Chapter 16 - The Giver

While Jonas has experienced a few painful memories, good memories has also come to him such as birthday party and bond between animals and human. The best one of those good memories seems to be LOVE. Jonas felt the feeling of love through the memory of family gathering. At first, he felt awkward that all the family members including grand parents live together but he felt warm happiness about it.

 

Wow…! Again, I was very surprised at how the community system works in a clever way. After Jonas’s feeling of Love, he asked his parents if they love him. “Do you love me?” I was really curious about their reaction to the question wondering how they explain the concept of love which they don’t feel. The answer was language precision. They just pointed out his language accuracy and answered that the word, love is too generalized. That's the way how they avoide the question. How amazingly smart it is that they have great excuses about the fact that they don’t feel love!

In one ecstatic memory he had ridden a gleaming brown horse across a field that smelled of damp grass
ec·stat·ic [ekstǽtik]
very happy, excited and enthusiastic; feeling or showing great enthusiasm
His wife gave birth to their first child, and he was ecstatic about it.

the horse turned from the stream and nudged Jonas's shoulder affectionately with its head
nudge [nʌdƷ]
to push somebody gently, especially with your elbow, in order to get their attention
He nudged me and whispered, ‘Look who's just come in.’

Sometimes it took a while for him to get his bearings, to find his place.
get/find/take your bearings
to make yourself familiar with your surroundings in order to find out where you are or to feel comfortable in a place
He paused at the top of the hill, trying to get his bearings.

But this time he fit right in and felt the happiness that pervaded the memory.
pervade [pərvéid]
to spread through and be noticeable in every part of something
The entire house was pervaded by a sour smell.

He was in a room filled with people, and it was warm, with firelight glowing on a hearth.
hearth [haːrθ]
the floor at the bottom of a fireplace (= the space for a fire in the wall of a room); the area in front of this
they sat on the hearth and warmed themselves before the fire

Jonas opened his eyes and lay contentedly on the bed, still luxuriating in the warm and comforting memory.
luxuriate [lʌgʒúərièit]
luxuriate in something
to relax while enjoying something very pleasant
She luxuriated in all the attention she received.

Jonas blurted out what he was feeling.
blurt something out
to say something suddenly and without thinking carefully  
He found himself blurting out the whole story to her.

The family in the memory seemed a little more--" He faltered, not able to find the word he wanted.
falter [fɔ́ːltər]
to speak in a way that shows that you are not confident
His voice faltered as he began his speech.

He made himself say the words, though he felt flushed with embarrassment.
flushed [flʌʃt]
red; with a red face
Her face was flushed with anger.

He had rehearsed them in his mind all the way home from the Annex.
rehearse [rihə́ːrs]
to prepare in your mind or practise privately what you are going to do or say to somebodyShe walked along rehearsing her excuse for being late.

memories of soft rainfall against windowpanes
win·dow·pane [|wɪndoʊpeɪn]
[NOUN] A windowpane is a piece of glass in the window of a building.
The windowpane broke into pieces.