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In The Giver, how does Jonas's second experience with snow differ from the first?
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In The Giver, Jonas's second experience with snow differs significantly from the first. Initially, Jonas enjoys a joyful and exhilarating memory of sledding on powdery snow. However, his second experience is painful and frightening, as he loses control of the sled, falls, and injures himself. This memory introduces Jonas to physical pain, contrasting starkly with the initial pleasure.
The Giver tried to explain to Jonas the experience of sledding downhill. Jonas, however, was puzzled. He had no idea what The Giver was talking about. There was no snow in his community. There were no hills there, either.
In order for Jonas to understand, The Giver gave him the memory of snow. This memory was a positive one as "tiny, cold, featherlike feelings peppered his body and face." He sled down the snowy hill and a "breathless glee... overwhelmed him." The snow was powdery and ideal for sledding.
With hesitation, The Giver decided that Jonas needed to experience memories of pain. He made the decision to "start with something familiar." He chose another memory with snow. This time, the snow was not fluffy and powdery. It was "hard, and coated with bluish ice." Something felt different to Jonas as he sled down the icy hill. Jonas lost...
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control of the sled and it "hit a bump in the hill." He fell hard and "could hear the crack of bone." He was filled with pain after he landed on the hard ice. The pain felt like fire to him. He was bleeding and he threw up.
The first experience was one of joy and excitement. The second experience was one of pain and fear.
The basic difference here is that Jonas's first experience with snow is pleasant while his second experience is not.
In his first experience with snow, in Chapter 11, Jonas enjoys himself. He is sledding and it is exhilarating and fun. But then, in Chapter 14, he is given another memory that involves snow. This time, he is sledding but he loses control and hurts himself quite badly. This is a big difference. The second time, the snow is used to teach Jonas not about fun and pleasure, but about the sort of pain that is rarely experienced in their community.
How did Jonas's second snow experience differ from the first in The Giver?
The second time Jonas makes the sled ride, he is able to see that the sled is red.
The first time The Giver tells Jonas about snow, he has no idea what it is. In Jonas’s community, they embrace the concept of Sameness. This means that everything is the same as much as it can be. They have controlled the climate and the environment, so that there is no weather and they have even eliminated hills.
The first memory Jonas receives is snow. The Giver decides that snow is a good place to start, because it is so different from Jonas’s regular experiences. It will really give him a window into the past. Jonas has no idea what to expect, but loves his first experience. The Giver sends him on a sleigh ride down a hill in the snow.
It was very startling; but he was not at all frightened, now. He was filled with energy, and he breathed again, feeling the sharp intake of frigid air. Now, too, he could feel cold air swirling around his entire body. He felt it blow against his hands where they lay at his sides, and over his back. (Ch. 11)
Although Jonas knows that he may soon experience pain, he is exhilarated by his first experience. Jonas has been chosen because he has the Capacity to See Beyond, and the ability to develop the wisdom to know how to use it. He seems to know the concepts even though they are new to him. The word “snow” comes to him, as well as the word “sled” and other words from the memory.
Jonas knows that he is not allowed to discuss his training with anyone, but he realizes that he wouldn’t be able to. They have no concept of snow or hills either, and he doesn’t know how to explain it to them. It is too far outside their experiences.
The second time Jonas experiences the snow, he also is learning that he is seeing color. Jonas is dumbfounded by the experience, because although he has seen flashes of red in the apple, faces, and Fiona’s hair, he didn’t know what it was.
This time it was not a fleeting impression. This time the sled had--and continued to have, as he blinked, and stared at it again--that same mysterious quality that the apple had had so briefly. And Fiona's hair. The sled did not change. It simply was--whatever the thing was. (Ch. 12)
This is the first time Jonas sees a color that stays. From this he learns about the concept of color. The Giver explains to him that there are more colors than just red, and then he begins to see all of the colors. It is a more vivid, full life. He doesn’t understand why the community would give it up, but The Giver explains that the community had to give up color with Sameness.