Sunday, October 12, 2014

How does the Chief Elder describe Jonas's assignment?

In chapter 8, the Chief Elder announces to the audience that Jonas has been selected to be the community's next Receiver of Memory, which is a very rare and unique assignment. She proceeds to say that Jonas must train separately from the other citizens in his age group because it is against the rules for the Committee of Elders to monitor or watch his training sessions. The Chief Elder also mentions that the selected Receiver of Memory must possess certain attributes like intelligence, integrity, courage, and wisdom. While the Chief Elder does not go into detail, she mentions that Jonas will experience extreme physical and emotional pain unlike anyone in the community has ever experienced, which is why courage is such a necessary quality. She then goes on to say that the Receiver of Memory must also possess the Capacity to See Beyond, which is something that no community member can fully comprehend. Overall, the Chief Elder describes Jonas's assignment as unique and difficult but does not give much insight into the nature of his training.


The Chief Elder describes Jonas's assignment as a selection, unique from all the other assignments given that day. He has been selected to be the next Receiver of Memory. This is a very rare selection since the current Receiver of Memory will only have one successor.
She notes that the rule states that Jonas's training cannot be overseen or changed during the process by her or her colleagues on the Committee. Jonas will be set apart from the community while the current Receiver trains him to be the next Receiver. While training and becoming the Receiver is extremely painful, Jonas will be the most honored person in the community if he succeeds.
The chief Elder ends by detailing the five essential qualities a Receiver must have: intelligence, integrity, courage, the ability to acquire wisdom, and the Capacity to See Beyond. The Chief Elder is unable to describe the Capacity to See Beyond because she does not understand it, but she says that the Receiver has identified Jonas as someone who has this capacity.

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