Chapter 15

When Jonas enters The Giver's room, he knows that it is a day when he will be sent away without his training. The Giver is in his chair, apparently in pain and suffering. He pleads to Jonas to take away the pain. Jonas removes his tunic and lies on the bed, ready to be given the memory that tortures The Giver.




He finds himself in place of confusion, chaos, and smoke. He sees men and horses lying around suffering. There is a whisper for "water," and Jonas turns to see "the half-closed eyes of a boy who [seems] not much older than himself. Dirt [streaks] the boy's face and his matted blond hair.He [lies] sprawled, his gray uniform glistening with wet, fresh blood. The colors of the carnage [are] grotesquely bright: the crimson wetness on the rough and dusty fabric, the ripped shred of grass, startlingly green, in the boy's yellow hair." Chapter 15, pg. 119 Jonas finds that he is unable to move one of his arms; it has been torn. With the other arm, he feeds the boy water from a container after which the boy falls silent. But the confusion of the noise and the screams continues. Men who are injured call out for help, and horses lie on the ground. There are sounds of cannons. Lying there in pain, Jonas learns about "warfare." Opening his eyes, he sees The Giver look away, asking for his forgiveness for giving him such pain.