Chapter 15 - The Giver

In this chapter, Jonas got to experience what Warfare is. He was willing to relieve the Giver’s pain through transmitting of memory but at last, he realized how excruciating the warfare is. Moreover, he felt painful as much as he liked to end his life.

 

I’ve predicted that the war would be the worst memory to be transmitted to Jonas. He’s just experienced it but I’m afraid that there still remain worse memories than the war. What is the worst one for me? In my experience, the car accident was the worst until now. It was really horrible that I couldn’t do anything and I was looking at other cars coming to me while the car was pushed forward to the intersection by another car. The terror was excruciating as well as my backache resulted from the accident. Just one good thing is that it made me be more careful with driving. Then, how do the bad memories have an effect on Jonas? I can guess just two things. One is that Jonas tries to make differences in the community and the other one is to give up and just continue the normal the Receiver’s life as the Giver did or run away. Away away far away~ to some other place.

Let’s see how his courage works!

the Giver was rigid in his chair, his face in his hands.
rig·id [rídʒid]
stiff and difficult to move or bend
She sat upright, her body rigid with fear.

The Giver looked up at him, his face contorted with suffering.
contort [kəntɔ́ːrt]
to become twisted or make something twisted out of its natural or normal shape
His face contorted with anger.

Jonas braced himself and entered the memory which was torturing The Giver.
braced [breis]
[VERB] If you brace yourself for something unpleasant or difficult, you prepare yourself for it.
They are bracing themselves for a long legal battle.

He was in a confused, noisy, foul-smelling place.
foul [faul]
dirty and smelling bad
The smell was quite foul.

A wild-eyed horse, its bridle torn and dangling, trotted frantically through the mounds of men, tossing its head, whinnying in panic.
bri·dle [bráidl]
[NOUN] A bridle is a set of straps that is put around a horse's head and mouth so that the person riding or driving the horse can control it.
He put a bridle on the white horse.

trot [trat]
[VERB] When an animal such as a horse trots, it moves fairly fast, taking quick small steps. You can also say that the rider of the animal is trotting.
Pete got on his horse and started trotting across the field.

frantically [frǽntikəli]
in an uncontrolled manner
They worked frantically to finish on time.

whin·ny [wíni]
[VERB] When a horse whinnies, it makes a series of high-pitched sounds, usually not very loudly.
The girl's horse whinnied.

"Water," the voice said in a parched, croaking whisper.
parched  [paːrʧt]
1 very dry, especially because the weather is hot
She licked her parched lips.
2 (informal) very thirsty
Let's get a drink—I'm parched.

croak [krouk]
[VERB] If someone croaks something, they say it in a low, rough voice.
I had a sore throat and could only croak.

He lay sprawled, his gray uniform glistening with wet, fresh blood.
sprawled [sprɔːld]
sitting or lying with your arms and legs spread out in a lazy or awkward way
He was lying sprawled in an armchair, watching TV.

glisten [glísn]
[VERB] If something glistens, it shines, usually because it is wet or oily.
The calm sea glistened in the sunlight.

The colors of the carnage were grotesquely bright:
car·nage [kάːrnidʒ]
[NOUN] Carnage is the violent killing of large numbers of people, especially in a war.
The battlefield was a scene of great carnage.

When he spoke, a new spurt of blood drenched the coarse cloth across his chest and sleeve.
spurt [spəːrt]
[NOUN][oft N of n] A spurt of liquid is a stream of it which comes out of something very forcefully.
a great spurt of blood
[VERB] When liquid or fire spurts from somewhere, or when something spurts liquid or fire, it comes out quickly in a thin, powerful stream.
They spurted blood all over me. I nearly passed out.

drench [drentʃ]
[VERB] To drench something or someone means to make them completely wet.
His face was drenched with sweat.

coarse [kɔːrs]
[ADJ] Coarse things have a rough texture because they consist of thick threads or large pieces.
Using sandpaper turns the surface of wood from coarse to smooth.

something that looked like ragged flesh and splintery bone.
splin·ter·y [splíntəri]
[ADJ] liable to produce or break into splinters
a rough splintery floor of old pine boards

to wait for the surging pain to ease.
surge [səːrdʒ]
[VERB] If something surges, it increases suddenly and greatly, after being steady or developing only slowly.
Share prices surged.

Water trickled into the imploring mouth and down the grimy chin.
trickle [tríkl]
[VERB] When a liquid trickles, or when you trickle it, it flows slowly in very small amounts.
A tear trickled down the old man's cheek

im·plor·ing [implɔ́ːriŋ]
[ADJ] An imploring look, cry, or letter shows that you very much want someone to do something and are afraid they may not do it.
Frank looked at Jim with imploring eyes.

grim·y [gráimi]
[ADJ] Something that is grimy is very dirty.
a grimy industrial city.

Horses lying on the ground shrieked, raised their heads, and stabbed randomly toward the sky with their hooves.
shriek ʃriːk]
[VERB] When someone shrieks, they make a short, very loud cry, for example because they are suddenly surprised, are in pain, or are laughing.
She shrieked and leapt from the bed.

hooves [huːvz] - hoof
[NOUN] The hooves of an animal such as a horse are the hard lower parts of its feet.
They have powerful front legs and sharp hooves.