Quote 1
"It's as if…" The man paused, seeming to search his mind for the right words of description. "It's like going downhill through deep snow on a sled," he said, finally. "At first it's exhilarating: the speed; the sharp, clear air; but then the snow accumulates, builds up on the runners, and you slow, you have to push hard to keep going and –" (10.59)
The Giver's metaphor is interesting. Memories are "exhilarating" at first because they're fun—think birthday parties and Christmas morning. But you have to remember that, in The Giver, happiness and suffering go hand in hand. You can't have one without the other. So after the good stuff comes the bad: warfare, pain, injury, isolation. This slows you down, hence the snow building up on the runners. If you want to read all about the significance of the sled in The Giver, check out Symbols, Imagery, and Allegory.
The Giver's face took on a solemn Look. "I wish they wouldn't do that," he said quietly, almost to himself.
"Well, they can't have two identical people around! Think how confusing it would be!" Jonas chuckled. (19.3-4)
Jonas calls the twin situation "confusing," but is this really why the community has the second twin expelled?
"So there will be a whole part of your life which you won't be able to share with a family. It's hard, Jonas. It was hard for me." (13.50-51)
Is this sort of sacrifice on the part of The Giver a choice, or was he forced into this sort of solitary life because of his job? If he didn't have a choice about it, does that make it any less of a sacrifice?
"Some years ago," The Giver told him, "before your birth, a lot of citizens petitioned the Committee of the Elders. They wanted to increase the rate of births. They wanted each Birthmother to be assigned four births instead of three, so the population would increase and there would be more Laborers available."
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"The Committee of the Elders sought my advice," The Giver said. "It made sense to them too, but it was a new idea, and they came to me for wisdom. (14.27, 31)
The Giver reminds us that without wisdom, one cannot make choices. Jonas may be right to wonder if the citizens of his community can handle the freedom of choice, particularly since they're denied any knowledge of the past from which to learn.
Quote 5
"So there will be a whole part of your life which you won't be able to share with a family. It's hard, Jonas. It was hard for me." (13.50-51)
For The Giver, isolation has to do with the burden of duty. To break his isolation would be to share the memories he holds with others—which we know would cause them pain. In this way, The Giver is self-sacrificing.
"Go," The Giver would tell him tensely. "I'm in pain today. Come back tomorrow."
On those days, worried and disappointed, Jonas would walk alone beside the river. The paths were empty of people except for the few Delivery Crews and Landscape Workers here and there. Small children were all at the Childcare Center after school, and the older ones busy with volunteer hours or training. (13.80-81)
Jonas seems to be the only Twelve who is isolated because of his job. This is, needless to say, even more isolating for him.
Some afternoons The Giver sent him away without training. Jonas knew, on days when he arrived to find The Giver hunched over, rocking his body slightly back and forth, his face pale, that he would be sent away.
"Go," The Giver would tell him tensely. "I'm in pain today. Come back tomorrow." (13.79-80)
The Giver is in pain because of his awareness. Through the memories he holds, he knows there is suffering in the world—even without the mystical quality of the memories (that is, the way that they physically affect whoever holds them). It makes sense that The Giver would suffer for his knowledge.
Quote 8
The Giver shook his head and sighed. "No. And I didn't give her physical pain. But I gave her loneliness. And I gave her loss. I transferred a memory of a child taken from its parents. That was the first one. She appeared stunned at its end." (18.34)
The Giver, because he loved Rosemary, didn't want her to feel physical pain. But his decision to give her emotional pain instead may have been even more destructive.
The man smiled. He touched the sagging flesh on his own face with amusement. "I am not, actually, as old as I look," he told Jonas. "This job has aged me. I know I look as if I should be scheduled for release very soon. But actually I have a good deal of time left." (10.38)
It looks like the pleasure-pain connection works here, too; The Giver is wiser for his memories, but has been physically weakened by them as well.