Answer:
b. Jonas gives Gabriel a soothing memory to help him sleep.
Explanation:
In chapter 14 of Lowry's The Giver, Jonas gets up in the middle of the night to check on a whimpering baby Gabe, who has been staying in his room. Jonas touches Gabe to soothe him and daydreams about a calming memory of a sailboat on beautiful blue water. Unwittingly, Jonas passes that memory onto Gabe who quiets down in response. At first, Jonas isn't quite sure if the memory transferred and if it was the reason Gabe quieted down. However, Jonas has another opportunity to verify whether he can send soothing memories to Gabe during the early morning hours when the baby wakes again. The entire memory of the sailboat didn't transfer the first time Jonas touched Gabe, though. In an effort to discover if he has the ability to transfer memories to Gabe, which in turn will soothe the baby, the following is described:
Again Jonas went to him. This time he quite deliberately placed his hand firmly on Gabriel's back, and released the rest of the calming day on the lake. Again Gabriel slept (147).
As a result of this experiment, Jonas learns that he has the ability to deliver a memory to Gabe, then Gabe is able to receive the memory, and the result is a calming effect on the baby.
