Preface of the book: For all the children to whom we entrust the future
Chapter 1
“Each community has different rules hence the kids didn’t know what your play area rules were?”
“do you think it’s possible that he felt strange and stupid, being in a new place with rules that he didn’t know about?”
“yes, and now I feel sorry for him.”
当我们换个思考位置，或则站在他人的立场去看事情的时候，本来的情绪就可能消失或转换成另一个情绪。
Chapter 2
12 岁的孩子开始接受他们未来职业的训练。这个决定是由一群的委员从日常生活中的观察订下来的。
让我联想到，父母对小孩的引导和栽培，是朝着预先设定的方向。
Chapter 3
“Three years, three births, and that’s all. After that they are laborers for the rest of their adult lives, until the day that they enter the House of Old. Is that what you want, Lily? Three lazy years, and then hard physical labor until you are old?”
我直接想到第一次怀孕的母亲，孕期的享福，孩子出生后的日子就开始耗精力，磨耐心。养儿一百岁，长忧九十九。
Chapter 4
“Well, they tried to make her life sound meaningful. And of course, all lives are meaningful, I don’t mean that they aren’t. But Edna. My goodness. She was a Birthmother, and then she worked in Food Production for years, until she came here. She never even had a family unit.”
“But Roberto’s life was wonderful. He had been an Instructor of Elevens – you know how important that is – and he’d been on the Planning Committee. And goodness, I don’t know how he found the time – he also raised two very successful children, and he was also the one who did the landscaping design for the Central Plaza. He didn’t do the actual labor, of course.”
人老了，还得面对外人的评价，关于自己的一生。
身份地位和劳力的付出永远都是不成比例的。然而，事实上两者是互相依赖的。也想到男女平等的争论。
Chapter 5
“Can you describe the strongest feeling in your dream, son?”
“The wanting. I knew she wouldn’t. And I think I knew that she shouldn’t. But I wanted it so terribly. I could feel the wanting all through me.”
“Jonas, the feeling you described as the wanting? It was your first Stirrings. ”
以上叙述的应该是男孩第一次产生的性欲望。在故事里头的社会，规定每一天都会让这男孩吞下一颗药丸来抑制这个欲望。一切都好像是那么地理所当然和正常。
It was the sort of thing one didn’t ask a friend about because it might have fallen into that uncomfortable category of “being different.” Always better, less rude, to talk about things that were the same.
以上这句，是尊重的态度，是包容的行为，是被压抑的好奇还是被扭曲了价值观呢？
Chapter 6
这一章叙述的是孩子每一年的里程碑。传说中有一位12岁的男孩因为得不到他想要的职位训练（工程师），隔天就跳下河，游到对岸的另一个社区去生活了。没有人能够鉴定这个传说的真伪。
Chapter 7
这一章形容男主角被故意跳过颁发给他未来的职位的心情。
Chapter 8
男主角的职位是 Receiver of Memory. He has shown all of the qualities that a Receiver must have, that is Integrity, Intelligence and Courage.
“The training required of you involves pain. Physical pain.” 然而，在场没有一个人能够明白会是怎么样的一种痛，因为就只有现任的 Receiver 懂。
男主角当下的心情是感激和自豪，同时也被恐惧包围，因为一切是那么的 unknown.
Chapter 9
Receiver 拥有的一个特权就是可以说谎。这是男主角在这个社区生活了12年，第一次知道，原来说谎是被允许的。他也突然联想到，会不会自己身边的大人们也一直都对他说谎呢？
Chapter 10
The current Receiver of Memory is tired, having the whole world memory loaded on him. And he wishes to transmit the memory to the new Receiver as soon as possible.
Chapter 11
男主角第一次知道什么是雪花，第一次感觉到阳光的温暖以及晒伤的疼痛。
Chapter 12
男主角第一次知道什么是红色。这个社区的科学家应该还在研究如何让每一位出生在这里的人变同类化，比如，没有肤色和发色之别。
这让我想起了 “Black lives matters” campaign. 一个极端的社会运动 (Social movement)。
Chapter 13
“We don’t dare to let people make choices of their own.”
“Very frightening. I can’t even imagine it. We really have to protect people from wrong choices.”
“He found that he was often angry, now; irrationally angry at his groupmates, that they were satisfied with their lives which had some of the vibrance his own was taking on. And he was angry at himself, that he could not change that for them.”
我联想到的是育儿之路。有些父母给予孩子们的自由度很广，甚至到了没有界限；有些父母管得很严厉，以至于到达专制；有些父母烦恼着如何地拿捏所谓的 “freedom within boundary”.
