In The Giver, newborns are raised through their infancy by a group of people known as the nurturers before they are assigned to a family or, if deemed unfit for society, euthanized, or "released." One of these nurturers is Jonas's father. He is concerned about Gabriel, who is one such child that does not fit in and seems to be doomed to be released as he has trouble sleeping through the night and is not developing as quickly as the other children.

Convinced that Gabriel will develop more quickly in a family environment, Jonas's father takes Gabriel home. During the Ceremony of Twelve, Father requests that Gabriel be given more time to develop. It seems, however, when Jonas is later learning his duty as receiver, Gabriel's fate is being sealed. This leads to Jonas escaping into Elsewhere with Gabriel.