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Gabe/Abe/Thirty-Six
Jonas is the boy who runs away with baby Gabe to the village where the novel’s third part takes place. In the third part, he’s a married man in his 20s who is still a mentor to Gabe. With his wife Kira, he has two children, Annabelle and Matthew. Jonas is framed as being special from the start. He is assigned to be the “receiver” when he and other kids are given their assignments at age 12 (the specifics of what it means to be a “receiver” are detailed in the first book of the series, The Giver, of which Jonas is the protagonist). A kind, generous, and honest man, Jonas believes that it’s important to help and welcome others. This is why, seven years before the novel’s third part takes place, he banished Trademaster and shut down Trade Mart in the village. When he learns Trademaster has returned and that the elderly Claire is actually Gabe’s mother, Jonas helps Gabe prepare to vanquish Trademaster once and for all. He uses his gift for the last time to help Gabe locate Trademaster, believing that it’s time for the next generation to move up and use their gifts.
Jonas Quotes in Son
The Son quotes below are all either spoken by Jonas or refer to Jonas. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book 3, Chapter 7 Quotes
All that work. The weeks and weeks of planning, of building, of hoping. And all he could say now was that the paddle worked well. Gabe felt it all slipping away: his dream of returning, of finding his mother, of becoming part of something he had yearned for all his life.
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Book 3, Chapter 8 Quotes
But still. Still. He felt an enormous sadness that he didn’t entirely understand, when he watched Kira with her children. He felt a loss, a hole in his own life. Had anyone—all right: any woman—ever murmured to him that way, or brushed crumbs gently from his cheek? Had anyone ever mothered him? Jonas had told him no. “A manufactured product,” Jonas had said, describing his origins sadly.
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Book 3, Chapter 11 Quotes
It was dark when Gabe stood at the water’s edge, alone. He had begged Jonas to come with him. But Jonas had said no.
“Years ago, Gabe, when I took you and ran away, there was a man I loved and left behind. I wanted him to come with me but he said no.
“He was right to refuse. It was my journey and I had to do it without help. I had to find my own strengths, face my own fears. And now you must.”
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He repeated them, like a chant. He loosened the paddle from there it was wedged. With his fingers he could feel the carved names in the smooth wet wood: Tarik. Simon. Nathaniel. Stefan. Jonas. Though she had not carved her name, he added Kira in his mind. Then little Matthew, and Annabelle. Finally he said his mother’s name—Claire—aloud, adding it to the list of those who cared about him. He shouted it—“Claire!”—into the night, begging her to live. Holding tightly to the paddle, he began to kick his way easily across the gently flowing water in the moonlight.
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Book 3, Chapter 12 Quotes
Frantically he tried again to remember what Jonas had told him. Use your gift. That was it. Use your gift!
He was very frightened, but looking directly at Trademaster, he concentrated and willed himself to veer.
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Get the entire Son LitChart as a printable PDF.
Jonas Character Timeline in Son
The timeline below shows where the character Jonas appears in Son. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1, Chapter 10
...boy looked as confused as everyone else. After this, they all called out his name: Jonas.
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Book 1, Chapter 12
...from the Assignment Ceremony). Life is always the same. Claire is bored. She thinks about Jonas and wonders what he’s doing, but she can’t think of anything. She tries to visit...
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...the man begins to pedal away with Abe, he shares that his son’s name is Jonas.
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Book 1, Chapter 14
Occasionally, Claire sees Jonas around. While he seemed carefree the first time she saw him months ago, she realizes...
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Book 1, Chapter 16
...bells because someone is missing. She’ll remember the man standing on the path, calling for Jonas—and telling her that Jonas took Abe Elsewhere. Claire finds herself on the boat in Marie’s...
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Book 3, Chapter 1
...other boys can share exactly how they lost their parents, but Gabe can’t. He’s asked Jonas multiple times about his parents, but Jonas simply says that where Gabe came from, he...
