Silence In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

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The Power of Silence

People raise their children in different ways. Usually, they raise them based on how they were raised. People learn and develop in different ways and that is the case here as well. In The Chosen, the author Chaim Potok uses the theme of silence to convey how important the process of growing up and maturing is for a young adult through the relationship between Danny and his father, along with his friend Reuven.

In the novel, there are two main protagonists, Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders. Both are raised only by their fathers, but both are raised in completely different ways. Danny’s father, whose name is Reb Saunders, is the main antagonist. He raises Danny in complete silence, as the two never exchange words outside of their Talmud studies in his office. By doing this, Reb Saunders believes it will help Danny mature. Danny is able to mature with the …show more content…
Reuven is not accustomed to this way of teaching because his relationship with his father, David Malter, is built on the complete opposite of silence, conversation. The two enjoy long discussions at the dinner table about historic events or the religious studies of Talmud. Even after Reb Saunders explains why he put Danny through this kind of mental torture, he still can’t understand how that existed for Danny’s entire childhood. However, even though Reuven and his father are always in conversation, important things are left unsaid such as the possibility of his father dying. Therefore, Reuven must deal with those issues on his own which helps him to mature.
Silence can be awkward, chilling, warm, and befuddling all at the same time. In this story, silence furthers the development of the main characters. One lives constantly in silence, while the other rarely experiences it. Potok illustrates that silence can be everywhere, in any type of form, and has as much meaning as talking
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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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