Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders are both Jews, yet they are completely different both in appearance and with their beliefs. Reuven Malter is a Zionist who dresses modernly and enjoys modern inventions such as movies and the radio. Danny Saunders is the complete opposite of him, a Hassidic who dresses like his ancient ancestors of the faith and is extremely orthodox. Danny is not allowed to go to the movies and can only read of books approved by his father.
Beginning with their appearances, Reuven appears to be a normal person. He dresses casually and wears simple shirts and shorts/pants. He does not always wear he yarmulke unless he is in the Saunders 's household. He is clean shaven and appears to simply be a normal teen. Danny, being a Hassidic,
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Danny is a Hassidic Jew, who believes that there should not be a homeland for the Jews that is established without the Messiah. Reuven, as a Zionist, believes that they should just establish Israel themselves and stop waiting. This distinction between the faiths is extremely obvious when Reb Saunders exclaims during dinner, “There must not be an Israel without the messiah!” Reuven’s father is the complete antithesis of Reb as he is passionate about the founding of Israel as a measure to prevent anti-Semitism. He is constantly going on speaking tours and writing articles to get the people of the world interested and pushing for the founding of the Jewish homeland. Reuven grows passionate about this too after he has been excommunicated by Reb and not allowed to talk to Danny when he goes out at night to help ship guns to Palestine. Hassidics and Zionists also differ in their reactions to the Holocaust. Reb Saunder responds to the Hassidic with, “… though God slayed me… still I trust in Him.” His faith does not change and he views it as God’s punishment for straying from their beliefs and traditions. Matler again has a completely opposite viewpoint of the events and says “We are survivors… we need to keep ourselves alive and cannot count on God for our help.” When he is making his grand speech in front of the people, he mentions how the only way for these events to happen …show more content…
In the matter where they are the same, both Danny and Reuven learn lots from their father and have their religious viewpoints learned from their father. For Danny, he comes from a long line of Hassidic rabbis which most likely led to his upbringing as a Hassidic Jew too. Danny learned his religious stance from his father just as how Reuven learned about his religious viewpoint as a Zionist from his father. When Reuven is excommunicated from speaking with Danny and their family, Reuven grows even more closely to his father and truly takes the initiative to push for the Jewish homeland, just like how Danny obeys his father’s commands and stays out from helping the creation. While Danny and Reuven are similar in the sense that they learn of their Jewish traditions from their father, they are also different in the sense that they were brought up differently. Danny is brought up in silence, as Reb Saunders believes in “speaking through silence.” Danny’s father doesn’t talk to Danny four years. Reb speaks through his wife and Reuven or other people too. Reb Saunders explains why he decided to do this when he is speaking to Reuven and Danny towards the end of the
Three main character that he shows compassion through in different ways are, Reuven, Mr. Malter and Reb Sanders. To begin with, Reuven shows great companion for other, even in his teenage years. He demonstrates throughout the book that he really cares for others and that he takes their burden upon himself. He shows how he actually suffers with others with their hardships and he never only thinks about himself. For example, when Reuven learns that his little friend Billy did not get his eye sight back, the book says, “I felt myself break out into cold sweat.
In the book The Chosen the four main characters have different views on how children should be raised. Danny Saunders was said to be raised in silence. Danny was raised in silence in that communication was cut off between Danny and his father, except when they were studying Talmud. The reason Danny’s father did not speak to his son is because Rabbi Saunders wanted to have Danny think things through himself. Reb Saunders also wanted Danny to grow up in the same manner he himself was raised.
The third main relationship is Hasidism verses Zionism. The relationship between the two fathers and the two sons is a very important theme in this book. Because of their different backgrounds, Reb Saunders and David Malters approached raising a child from two totally different perspectives. Despite the obvious differences in the two men’s beliefs, both did what they thought was right for their sons. Reb Saunders was a Hasidic tzaddik and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.
Intriguing with sapphire eyes, a face chiseled out of stone, and golden ear locks stands Danny Saunders. In Chaim Potok’s book The Chosen Danny Saunders is a dynamic character. Son of Reb Saunders, a tzaddik, Danny lives a life infused with the Talmud. He studies and Talmud by heart but longs to study beyond religious manuscripts. The reading of non-religious books in Danny’s sect earns social rejection¬¬¬, but Danny yearned to study more and did so. Danny Saunders possesses a brilliant mind, a theological understanding, and an inquisitive sprit.
As the story evolves, Danny and Reuven become very good friends. This is a highlight for Danny, given that he has never had a close friend before Reuven. Danny has lived a very lonely life. He has not had any friends because he feels that no understands him. Reuven's father realizes Danny's loneliness, and gives Reuven some fatherly advice. He comments, "Reb Saunders' son is a terribly torn and lonely boy. There is literally no one in the world he can talk to. He needs a friend." (pg. 110) David Malter continues by saying, "The accident with the baseball has bound him to you and he has already sensed in you someone he can talk to without fear. I am very proud of you for that." (pg. 110) Reuven's father expresses his confidence to his son very openly which is an important aspect in comparing with Danny and his father's relationship.
