David is the protagonist of I am David. He is a 12-year-old boy who has lived his entire life in a concentration camp until he is inexplicably aided in escaping by a guard who works at the camp. Unbeknownst to David, at the story's beginning, David’s father spoke out against the regime under which he lived in one of the Eastern Bloc countries. As a result, David’s father was killed, and his wife and son were imprisoned (David’s mother is later assisted in escaping and traveling to Denmark, presumably the family’s country of origin.) David leaves the camp and must travel across Europe, through Greece, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany, finally reaching Denmark, where he reconnects with his mother.

David is a dynamic character who evolves throughout the story. He learns to love again when he meets Maria; previously, David had isolated himself physically and emotionally from human connection after the devastation of Johannes’s death three years earlier. David is guided and inspired by his belief in God, whom he rediscovers during his journey. He is also inspired and motivated by his appreciation of the beauty and goodness present in the world, concepts he had not known existed before he left the concentration camp.