This section of the novel comes in Chapter Eleven, as
Jonas completes his first day of his assignment. Crucial to understanding why the old
man looks said is what has just come before. Note what Jonas says about his experience
of having sunburn and feeling its pain:
"It hurt a lot," Jonas said, "but I'm glad you
gave it to me. It was interesting. And now I understand better, what it meant, that
there would be pain."
In
response to this, the old man doesn't say anything. Let us remember what happened to
Rosemary, the Receiver of Memories before Jonas, who couldn't take the pain and
suffering of memories much, much worse than sunburn, and volunteered to kill herself.
Presumably we can infer that the old man is looking "drained, and a little sad,"
precisely because he knows what Jonas doesn't: the pain from memories such as war and
dying are infinitely worse than a bit of sunburn, and Jonas has to face all of these
memories, too.
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