In Lois Lowry's dystopian novel The Giver, what is the community's designated Receiver called?
Answer
The Receiver of Memory
In Lois Lowry's dystopian novel The Giver, the community's designated Receiver is called the Receiver of Memory.
The Receiver of Memory is the only person who holds memories of life before the community adopted Sameness. These memories include color, music, war, pain, love, and other experiences that the controlled society has removed from ordinary life.
Jonas is selected for the role at the Ceremony of Twelve. The older man who trains him is known publicly as the Giver, because he transfers memories to Jonas. After the training begins, Jonas discovers that the community’s apparent peace depends on suppressing choice, difference, and emotional knowledge.
Lowry published The Giver in 1993. The novel’s precise terminology matters: the Giver is the mentor, while Jonas becomes the new Receiver. The community’s leaders also use “release” as a euphemism for killing, making language another way the society conceals its practices.