The Giver Chapter 19

When Jonas tells The Giver about the selection his father is making between the two newborn twins, The Giver says that he wishes they wouldn't do such things. Jonas says that he would like to watch, but unfortunately, children are not allowed to watch. The Giver reminds him that he can; the Receiver can ask anything of anyone. In the community, all private ceremonies are taped and placed in the Hall of Closed Records. Talking into the speakers on the wall, The Giver asks to see the release of the twin.

On a video screen, Jonas can see the Nurturing Center and his father appear with an assistant Nurturer. There are two identical twin babies on the bed. After weighing them, Jonas's father hands over one of the babies to the assistant who walks out of the room. Jonas tells The Giver that his father will clean the other baby, but instead, his father inserts a syringe into the newchild's forehead. After all the liquid in the syringe has been injected, the child moves for awhile until it falls limp. For awhile, Jonas thinks that he recognizes the "gestures and posture and expression" of the infant. They look familiar; he has seen them before. Then the memory of the young soldier dying on the battlefield comes back to him, and he realizes with horror that his father has killed the child.

Topic Tracking: Memory 19

After tidying the room, Father puts the small body into a carton and throws it down a chute. The screen goes blank, and The Giver tells Jonas that when Rosemary applied for a release, he was able to see it on the screen. She had chosen to inject herself, but he had not been able to watch.

Topic Tracking: Choice 10

"Jonas [feels] a ripping sensation inside himself, the feeling of terrible pain clawing its way forward to emerge in a cry." Chapter 19, pg. 151