Daniel is roughly the same age as Elie Wiesel, and they go through the some of the same things; They face a selection, they accompany their fathers at the camp and both want the sweet elixir of freedom. Daniel lives in Poland, which later gets invaded by the supreme force of Germany, and they plan on searching Poland for Jewish residents to send them into newly built ghettos, and labor camps. Daniel and is family are Jewish, and they first encounter Germany’s brutality through the shocking news that Daniel’s uncle was send to a crematorium and burnt alive. The news arrived in the form of ashes from the Germans. Daniel meets the love of his life Rosa, and they get involved in a resistance. Facing heaving German occupation in his area, Daniel’s family gets captured and sent to a labor camp. Like Night, his family is broken up, and Daniel stays with his father, however Daniel finds and reunites with his younger sister, who is found playing music for the Germans. They stay close until his sister is moved. He then picks up his old ways and joins a camp resistance taking pictures to send to the allies to get help. Later after the resistance’s carrier gets captured the leader is revealed and dies on his own terms in front of Daniel. Later the resistance grows, and plans to capture the camp. The attack is successful and
They became friends and kept seeing each other after Reuven got out of the hospital. One day, Reuven went over to Danny’s house to meet his father. Danny’s father was a rabbi and raised his son in silence. They never talked except when they studied the Torah together. Reuven’s father was a Zionist and Danny’s father was an anti-Zionist.
In The Chosen, Reuven is very easily influenced by the people around him as he goes through his adolescence. It is a time of learning and self-realization for him, and at this time, he turns to his father for guidance and wisdom. His father shows him the ways of understanding and compassion. He also prepares him for what lies ahead, whether his son chooses to be a rabbi or not. Through his father’s teachings, Reuven develops the personal traits essential for becoming a rabbi.
...one of the darkest periods of history, filled with madness and murder. Following the war many people asked why the Jews succumbed to the Nazis like “Lamb at the slaughter”. One cannot forget or ignore the many shows of resistance amongst the Jews such as the Jews who fought in the forest of Eastern Europe and also the Jews who started the uprising in ghettos and in concentration camps. One result of the Holocaust is that the state of Israel was no doubt established because of the Holocaust. As a result of the great catastrophe which occurred to the Jewish people many nations realized that establishing a state was a necessary step for the protection of Jews. With the end of the war and the unconditional surrender, international courts were set up for the quick trials and sentencing of the Nazis for their war crimes against the Jewish people and against all humanity.
During the Holocaust six million Jews lost their lives, while others lost their friends, family and dignity. Helen Waterford discusses her survival in the novel Parallel Journeys . Through Helen Waterford’s journey to hide, survive, and rejoin society, she realizes that she cannot dwell on what has happened to her but learn and become wise from what she has endured.
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness,” Desmond Tutu once said (“Desmond Tutu Quotes”). During the Holocaust, the Jews were treated very badly but some managed to stay hopeful through this horrible time. The book Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayer shows how Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck who had two very different stories but managed to stay hopeful. Helen was a Jew who went into hiding for awhile before being taken away from her family and being sent to a concentration camp. Alfons was a member of the Hitler Youth where he became the youngest member of the German air force. To him, Hitler was everything and he would die any day for him and his country. As for Helen, Hitler was the man ruining her life. The Holocaust was horrible to live through but some managed to survive because of the hope they contained.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone who had completely different views and beliefs from your own? If you were open to hearing about their thoughts and ideas, did you find the conversation to be more engaging than most? In Chaim Potok’s The Chosen, he explores the relationship between two boys who found their differences to be quite intriguing. Reuven Malter, an Orthodox Jew living with his father, is a brilliant boy who excels in both mathematical and Talmud studies. Danny Saunders, a Hasidic Jew who is next in line to inherit his father’s dynasty, is also extremely gifted in Talmud studies.
The Jews are taken out of the normal lives they have led for years and are beginning to follow new rules set by the Germans.... ... middle of paper ... ... Their lives are only about death.
Regine Donner, a famous Holocaust survivor, once said, “I had to keep my Jewishness hidden, secret, and never to be revealed on penalty of death. I missed out on my childhood and the best of my adolescent years. I was robbed of my name, my religion, and my Zionist idealism” (“Hidden Children”). Jewish children went through a lot throughout the Holocaust- physically, mentally, and emotionally. Life was frightening and difficult for children who were in hiding during the rule of Adolf Hitler.
All through the entire book, Chaim Potok attempted various endeavor in order to express the emphasis on developing his central characters, Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders. One of the main themes Chaim Potok tried to express in The Chosen is that true friendship plays a vital role in maintaining the welfare of any friends. To backbone his idea, Chaim Potok demonstrated several scenarios when Reuven and Danny are in difficult situations and ultimately have to sort out solutions before the problems could corrupt their relationship. Reuven Malter, son of a Modern Orthodox teacher, is smart, athletic and has a particular nick for mathematics. However, Reuven's desire is to become a rabbi of his own sect for he feels that he could " be more useful to people as a rabbi ," ("The Chosen" 74) by doing things such as to " teach them, and help them when they're in trouble " ("The Chosen" 74) Danny Saunders, on the other hand, is the son of a Russian Hasidic rabbi leader, Reb Saunders.