lie down on the bed, because he is going to transmit the memory of snow. He puts his hands on Jonas' back...
Vocabulary-
luxurious, carved, embroidered, intricate, exhilarating (descriptive adjectives)
transmit (an important verb in this chapter)
Grammar Point- Present Perfect Tense
The Present Perfect Tense is used anytime we are talking, in the present time, about something that has been true for some time and is STILL TRUE NOW. All of the present perfect tenses are in blue.
Ex: Until now, Jonas has never seen any books...
The present perfect tense is formed like this: HAS/HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE (V3)
he has been the Receiver for a long time
It is often used with "ever" (for questions) or "never" (for statements), because these words show something that has been true a long time (your whole life) until now
He has never seen a sled...
More examples- "Have you ever read The Giver?" "Yes, I have read it- it's a great book!"
Comprehension Questions:
1. Why does Jonas feel surprised when he goes to his first day of training?
2. What is the strangest thing about the Receiver's room?
3. What does the Receiver need to do in order to train Jonas?
4. Why does the Receiver have Jonas lie down on the bed?
5. What is the first memory he gives Jonas?
* THINK- Why do you think there are no books in Jonas' community? Why do you think there are no hills and no snow in this community?
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