The Giver-Protagonist and Antagonist

The main protagonist in "The Giver" is Jonas. Jonas is an eleven year old boy who lives in an orderly community where there is no pain, war or hunger but there is also no color or music. He lives in a community where everything is under control and there is no freedom of choice. It is very hard to distinguish Jonas from the rest of the community because all the members of the community think and behave in the same way, they show no feelings and they act in the expected way. Jonas stands apart from the rest of the community because of his eyes. He has pale eyes whereas everyone else in the community has dark eyes. As the story unfolds he will be the only character that will change.

The antagonists in the book are the Committee of Elders. They rule the society, people's feelings and actions and thus restrict their freedom of choice and action. The members of the Committee have no individuality and no personality. Their role is to promote the sameness in the community because they think that sameness will protect the society. They don't realise that sameness prevents the society and people from developing.