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Kira
Mentor is the local teacher in Village. At first, Mentor is a kind man who looks out for everyone in Village, especially children who have never been to school before. He's middle-aged, stooped, and balding, and he has a large red birthmark that covers half of his face. His daughter, Jean, tells Matty that Mentor loved literature and language, and believed that stories could teach people about how they should live their lives. Mentor begins to change in the weeks before the novel begins, however. Lonely because he lost his wife a number of years ago, Mentor begins attending Trade Mart to trade away his "deepest self" in order to become attractive and make Stocktender's widow love him. This turns Mentor into a cruel and selfish person, and he spearheads the movement to close Village to outsiders. He also manages the effort to build the wall, and does so in a cruel manner. By the time he becomes involved in building the wall, Mentor's birthmark is entirely gone. Mentor's transformation is extremely disturbing for Jean, especially when Mentor kicks Frolic for behaving in a way that's totally normal for a young puppy. Though the novel doesn't resolve whether or not Mentor succeeds in courting Stocktender's Widow, Matty's sacrifice to Forest returns Mentor to his stooped stature and immediately renews his love of books and poetry.
Mentor Quotes in Messenger
The Messenger quotes below are all either spoken by Mentor or refer to Mentor. 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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Chapter One Quotes
But here in Village, marks and failings were not considered flaws at all. They were valued. The blind man had been given the true name Seer and was respected for the special vision that he had behind his ruined eyes.
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7
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While describing Mentor for the reader, the narrator also explains the general thoughts in Village regarding physical differences. Village promotes a reframing of how people think of differences and disabilities; instead of viewing "marks and failings" as indicators of less worth, those differences are celebrated and make a person who they are. While Village focuses mostly on the collective good, it's able to do this so effectively because it doesn't single people out and treat them as lesser than everyone else. This indicates that in order to serve the common good, a society must be welcoming to everyone and in particular, must care for those who are different. However noble and clear this idea might be, Matty's later desire to "fix" Kira's twisted leg also shows how deeply ingrained ableist ways of thinking can be, even for someone who has lived in a society like Village for years.
Chapter Four Quotes
"It's not the fish or crops," he said. "They'll use that, of course. They argued dwindling food supply last time. It's..."
"Not enough housing?"
"More than that. I can't think of the word for it. Selfishness, I guess. It's creeping in."
Matty was startled. Village had been created out of the opposite: selflessness. He knew that from his studies and from hearing the history. Everyone did.
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Chapter Seven Quotes
People nodded back or waved in reply, but there was none of the lighthearted banter that was an ordinary part of Village. There was an intentness to everyone, an odd seriousness, and a sense of worry—unusual in Village—pervaded the atmosphere.
No wonder Seer didn't want me to come, Matty thought as he approached. It doesn't feel right.
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Chapter Eight Quotes
And now she was talking to him in a way that was not foolish and childlike, designed to entrance, but instead was human and pained and adult. He felt suddenly that he loved her, and it was a feeling he had never known before.
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Chapter Nine Quotes
"But you're already here!" Matty reassured her. "You needn't worry! You're part of us now. They won't send you away, even if they close Village."
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"It was so important to him, and he made it important to me: poetry, and language, and how we use it to remind ourselves of how our lives should be lived..."
Then her tone changed and became embittered. "Now he talks of nothing but Stocktender's window, and of closing Village to new ones. What has happened to my father?"
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Chapter Ten Quotes
Some of those who had been among the most industrious, the kindest, the most stalwart citizens of Village now went to the platform and shouted out their wish that the border be closed so that "we" (Matty shuddered at the use of "we") would not have to share the resources anymore.
We need all the fish for ourselves.
Our school is not big enough to teach their children, too; only our own.
They can't even speak right. We can't understand them.
They have too many needs. We don't want to take care of them.
And finally: We've done it long enough.
