The Giver von Lois Lowry. Textanalyse und Interpretation. Königs Erläuterungen Spezial. Lois Lowry

(p. 61)

      As instructed, Jonas goes to the House of the Old next morning for his first day of training. He meets the current Receiver of Memory, who begins to explain to him what he will be expected to do. As the Receiver begins to explain that he must share with Jonas all the memories of the whole world, Jonas struggles with the concept – completely new to him – that there is something outside his community, and that there was a time before his time now. “I thought there was only us. I thought there was only now.” (p. 65.14–15)

      The Receiver begins Jonas’ lessons by using a metaphor containing many concepts with which Jonas is unfamiliar (snow, sled, downhill) and then transmitting the memories which contain these concepts.

      11 (p. 67)

      The Receiver gives Jonas the memory of riding downhill through snow on a sled. The memory has now left him and has been given to Jonas: but, as he explains, it is only one memory of one hill, one snow storm, one sled ride. There are countless others in his memories.