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Dramatic Irony
Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—Emotional Flashbacks:
Jonas learns about history through flashbacks the Giver transmits to him, clipped from other people's memories of the time before Sameness. A selection of the flashbacks appear in the novel as a motif to emphasize Jonas's emotional growth and learning. For example, in Chapter 13, the Giver transmits a disturbing flashback to the slaying of an elephant:
The Giver had chosen a startling and disturbing memory that day. Under the touch of his hands, Jonas had found himself suddenly in a place that was completely alien: hot and windswept under a vast blue sky. There were tufts of sparse grass, a few bushes and rocks, and nearby he could see an area of thicker vegetation: broad, low trees outlined against the sky. He could hear noises: the sharp crack of weapons—he perceived the word guns—and then shouts, and an immense crashing thud as something fell, tearing branches from the trees.
More than a story about the past, the flashback vividly engages Jonas's senses and the reader's as well. He feels the heat and sees the vegetation of what is probably the African savanna. He learns about guns by hearing their "sharp crack." He then hears the "crashing thud" and "tearing branches" that result from the elephant's fall. It is as though Jonas is actually on the scene with the elephant and its killers, even though this is not something he has ever experienced in "real" life. He finds the scene profoundly unsettling and replays it in his head over and over as he tries to sleep that night.
The flashbacks Jonas has Received up until this point have also engaged his senses. However, most of the sensations have been pleasant or even exciting. Jonas has been arguing that everyone should have access to all the memories he has been Receiving. He wants people to see color and to know what it is like to sled down a hill. The Giver has chosen to transmit this memory now because he wants his protege to understand that not all memories are as wonderful as the first one he gave the boy. Some of them are upsetting and painful. It is the duty of the Receiver to hold onto all of the joy and pain of history so no one else has to do so.
As the book goes on, Jonas experiences increasingly complex sensations and emotions by way of flashback. The actual content of the memories becomes less important than the way they open Jonas up to the full range of human experience. As he experiences more feelings and sensations, Jonas doubles down on his original idea that everyone should have access to the memories he is being given. Not only is it wonderful to experience the pleasure of a snowy day, he realizes, but it is also important to experience and witness pain. He comes to understand that his father's numbness and ignorance to pain is what allows him to kill a baby without a second thought. As a motif, the flashbacks allow readers to see Jonas to come of age in a fuller way than his father ever did.
Related Themes:
