Jack Dawson
Jack Dawson is a penniless artist who is able to board the Titanic after winning tickets in a lucky game of poker. Jack boards the ship with his Italian friend Fabrizio, and also befriends the fellow third-class passenger Tommy Ryan. Jack spots Rose on the ship's decks, and later saves her from taking her own life. At dinner, Jack impresses several of Rose's acquaintances in first class with his carpe diem attitude and zest for life. Rose's mother Ruth detests Jack, viewing him as a potential threat to Rose's impending marriage to Cal. Jack dies in the North Atlantic after saving Rose.
Rose Dawson Calvert
Rose Dawson Calvert is a 101-year old woman and the narrator of the film's main story, which she tells to Brock Lovett and his team of treasure hunters. As a 17-year-old girl, Rose traveled on the Titanic with her mother and her fiancé, Cal Hockley. Rose feels so suffocated by the circumstances of her life that she attempts suicide near the beginning of the film, and is only saved through Jack's interventions. After getting to know and falling in love with Jack, Rose eventually chooses to leave with him, not Cal, when she arrives in America, but Jack passes away when the ship sinks. Rose chooses to take Jack's name—Rose Dawson—upon arriving at Ellis Island.