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Chapter Twenty-One Quotes
He saw Forest and understood what Seer had meant. It was an illusion. It was a tangled knot of fears and deceits and dark struggles for power that had disguised itself and almost destroyed everything. Now it was unfolding, like a flower coming into bloom, radiant with possibility.
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Get the entire Messenger LitChart as a printable PDF.
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Mentor Character Timeline in Messenger
The timeline below shows where the character Mentor appears in Messenger. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter One
...route to Forest so he can pass by the schoolteacher's house. The schoolteacher's name is Mentor, though some children call him "Rosy" because he has a bright red birthmark that covers...
(full context)
Chapter Two
...will be Gloater or Bragger. The narrator explains that in Village, life proceeds as usual. Mentor teaches, while Jean sells flowers and bread. Seer walks through Village checking on everyone, and...
(full context)
Chapter Four
...newborn child." Once, when Matty asked about a book written in Greek, Leader explained that Mentor was teaching him some Greek, since Leader couldn't learn things like that in his old...
(full context)
...creeping into Village. This startles Matty, both because Village was founded on selflessness and because Mentor is the one spearheading the movement to close the border.
(full context)
Matty obediently cooks and says that Mentor isn't selfish. Mentor accepts everyone at school and teaches them all the same, and Seer...
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Chapter Five
Matty asks where Mentor is, and Jean explains that he's at a meeting. With amusement, Jean says that she...
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Chapter Six
...rumors that Village is closing. Matty then turns and sees a small group, led by Mentor, approaching. They chant, "Close. Close. No more."
(full context)
...homes. After the group leaves, Leader thanks those who were welcoming and then turns to Mentor. He notes that while dissent is an important right in Village, it's inappropriate to scare...
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Mentor tells Leader that they'll see what happens in the meeting, and Matty thinks that Mentor's...
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Chapter Seven
...are whispering nervously. He joins a group standing near a platform and stands next to Mentor, hoping that Jean will come. Mentor greets Matty affectionately and when Matty says he has...
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...several people lead her away, but Matty notices that few people look in her direction. Mentor's face looks different, and he's focused on Trademaster. When Trademaster asks who's going first, Mentor...
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When Matty gets home after Trade Mart, he tells Seer what happened. Mentor went first and stepped onto the stage after pushing everyone aside. Seer looks concerned and...
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...agree and wrote something in his book. Then he asked, "Trade away what?" This time, Mentor whispered his answer to Trademaster so nobody could hear. For everyone who traded, Matty says,...
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...fun of how he walks. Disturbed, Seer begins to walk toward bed. Matty says that Mentor's birthmark is now gone.
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Chapter Eight
...later, Matty receives word that it's time to pick up his puppy—it's becoming mischievous and Mentor wants it gone. He finds Jean in the garden and thinks that she looks unusually...
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Jean says that it's about Mentor, and Matty says that he's changing. Jean starts crying, and says that Mentor traded away...
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...Gaming Machines, which makes Leader make a disdainful face. Carefully, Matty says that people like Mentor are changing at Trade Mart. He says that Mentor traded his deepest self, and others...
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Chapter Nine
...flower into the paper wrapping and sighs that she's going to the meeting tomorrow with Mentor. Suddenly, she bursts out that she remembers how, after her mother died, Mentor used to...
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Chapter Fourteen
...is next to his home in Village. Matty also sees crowds of people, led by Mentor, piling up logs as though to build a wall. The image fades and Kira announces...
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Chapter Fifteen
...her gift, she knew it was time. The two men listen to the sounds of Mentor directing a crew as they prepare to build the wall. They hear him reprimand someone...
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Chapter Eighteen
...that he's going into Forest to save them. He said that he's afraid that if Mentor and the others building the wall realize he's gone, they won't let him back in....
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Chapter Twenty-One
...Matty feels as though he can hear and see everything. He sees Jean call to Mentor, who is once again stooped and holding a book. Matty hears him recite a poem...
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