The Giver Characters Analysis

Jonas -

He is the protagonist of the book, and the reader meets the eleven-year-old Jonas before he undergoes the Ceremony of Twelve. The book follows him through the first year of his training as a Receiver. The Receiver is the holder of memories of the whole world and assists the Committee of Elders in dealing with new situations.

The Giver -

He is the Receiver who has served the Committee of Elders before Jonas. He passes on the memories he had inherited from the Receiver before him. The Giver is forced by the rules to pass on memories of deep pain and anguish to Jonas and train him for the role. However, the Giver is deeply affected by Jonas and decides to restore memories to all the citizens of the community. He helps Jonas plan an escape from his chosen role after Jonas breaks down upon seeing the reality of release.

Gabriel -

He is a newborn child that Jonas's father brings home to help him develop properly to prevent him from being released. Gabriel possesses the same pale eyes as the Giver and Jonas. Jonas secretly transfers some of his happy memories to the baby to help him sleep. Jonas flees from the community before the planned date to save Gabriel from being released.

Father -

Jonas's father remains unnamed throughout the course of the book. His assignment is that of a 'Nurturer'. He is responsible for the care of Newborn children until the Ceremony of the One, during which the infants are named and assigned to family units.

Mother -

Jonas's mother works for the Department of Justice and helps Jonas deal with his Stirrings when he first begins to experience them.

Lily -

She is Jonas's younger sister and is seven years old. Lily is depicted as an uncaring and cheerful child who wants to own a bicycle of her own, however, as per the rules, she is only allowed to do so after she has become nine years old.

Rosemary -

She is the Giver's daughter, and the Receiver-in-training before Jonas. The painful memories had become too much to bear for her and so she chose to apply for release. Her release had caused her painful memories to become accessible to the other citizens which had led to a lot of disquiet. Rosemary's name was then banned from use in the community by the Committee of Elders.

Committee of Elders -

They govern Jonas's community and are responsible for any changes to the rules. However, changes to rules are said to be extremely rare and take several years to take place. The Committee of Elders is led by the Chief Elder who is elected for a ten-year term.