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Book 3, Chapter 2
It’s evening, and Jonas and his wife Kira are discussing that Gabe is building a boat. Kira is exhausted...
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Now, Jonas stands and looks out the window. He can “see beyond” and, as Leader years ago,...
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Jonas continues, saying that Gabe won’t find the family he seeks, as Gabe—and everyone else in...
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Book 3, Chapter 3
...invites Gabe to fish with him. Gabe declines, but he shows Nathaniel the picture in Jonas’s book of the boat he’s trying to recreate. The boat is tiny—and in the picture,...
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Book 3, Chapter 4
The village often holds feasts, for any reason or no reason at all. Kira, Jonas, Matthew, and Annabelle all dress up to go (though Jonas resists), and their dog Frolic...
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...Matty made a huge sacrifice and it encouraged everyone to be kinder and more open. Jonas had, in the wake of Matty’s death, banished Trademaster, an evil man who seemed to...
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Book 3, Chapter 5
...at a table with friends. His eyes are still a shockingly pale blue, just like Jonas’s and Kira’s.
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...both. As night falls and the music begins, Claire watches Gabe talk to Deirdre as Jonas’s family leaves. Jonas, of course, doesn’t recognize Claire, but Claire remembers him. She wonders if...
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Book 3, Chapter 6
Ten days after the feast, Claire approaches Jonas and asks to tell him her story. They sit on a bench and she begins,...
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Claire comments on Gabe’s light blue eyes, which Jonas says likely indicate he has a gift like he and Kira do. As they discuss...
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Book 3, Chapter 7
...make it—but they all admire his courage and his reasons for trying. He finally asked Jonas to carve his name, too.
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...Tarik throws the rope to Gabe. Accepting defeat, Gabe lets his friends pull him in. Jonas is on the shore too, and he sends the other boys away and waits with...
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Book 3, Chapter 8
After Gabe has cleaned up and everyone has eaten dinner, Jonas asks Gabe if he remembers Trade Mart. Gabe is only barely interested; he’s listening to...
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Jonas calls Gabe back to attention as Kira joins them, and Gabe says he was aware...
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Then, Jonas brings up powers, or gifts. Kira explains that Jonas can “see beyond,” and his power...
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Book 3, Chapter 9
...Annabelle breakfast, and she says that someone in the village is ill and asked for Jonas. At the table, Gabe has some breakfast and asks if the children will remember this...
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...a walk with Kira and the toddlers and instead asks if he can go find Jonas. The sick woman, Kira says, is Claire. She tells Gabe he can leave his paddle...
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...Claire’s cottage, and none of them forbid Gabe from entering. It’s dark and stale inside. Jonas is sitting by the old woman who’s lying in bed. Gabe has no idea why...
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Book 3, Chapter 10
Gabe doesn’t believe Jonas’s fantastical story, and he’d rather be sinking a boat than listening to a man he...
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Seeing Mentor outside, Jonas tells Gabe to follow him. They catch up to Mentor, and the man winces when...
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...become young and handsome, but without his honor, the widow didn’t want him. Thanks to Jonas and Matty, who died fighting the evil, everyone else survived and they were able to...
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Book 3, Chapter 11
When Jonas and Gabe return to Claire’s cottage, Gabe is prepared to tell her that he understands...
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Jonas refuses to come with Gabe, insisting that he had to leave behind a man he...
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Book 3, Chapter 12
Meanwhile, Jonas and Kira wait at Claire’s cottage. Earlier, when Jonas looked beyond, he saw (but didn’t...
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As the moon suddenly shines through the window in Claire’s cottage, Jonas thinks he sees her skin smooth and that her breath becomes more even. But the...
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Book 3, Chapter 13
...he can use to best Trademaster. Back in the cabin, Claire sits up and tells Jonas she’s hungry.
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Jonas wakes up to the sunrise. Earlier, he fed Claire and tucked her back into bed,...
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