The Chosen

566 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on proverbs

During World War II is when Danny and Reuven first met. Within The Chosen, by Chaim Potok are three quotes. Each quote represents the beginning of a new part to the book. Each part of the book contains a little more of the story of Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders’ friendship. The first quote can be related to Reuven’s obedience towards his father, quote two illustrates the Saunders’ views of silence, and the third quote explains that silence can be used as a way of communication. 4
Quoted at the beginning of the book is “I was a son to my father… And he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words…’” –Proverbs. This quote relates to Reuven’s obedience towards his father, David Malter. When Reuven and Danny first meet in the book, Danny accidentally hurts Reuven’s eye. And when Danny comes to apologize, Reuven refuses. That day, Reuven’s father also came to see him. When Reuven explains the situation he had had with Danny earlier that day, his father tells him he must forgive him. Obeying his father, when Danny visits again, Reuven tells him that he accepts his apolo...

Show More
Related

  • The Chosen By Chaim Potok Character Analysis

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    Malter also shows compassion for others in the Chosen. In many occasions when something for the worst happens to the people around, Mr. Malter becomes so worried that his health goes down. He starts to worry so much for other and their problems that he forgets his own. In the beginning of the book, when Reuven gets hit in the baseball he remarks while in the hospital, “My Father came in looking very pale and worn.” (63) Then later on in the book when Reuven gets better Mr. Malter’s health coms back to him and he starts acting normal again. Showing these scenes Chaim Potok really captured Mr. Malter’s

    Read More

  • Silence in Chaim Potok's The Chosen

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Reb Saunders Critical Analysis

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the final conversation between Reb Saunders, Danny, and Reuven, Reb Saunders defends his method of raising Danny by noting that, “...I did not want my Daniel to become like my brother...Better I should have no son at all than have a brilliant son with no soul” (285). Reb Saunders assumes that if Danny were raised in silence, then he would obtain a soul unlike Reb Saunders’ brother who did not have one. Reb Saunders raises Danny in isolation due to his assumption that having intellect without a soul would make a person indifferent and uncaring. By only wanting what he presumes is most beneficial for Danny, Reb Saunders forms a barrier between him and a meaningful relationship with Danny. This approach of bringing up a child is the only one that Reb Saunders has previous knowledge and he realizes that, “..a wiser father... may have done differently. I am not... wise” (288). Once Reb Saunders understands the consequences of his irrational decision, it is too late to make amends. Silence strains their relationship and forces both Danny and Reb Saunders to become depressed and miserable. Despite raising Danny with good intentions, Reb Saunders feels remorse for not establishing an affectionate relationship with his son while he still had the chance. Furthermore, Reb Saunders yearns for Danny to become a tzaddik and tries fulfills his desire through restrained communication between his son. If Reb Saunders had created a lasting relationship with Danny then the same hope could have been achieved. For Danny to become a tzaddik without feeling compassion during his lifetime is difficult to demand. It may have been possible for Danny to develop the traits that his father requires of him if he was raised in a nurturing environment. Overall, Reb Saunders’ rationalization of his parenting technique is rendered useless as he comprehends what an ill-advised approach it

    Read More

  • Relationships in Potok's The Chosen

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    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. He raised Danny in silence, hoping to teach him to listen to silence, to learn compassion, and to develop a soul to go with his mind. Unless it had to do with religious studies, Reb never had an actual conversation with Danny after the age of 3. Reb wanted Danny to find things out for himself. On the other hand, Reuven’s father, Mr. Malters, felt it very important that he had good and frequent communication between himself and his son. The two would sometimes talk for hours about life, different religions, friends and anything else Reuven would want to ...

    Read More

  • Chaim Potok's The Chosen

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    David Malter sought for every opportunity to teach his son from the Talmud, the Jewish Holy book. At the beginning of the book, Reuven was in the hospital as a result of Danny Saunders intentionally hitting a fast line-drive that hit Reuven in the face. Reuven was rushed off to the hospital were he would spend five days there recovering. It was at the hospital where Danny and Reuven's friendship was planted, but they were off to a rocky start. Danny came to visit Reuven seeking his forgiveness, and Reuven denied him. Reuven was telling his father at the hospital about Danny's visit and that he had come to ask for his forgiveness. Reuven boastfully explained to his father that he ignored Danny's request. In response, Reuven's father taught him an important lesson by saying, "You did a foolish thing, Reuven. Do you remember what the Talmud says? If a person comes to apologize for having hurt you, you must listen and forgive him." (pg. 63) It was this early experience and many more to come that Reuven's father taught him an important doctrine of the Jewish Faith, to forgive those who seek forgiveness.

    Read More

  • The Chosen

    548 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chosen By: Chaim Potok. The novel The Chosen is a story of two Jewish boys who become friends and go through lots of hard times together. The book starts out with a baseball game, one boy on one team and one boy on the other team. The game quickly turns into a war rather than a game.

