Chapter 8 - The Giver

Jonas has been selected to be the Receiver of Memory, which is considered most honored. The whole community including Jonas was bewildered since they don’t have any idea about the Receiver. However, the Chief Elder continued to present the attributes of Receiver of Memory that Jonas already owns some and will get others through training. They are Intelligence, Integrity, Courage and Wisdom.

Finally, I got to reach what Jonas got as his job. It was receiver of memory. According to the name of the job, it sounds simple. Just someone who receive of all memory? However, what kind of memory? They have the Hall of Open Records to store every event happening in the community. Then, why do they still need the receiver of memory? For what? The things for memory must be totally different from all the records of the Hall of Open Records. The Receiver of Memory can’t be just the man to manage the Hall of Open Records. So, I am looking forward to getting all the secrets of this community through Jonas’s training to be the Receiver of Memory.

Meanwhile, I’m afraid that Jonas can’t put up with the training since he has to be apart from others while he gets prepared for the job. In addition, the Chief Elder mentioned physical pain which all the people in the community have never experienced. I wonder how severe all these things are to this Twelve-year-young boy. However, until now, Jonas seems to do very well. If I were him, I would cry and try to refuse it.

The current Receiver was described as a bearded man with pale eyes. People with pale eyes might be able to get selected as the receiver of memory. Then, the next candidate is baby Gabriel? :O

The audience was clearly ill at ease.
ill at ease - nervous, especially in a social situation
He always feels ill at ease at parties.  

but the applause was piecemeal, no longer a crescendo of united enthusiasm. 
piecemeal - if you describe a change or process as piecemeal, you disapprove of it because it happens gradually, usually at irregular intervals, and is probably not satisfactory.
Piecemeal changes to the constitution.

His mind had shut out all of the earlier emotions: the anticipation, excitement, pride, and even the happy kinship with his friends.
kinship [kínʃip]
a close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character
felt a deep kinship with the other students

The Chief Elder waited until the uneasy applause subsided.
subside [səbsáid]
[VERB] If a feeling or noise subsides, it becomes less strong or loud.

"I know," she said in her vibrant, gracious voice
vi·brant [váibrənt]
[ADJ] Someone or something that is vibrant is full of life, energy, and enthusiasm.
Thailand is at its most vibrant during the New Year celebrations.
gracious [gréiʃəs]
[ADJ] If you describe someone, especially someone you think is superior to you, as gracious, you mean that they are very well-mannered and pleasant.
He was charming, alert and gracious.

The community, relieved from its discomfort very slightly by her benign statement, seemed to breathe more easily.
benign [bináin]
[ADJ] You use benign to describe someone who is kind, gentle, and harmless.
They are normally a more benign audience.

"We accept your apology," they all uttered together.
utter [Λtər]
[VERB] If someone utters sounds or words, they say them.They departed without uttering a word.
[ADJ] You use utter to emphasize that something is great in extent, degree, or amount.
A look of utter confusion swept across his handsome face.

I caused you anguish.
anguish [ǽŋgwiʃ]
[NOUN] Anguish is great mental suffering or physical pain.
He groaned in anguish.

he had practiced the kind of jaunty, self-assured walk
jaunty [dʒɔ́ːnti]
[ADJ] If you describe someone or something as jaunty, you mean that they are full of confidence and energy.
Both men exuded a jaunty but purposeful confidence.

I will not dwell on the experience because it causes us all terrible discomfort.
[VERB] If you dwell on something, especially something unpleasant, you think, speak, or write about it a lot or for quite a long time.
So you made a mistake, but there's no need to dwell on it.

we are not entirely certain about the Assignments, even after the most painstaking observations.
painstaking
[ADJ] A painstaking search, examination, or investigation is done extremely carefully and thoroughly.

Sometimes we worry that the one assigned might not develop,through training, every attribute necessary.
attribute
[VERB] If you attribute something to an event or situation, you think that it was caused by that event or situation.
Women tend to attribute their success to external causes such as luck.
[VERB] If you attribute a particular quality or feature to someone or something, you think that they have got it.
People were beginning to attribute superhuman qualities to him.
[VERB][usu passive] If a piece of writing, a work of art, or a remark is attributed to someone, people say that they wrote it, created it, or said it.
This, and the remaining frescoes, are not attributed to Giotto.
[NOUN] An attribute is a quality or feature that someone or something has.Cruelty is a normal attribute of human behaviour

What we observe as playfulness and patience--the requirements to become Nurturer--could, with maturity, be revealed as simply foolishness and indolence.
indolence [índələns]
laziness
His indolence made him lose his job.

It must be a unanimous choice of the Committee.

unanimous [juːnǽnəməs]
[ADJ][usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ in n, ADJ that] When a group of people are unanimous, they all agree about something or all vote for the same thing.
Editors were unanimous in their condemnation of the proposals.
They were unanimous that Chortlesby Manor must be preserved.

They can have no doubts, however fleeting.
[ADJ] Fleeting is used to describe something which lasts only for a very short time.
The clock is ticking, time is fleeting and nobody lives forever.

Only one of us here today has ever undergone the rigorous training required of a Receiver.
rigorous [rígərəs]
[ADJ][usu ADJ n] A test, system, or procedure that is rigorous is very thorough and strict.
The selection process is based on rigorous tests of competence and experience.

He felt fear flutter within him.

flutter [flΛtər]
[VERB] If something thin or light flutters, or if you flutter it, it moves up and down or from side to side with a lot of quick, light movements.
Her chiffon skirt was fluttering in the night breeze.
a butterfly fluttering its wings.
the fluttering white lace handkerchief.

you have scraped your knees in falls from your bicycle.
scrape  [skreip]
[VERB] If you scrape something from a surface, you remove it, especially by pulling a sharp object over the surface.
She went round the car scraping the frost off the windows.
[VERB] If you scrape a part of your body, you accidentally rub it against something hard and rough, and damage it slightly.
She stumbled and fell, scraping her palms and knees.

"But you will be faced, now," she explained gently, "with pain of a magnitude that none of us here can comprehend
magnitude [mǽgnətjùːd]
[NOUN] If you talk about the magnitude of something, you are talking about its great size, scale, or importance.
We did not realize the magnitude of the problem.

you would need immense courage.
im·mense [iméns]
[ADJ] If you describe something as immense, you mean that it is extremely large or great.
There is still an immense amount of work to be done.

For a moment he froze, consumed with despair.
consumed with
to absorb; engross: consumed with curiosity.
At first, they are consumed with each other, as lovers.

Briefly he felt a tiny sliver of sureness for the first time.
sliver [slívər]
[NOUN] A sliver of something is a small thin piece or amount of it.
Not a sliver of glass remains where the windows were.

His heart swelled with gratitude and pride.
gratitude [grǽtətjùːd]
a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation
I wish to express my gratitude to Kathy Davis for her immense practical help.