The Giver characters

Appears from the start

An eleven-year-old boy in a highly ordered community where daily life is governed by strict rules, careful language, and a committee of Elders. Thoughtful and observant, he is anxious about the approaching Ceremony of Twelve, when children his age are assigned their lifelong roles. He works hard to use words precisely and to obey the community's many rules, but he has begun to notice things others do not, including brief, unexplained changes he cannot describe or explain.

Also known as The Receiver of Memory

First appears in chapter 10

An old man who holds the community's most unusual and burdensome role, keeping within himself the memories of the whole world's past that everyone else has been spared. Weary and often in pain, he becomes the mentor charged with training his successor, passing memories along through touch. He alone remembers color, weather, music, love, and war, and he carries the weight of that knowledge in isolation.

Also known as Gabe

First appears in chapter 3

A frail newborn, or 'newchild,' who is not developing quickly enough to meet the community's schedule. Jonas's father, a Nurturer, brings him home for extra care rather than let him fall behind. The baby has pale, light eyes uncommon in the community, the same unusual eyes as Jonas, and he sleeps poorly at night.

Appears from the start

Jonas's father, a gentle man who works as a Nurturer, caring for the community's infants in their first year before they are placed with family units. Warm and playful with his children, he follows the community's rules and rituals without question, including the practice of 'release,' by which certain infants, rule-breakers, and elderly people are removed from the community.

Appears from the start

Jonas's mother, who holds a position at the Department of Justice and takes her role in enforcing the community's rules seriously. Practical and attentive, she guides her children in the nightly ritual of sharing feelings and reminds them of proper conduct and precise speech.

Appears from the start

Jonas's younger sister, a talkative and lively child approaching her own age ceremony. Curious and outspoken, she shares her feelings freely at the family's evening ritual and looks forward eagerly to the comforts and duties of community life.

First appears in chapter 3

Jonas's close friend, a good-natured, high-spirited boy who struggles to speak carefully and often mixes up his words. Cheerful and easily distracted, he is a constant companion in Jonas's daily activities and looks forward with him to the Ceremony of Twelve.

First appears in chapter 4

A gentle, capable friend of Jonas, a girl he has known all his life. She spends her volunteer hours at the House of the Old, caring for elderly members of the community with patience and kindness, and she is well suited to that quiet work.

First appears in chapter 7

The elected leader who presides over the community's public ceremonies, including the Ceremony of Twelve. She addresses the gathered families and announces each child's future role, speaking with warmth and formality about the honor of the assignments.

First appears in chapter 18

The young woman selected as the community's Receiver-in-training ten years before Jonas, and the Giver's own daughter. Bright and eager, she began receiving memories but could not bear the ones that carried pain, and after a short time she asked to be released. Her fate had lasting consequences the community still avoids discussing.