Silence In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

In Orfield Laboratories, Minnesota there exists a room known as an anechoic chamber. Anechoic means free from echoes, the room measures at -9 decibels. 45 minutes marks the longest time anyone has spent in there alone. Lacking outside noises, the quietude of the room allows those inside to hear their own internal organs; occasionally hallucinations occur. The chamber amplifies an unknown fear, dead silence and extreme loneliness. Like many things, silence has a multitude of advantages, but extreme silence can prove devastation. In Chaim Potok’s The Chosen silence as a theme demonstrates destructivity. Devastation caused by silence is shown through Reb’s parenting methods, Danny’s silence between his father, and Reuven’s various experiences with silence.

“When I was very

A silence exists between Reuven and Danny’s fathers as they never actually speak to each other, instead Reuven acts as the middleman between them. Reb Saunder’s gut reaction upon hearing David Malter’s speech on Zionism is to split Danny and Reuven like an atom, and a nuclear reaction occurs. Reuven wants to get into fights and scream at the anti-Zionists, and after his father’s heart attack Reuven has no one. “For the first few days the total silence inside the hospital was impossible for me to take….my schoolwork began to suffer.” (243) In his lonely apartment he labors studying the Talmud hoping one day that Rav Garshenson will call upon him in class to exhibit his knowledge and break the silence. Even Reuven’s father is silent when asked about the reasoning between the silence between Reb and Danny. Showing his dislike towards Reb, Reuven gives Reb the silent treatment by repeatedly declining invitations come over on the Shabbat. Silence is an unimaginable concept to Reuven, but it becomes a reality when only his thoughts accompany him due to the absence of his father and best