Chapter 14
They have never known pain, he thought. The realization made him feel desperately lonely.
这句话，我有很深的感触。可能是土相吧，要求和感受都是很高和精准，所以很多时候都会觉得旁人不能真正理解自己，又或者是，自己无法一百巴仙的感同身受他人的遭遇。
“But why can’t everyone have the memories? I think it would seem a little easier if the memories were shared. You and I wouldn’t have to bear so much by ourselves, if everybody took a part.”
“You’re right. But then everyone would be burdened and pained. They don’t want that. And that’s the real reason The Receiver is so vital to them, and so honored. They selected me – and you – to lift that burden from themselves.”
“When did they decide that?” Jonas asked angrily. “It wasn’t fair. Let’s change it!”
“How do you suggest we do that? I’ve never been able to think of a way, and I’m supposed to be the one with all the wisdom.”
“But there are two of us now,” Jonas said eagerly. “Together we can think of something!”
“The decision was made long before my time or yours,” The Giver said, “and before the previous Receiver, and -” He waited.
“Back and back and back.” Jonas repeated the familiar phrase. Sometimes it had seemed humorous to him. Sometime it had seemed meaningful and important. Now it was ominous. It meant, he knew, that nothing could be changed.
这些对话，提醒了我，在一个家庭里的分工责任负担，社会上的资源分配，政治上的不公平政策等情况。
Chapter 15
男主角经历了濒临死亡的过程和感受。
Chapter 16
The Giver 为了弥补把死亡的记忆传给了男主角，他今天把美好的记忆比如爱，传给了男主角。
男主角问爸爸妈妈：”Do you love me?”
“Jonas. You, of all people. Precision of language, please!”
“What do you mean?” Jonas asked. Amusement was not all what he had anticipated.
“Your father means that you used a very generalized word, so meaningless that it’s become almost obsolete,” his mother explained carefully.
Jonas stared at them. Meaningless? He had never before felt anything as meaningful as the memory.
我相信爱，感受到爱也给予爱。一个没有了爱的生活，应该很枯燥乏味，缺乏活力吧？
Chapter 17
男主角得到记忆的同时也面临了很多的失去。一份对好朋友们的爱却永远得不到他们回报，经历过战争的恐怖感受却无法告诉好朋友们它的残忍。最让人绝望的是，他知道他无法改变这一切的安排。
Chapter 18
Memories are forever.
男主角提出了被 Release 的想法。这一个举动激发了 The Giver 的思考，他好像想到了什么样的解决方案。
Chapter 19
男主角目睹了被 release 的婴儿就是被注射毒药然后死去。下手的是他的爸爸。公式化的行动让男主角崩溃了。
读着以下这段话，我的心隐隐地感受到 The Giver 的悲痛。
“You suggested, Jonas, that perhaps she wasn’t brave enough? I didn’t know about bravery: what it is, what it means. I do know that I sat there numb with horror. Wretched with helplessness. And I listened as Rosemary told them that she would prefer to inject herself. Then she did so. I didn’t watch. I looked away.”
Chapter 20
男主角和 The Giver 即将开始一个逃跑计划。男主角希望 The Giver 可以和他一起离开，然而，The Giver 选择了留下来陪伴他的女儿，Rosemary。
Chapter 21
男主角的爸爸说第二天他将会 release Gabriel。他并不知道男主角已经知道什么是 被 release。这突如其来的消息让男主角临时改变了计划。他决定把 Gabriel 一起带走。
Chapter 22
男主角在逃亡的过程经历了，饥饿，疲惫；他也第一次感觉到全身浸泡在雨水中的那种寒冷。
他也很害怕他救不到Gabriel。他的心想着的都是Gabriel，而不是自己的感受。
Chapter 23
男主角第一次摸到真正的雪花。他努力地传送温暖的记忆给Gabriel，以让他可以继续支撑下去。终于，他听见了歌声，一个 The Giver 最爱的记忆也是还没来得及传给男主角的记忆。现在，男主角自己拥有了这个亲耳听到的歌声的记忆。
我想，作者或许是想要和青少年们说，坚信自己的理想，勇敢地面对未来的一切。
p/s 昨天老公也分享了 Steve Job 的故事。Steve Job 说，唯有走过了，回头再看一切经历，我们才能够知道我们的现在是如何形成的。并不是我现在所作的一切能够让我在未来得到些什么。这和 The Giver 这本书所讲的 memory 有点相似，以前的记忆是来帮助我们看清、面对现在的问题。