The Giver - Main Characters

Main Characters

• Jonas – An Eleven-year-old who is about to become a Twelve. He is selected to become the next Receiver of Memory in the Community. Jonas, who has pale eyes, a rarity in the Community, also has a gift, the ability to "see beyond," but he doesn't understand this gift and he tells nobody about it until he meets the Giver.
• The Giver – The most important person in the Community. Because of the memories he holds, he is the only person in the Community who can experience true pain and love and fear. He is the only one who can see color and hear music and, through his memory, he knows sunshine and snow and hills and ocean and music. The Giver also has a gift, he has the ability to "hear beyond." Ten years before Jonas was selected to be the Receiver, another child in the Community was selected to be the Receiver. But it was a failure. The child, Rosemary, asked to be released. No one in the Community can ever speak her name again, nor can it be used for another child; this is considered the highest degree of disgrace. The Giver tells Jonas that Rosemary, who also had rare, pale eyes, was his daughter.
• Lily – Jonas's "sister," though they do not necessarily have the same birth parents. Children in the Community do not ever know the identity of their true birth parents. Children are taken away from their birthmothers--another job in the community, in fact, one that Lily wants, though her "mother" discourages this--and given to the Nurturing Center for the first year or so of their lives before they are given to an adult couple. An adult couple may apply for up to two children and it can take years for the Committee of Elders to determine a suitable match by the Committee of Elders. Lily is a Seven who will become an Eight when Jonas becomes a Twelve.
• Gabriel (Gabe) – A baby. When he becomes a One, he is given an additional year at the Nurturing Center due to his inability to sleep through the night. Jonas's father, a Nurturer, develops an attachment to him and gets permission to bring him home at night. The child thrives during the day, but still cannot sleep through the night until Jonas volunteers to take him into his room. Jonas secretly transmits some of his peaceful memories to Gabriel, and the baby sleeps. The baby also has the same pale eyes as Jonas and Lily remarks that perhaps the two of them have the same "birthmother."
• Asher – Jonas's best friend and peer. Asher is a carefree, happy boy who gets himself into minor and harmless trouble. When he turns Twelve, he is assigned the perfect job for him: Assistant Director of Recreation.
• Jonas's "father" – Not his birthfather. A seemingly kind and gentle man who appears to love his family unit and the baby, Gabriel. His job as Nurturer is to take care of the newchildren at the Nurturing Center during the day. And yet he also administers "releases" to his wards if they do not thrive--or if they have the misfortune of being born a twin.
• Jonas's "mother" – Not his birthmother. A judge who works for the Department of Justice. She is considered an ideal match for her husband because she has higher intelligence and he has a greater capacity for nurturing. Couples do not self-select. They are paired by the Committee of Elders.
• Fiona – one of Jonas's friends and a peer. When she turns Twelve, she is assigned to be the Caretaker of the Old. Fiona, like all children in the Community, performs volunteer services and she is especially fond of her hours in the House of the Old. As part of her training, she will learn to "release" her wards.