Chapter 19 - The Giver

Jonas has been curious about Release for a long time. At this time, the Giver gave him a chance to get some ideas about Release by watching together the video record of private Release ceremony for identical twins. However, it was totally shocking for him to observe what his Father did to the one of twins for Release.

Wow! This chapter has the most horrible scene for me to read. Especially, the part where the author described the process of injection was the cruelest. The reason why I feel that way was the situation that Jonas’s Father doesn’t know what he was actually doing. He has no idea about that he is killing the baby by injection. The scariest thing is this community’s system. I’ve known this community controls everything, even people and gets people brain showered in the way it wants but even murder? It’s too extremely excessive!

He pushed the plunger very slowly, injecting the liquid into the scalp vein until the syringe was empty.
syringe  [səríndʒ]
a plastic or glass tube with a long hollow needle that is used for putting drugs, etc. into a person's body or for taking a small amount of blood from a person

plunger  [plΛndʒər]
a part of a piece of equipment that can be pushed down

Jonas winced sympathetically.
wince  [wins]
to suddenly make an expression with your face that shows that you are feeling pain or embarrassment
I still wince when I think about that stupid thing I said.

his father began very carefully to direct the needle into the top of newchild's forehead, puncturing the place where the fragile skin pulsed.
punc·ture [pΛŋkʧər]
to make a small hole in something
She was taken to the hospital with broken ribs and a punctured lung.

He turned aside and dropped the syringe into a waste receptacle.
receptacle [riséptəkl]
a container for putting something in
In the backyard there was a large receptacle for catching rainwater.

As he continued to watch, the newchild, no longer crying, moved his arms and legs in a jerking motion.
jerk [dʒəːrk]
to move or to make something move with a sudden short sharp movement
She jerked her head up.

Then he went limp.
limp [limp]
lacking strength or energy
His hand went limp and the knife clattered to the ground.

He continued to stare at the screen numbly.
I do know that I sat here numb with horror.
numb[nʌm]
unable to feel, think or react in the normal way
He felt numb with shock.

His father loaded the carton containing the body into the chute and gave it a shove.
chute [ʃuːt]
a tube or passage down which people or things can slide

shove [ʃʌv]
a strong push
You have to give the door a shove or it won't close.

Wretched with helplessness.
wretch·ed [réʧid]
feeling ill/sick or unhappy
I feel really confused and wretched.