Final answer:
In 'The Giver', painful memories greatly affect characters due to their intensity, psychologically-proven more vivid recollection, and the community’s burdening the Giver with painful experiences. Happy memories often get overshadowed over time.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Lois Lowry's novel, 'The Giver', painful memories overwhelmingly affect the characters due to a combination of reasons. Firstly, 'painful memories are more intense' than happy ones, their emotional toll being far greater and hence more impactful for Jonas, The Giver, and Rosemary. Beyond the scope of the novel, it's scientifically proven that 'the human brain is wired to remember negative experiences' more vividly as part of its defense mechanism to protect from future harm. This is reflected in the characters' experiences. Although The Giver doesn't intentionally emphasize painful memories, the community's design of burdening him with all of humanity’s sorrow and pain results in painful memories being more represented. Lastly, over time, happy memories can be overshadowed by these intense negative memories.
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