Danny In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

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In the process of becoming a man a boy must go through change. To some boys change doesn’t come easily. Danny in The Chosen is very rigid in his personality and character. He doesn’t change much. His father had a firm grip on almost every aspect of his life. Reb Saunders had a an interesting way of molding his son. Throughout the book there is a battle between Reb Saunders and Danny about what Danny’s future will be. Chaim Potok in The Chosen demonstrates that a person’s character isn’t easily malleable through the relationship of Danny and his father.
Almost all of Danny’s life Reb Saunders didn’t speak to him. He always wondered why. He began to understand why his father did it. However, he still had mixed feeling about his treatment of silence. This method of teaching in …show more content…
Once during a Talmud discussion Reuven was tested to see if he was worthy to be Danny’s friend. Reuven passed and Reb Saunders said “I have many responsibilities, I am not always able to talk to him.” then Danny looks mad and stares at the floor.(ch.7 p.142) In the end of the book Reb Saunders is able to accomplish part of his goal for Danny. He helps Danny obtain compassion for others. Throughout most of the book his father’s harsh punishments make him angry and confused. It doesn’t help that he won’t talk to him. Because of the silence Danny seems to want to break free of it by choosing a different path. So the method of silence worked but it made it hard to change Danny in the way he wanted. If Reb Saunders had picked a different method me might have managed to make his son Tzaddik. However, in consequence he might not

Danny And Reuven In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

appreciated and cared for. You see this in The Chosen when Danny and Reuven first start to become close with each other, after Reuven’s time in the hospital. Perfect friendships do not exist and sometimes life can get in the way of a strong bond between two people, and we see this when Danny becomes overwhelmed with extra work, and sickness and is unable to see Reuven throughout his weeks. Reuven however always makes sure to call and check on Danny. Danny experiences sadness during their estrangement…

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The Chosen Friendship Quotes

numerous life lessons. The two characters, Danny Saunders, a Hasidic Jew, and Reuven Malter, a son of ‘goyim’ continue to captivate the minds of thousands of readers. Why? Is it because of their story, dreams, choices, or religion? Personally, I enjoyed Chaim Potok’s book, The Chosen, because it proved the significance of religion, demonstrated the importance of friendship, and illustrated the necessity for a fatherly figure. Firstly, I enjoyed reading The Chosen because it proved the significance of…

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The Chosen Essay

Most of Chaim Potok’s works are autobiographical as he states in an interview, “I think most writers, certainly in the modern period, use their own lives or the lives of people close to them or lives they have heard about as the raw material for their creativity.” He also states “The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev, both stories about young Jews coming to a point of decision about their tradition and their individual lives”. The Chosen perfectly demonstrates his life and makes the reader feel his…

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the chosen Essay

The chosen A person’s vision is demonstrated by their ability to see the world as well as themselves. In Chaim Potok’s book, The Chosen, he illustrates how one moment can change a person’s life forever as their perception of the world and themselves is altered. Reuven Malter, a Jewish boy living in Brooklyn, is involved in an accident, which changes his perspective on life. The accident alters the life of Danny Saunders as well. Billy Merrit is in an accident too, and his life is never the same…

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Reb Saunders In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

Hebrew War-Priest. Reb Saunders; dedicated, no-nonsense, and certainly a warrior from Chaim Potok’s The Chosen. The way rebbe Reb Saunders controls his community to the way he rules his son, the character portrays similarities to traditions of the old Orthodox Judaism. The definition of Reb Saunders in The Chosen is crucial to signify how different Danny and Reuven are. Danny lives in a strict household, whilst Reuven lives in a more fluid house. In the rebbe position, Reb requires a strong stance…

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Loyalty In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

produce exceptionally durable relationships. Multiple characters in Chaim Potok’s novel, The Chosen, demonstrate that one must consciously choose family loyalty as opposed to easier options that life presents them with. Throughout the book, Danny Saunders, Roger Merrit, and Reb Saunders showcase what loyalty to their family truly means. Danny Saunders differs remarkably from his father, but despite these variances in character, Danny still honors his father with the utmost respect. Similarly, Reb Saunders…

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Reb Saunders Brother In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

In Chaim Potok's novel The Chosen, one of the main characters, Danny, is a brilliant scholar who is faced with a troubling situation at home, due to his aspiration to study and become a psychologist, and what his father wants: for Danny to become a rabbi. Solomon Maimon and Reb Saunders' brother were both Jewish scholars whose short lives brought loss and pain due to their cold, calculating minds. The two were also different in that Reb Saunders' brother was a teacher, who had an impatient nature…

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Reuven In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

grow someone in their character. But not only does suffering build character, as through pain, a person’s true character manifest itself. Reuven Malter out of Chaim Potok’s good book The Chosen provides a good example of a person’s character showing in pain. At the beginning of Potok’s book an opposing player in a softball game, Danny Saunders, purposefully hits Reuven in the left eye with a softball. As a result, Reuven has to spend a few days in the hospital and experiences a great amount of…

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The Balance Of A Father In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

The Balance of a Father Fathers strive to have a balance between giving freedom and providing guidance to their children. In Chaim Potok’s The Chosen, David Malter succeeds in doing so. He has a modern, flexible stance on Jewish religion and has trained up his son Reuven as such. For a living he writes articles on the Talmud, usually doing so in his windowless study by candlelight. The Talmud encompasses a large part of Jewish life, and Mr. Malter spends time helping Reuven study the Talmud and…

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