Jonas feels more and more comfortable talking to The Giver and is surprised when, quite often now, The Giver sounds bitter and cynical about the choice that the people have made to acquire Sameness. The Giver remarks that Jonas' instructors are well-trained, but they have only book knowledge, and book knowledge alone is meaningless without the memories from which wisdom is gained. All of the knowledge in the world is meaningless if a person cannot think freely as an individual.
Over time, Jonas gains insight about life in his community. Lowry again uses rhetorical questions — questions to which oftentimes there are no answers — to reveal Jonas' thoughts as he begins to think for himself. He wonders about hills, about where Elsewhere is located, and about what it might be like to experience Elsewhere. When his father mentions that twins will soon be born and that one of the twins will be released, Jonas wonders if someone will be waiting for the released twin in Elsewhere, who that person will be, and how the twin will grow up. Thinking as an individual, Jonas becomes increasingly frustrated. He is adamant about wanting to change things. He wants the people to have memories, and he wants to share the burden of pain with them. Lowry suggests what the future holds for Jonas and The Giver when The Giver admits that he's "never been able to think of a way" to force the people to accept memories, a statement that indicates that The Giver, like Jonas, wants to do away with Sameness in the community.
Jonas begins to make changes in his own small way. Gabe, the infant who has been spending nights with Jonas' family unit, starts sleeping in Jonas' room at night. The first night that Gabe sleeps in Jonas' room, Gabe wakes up as usual, fussing. To quiet Gabe, Jonas transmits a calming memory to him, something that Jonas was unable to do to Lily and his father. Gabe immediately falls back to sleep. Jonas is frightened of his power. Lowry uses this incident to create suspense. Even though Jonas is afraid, he seems compelled to fight for freedom and individuality, knowing that these qualities are best for the people. Having knowledge and wisdom, Jonas cannot sit idle. He will have to act.