    Read More

  • Hypocrisy In All Quiet On The Western War

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    Events are the basis on which the audience is given a comprehensive insight into a society. They highlight what the population’s perceptions are and contribute to displaying certain themes. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, written by the esteemed Erich Maria Remarque, an insight unlike other books, of the war genre, is given. This novel is an accurate representation of the actuality of war. How lives are seen as dispensable and how the soldiers are emotionally and physically destroyed by it. Through these events the theme of the hypocrisy of the elder generation arises, as a constituent of this society. Specifically in this novel Kantorek, a school master, is the epitome of hypocrisy. Paul recalls his words this from his current

    Read More

  • How War Changes a Man in The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is said that when a man returns from war he is forever changed. In the short story, “The Red Convertible,” Louise Erdrich demonstrates these transformations through the use of symbolism. Erdrich employs the convertible to characterize the emotional afflictions that war creates for the soldier and his family around him by discussing the the pre-deployment relationship between two brothers Henry and Lyman, Lyman's perception of Henry upon Henry's return, and Henry’s assumed view on life in the end of the story.

    Read More

  • Fallen Angels

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    book, and by the end of the book we feel like we know exactly how Perry feels, and we have a understanding of some of the hardships that the soldiers faced in Vietnam. In this book, Perry kills

    Read More

  • warriors of god

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    Warriors of God by James Reston Jr. is a non-fictional view of the third crusade. This particular crusade spanned from 1187-1192, containing many gruesome battles and a lot of intense moments between Islam and Christianity. Reston supplies the reader with a little background to the third Crusade when he talks about the first Crusades happening since 1095. Reston gives a fairly impartial view of this holy war. He discusses the battles, politics, and emotions of the Crusade as an outside party and if he takes any side at all it is with the Muslims. He often speaks badly of King Richard and he speaks well of Saladin, the sultan. He portrays Richard as a greedy, anti-Semite, who is intolerable of other religions, while he shows Saladin as tolerant to the Jews, reasonable, and an overall good leader. Reston wrote this book mostly to inform readers about the third Crusade but also to add some of his own insights. His thesis was a little unclear but he stated that the Crusades were the most violent event in history all the way up to Hitler’s rein. Reston did a good job in proving this when he told of battles and then analyzed them. He told of a time when King Richard had twenty thousand Muslims executed and when Saladin had Reginald of Chatillon beheaded along with many other Christian prisoners.

    Read More

  • All Quiet On The Western Front

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    After their first two days of fighting, they return to their bunker, where they find neither safety nor comfort. A grizzled veteran, Kat, suggests these ‘fresh-faced boys’ should return to the classroom. The war steals their spiritual belief in the sanctity of human life with every man that they kill. This is best illustrated by Paul’s journey from anguish to rationalization of the killing of Gerard Duval; the printer turned enemy who leaps into the shell-hole already occupied by Paul. Paul struggles with the concept of killing a “brother”, not the enemy. He weeps despondently as war destroys his emotional being.

    Read More

  • Brinker Hadley In A Separate Peace

    691 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dr. Wayne Dyer once said, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” This saying is also true for the personality of Brinker Hadley, a character in A Separate Peace. In this novel, Brinker and his group of friends spend their time at Devon School making memories with exciting, yet dangerous adventures. With the idea of World War II in the back of their minds, the boys are trying to focus on the joys in life. However, a situation caused by Brinker’s questioning brings great sorrow. Brinker Hadley represents a headstrong, lawful, and perhaps misconceived character in this novel,

    Read More

  • Irony in All Quiet on the Western Front

    841 Words  | 2 Pages

    All Quiet on the Western Front includes many clear-cut examples of irony throughout the duration of the novel. From word play in the names of the characters that led to dramatic irony, to the paradox that is obvious in the setting, and finally the situational irony that is critical to the impact of the character’s death on the reader, Remarque provides depth to the novel and the emotional connection that the reader has to the characters in the book.

    Read More

  • King Henry Iv Part 1

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hal’s remark to his father indicates a now strong, independent mind, predicting that Douglas and Hotspur will not accept Henry’s offer because of their love for fighting. Henry’s reply in turn indicates a change in attitude towards his son, a newfound respect. Acknowledging Hal’s prediction, the king orders preparations to begin, and we see he has his own set of solid moral values: knowing that their ‘cause is just’ helps him to reconcile with his highly honourable conscience that there is indeed cause for war. Still maintained is the conflict between the very format of the text, with Hal and Henry’s conversation held in formal verse typical of the court world, in which Hal is now firmly embedded. Falstaff, however, sustains his equally typical prose speech, which indicates to the audience the enduring division between the court and tavern worlds.

    Read More

  • All Quiet on the Western Front - A Book Review

    1912 Words  | 4 Pages

    Remarque also tried to teach his audience. Written within a decade of the end of the war, the book calls on those who forfeited their youth to the war not to allow time to hide what had happened. Time may heal all wounds, but the cause of those wounds must not be forgotten, nor allowed to repeat itself. The author is; however, pragmatic enough to realize that all will not learn the lesson; nevertheless, those who are willing to learn it will discover that the story has been told before, and without their intervention, it is doomed to be told again.

    Read More

More about The Chosen

Open Document