In The Chosen by Chaim Potok everyone knows Reb Saunders as a godly person. As a tsaddik, people thought of him as a messenger from God. He suffered in his homeland where gangs attacked him and murdered his family. After a maid nursed him back to health, he led the small group of people out of Russia in America. Then he governed his people there like he had in Russia. His personality helped everyone honor him and take care of his people well. Reb Saunders personalities of leadership, wisdom, and kindness make him a great leader of his people.
Reb Saunders became a leader of his people from inheritance. As a tzaddik, everyone listened to him and followed him wherever he went to. He took care of them and brought them to safety in America. Other tzaddiks abused their powers. “It was a fine idea until some of the tzaddikim began to take advantage of their followers” (page 114) Reb cared for his people not like others in his place. As a good leader should, he also prepared his son to take his place and help the people as much as he had. He showed
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He knew and understood all of the Talmud and used gematriya to display his points. He had these “arguments” where he would disagree with his son and quote many different Talmud passages to support their points. All the generations of the tziddiks memorized the Talmud and could use it for wisdom in situations. He also used gematriya, changing the words to Hebrew and adding their numerical values, to understand Talmud. “In gematriya…’this world’ comes out one hundred sixty-three, and the words ‘the world to come’ come out one hundred fifty-four. The difference between ‘this world’ and ‘the world to come’ comes out nine. Nine is half of eighteen. Eighteen is chai, life. In this world, there is only half of chai. We are only half alive in this world (page 127)!” Even though this way can easily be abused, he used it to show examples of the Talmud. All his wisdom helped him govern his society
When we were first introduced to Chamberlain he gave a remarkably motivating speech to over one hundred starved and angry soldiers. With his passionate and honest plea he was able to break through their barriers of hate and betrayal and inspire them to fight for a belief even they could relate to. This act alone convinced me that this man was a talented leader and would have an impressive impact on The Battle of Gettysburg.
Rabbi Saunders tries his hardest to have his son’s soul be ready for taking over the task of leading the Jewish people. The reason that a person must have a strong soul is so that they can handle the burden that Danny’s followers will heap onto him. Rabbi Saunders believes that only speaking to his son in Talmud discussions will enhance his sons soul. That is why Reb Saunders raises his child in silence. It is understandable to raise a son in the way Reb Saunders did, because Danny was destined for such great things. All Reb Saunders wants is that hi...
A lack of communication between parent and child can lead to insufficient development of language skills, limited emotional bonding, and behavioral concerns. In Chaim Potok’s The Chosen Reb Saunders isolates himself from his son Daniel by raising him in silence. Seldom few words pass between them unless they are debating the Talmud. Over time, their lack of verbal expression results in a decline of their vigor and energy and an unloving relationship. Reb Saunders does not make a reasonable decision by raising Danny in silence because it forms a problematic relationship between the two and presents each of them with numerous mental and physical issues.
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 ...
Danny Saunders is the other main character, who lives under the shadow of becoming the next rabbi (the preacher of our culture.) He...
In the book The Chosen, by Chaim Potok, Reuven Malter is shaped by everyone around him. During this interaction his character becomes more developed and engaging. Through the interactions, it becomes apparent that Reuven’s father is always teaching his child how to improve himself. The conversations between Reuven and his father help prepare Reuven develop the mentality and the personal qualities, such as wisdom, compassion, and tolerance, necessary to become a rabbi.
David Malter, Reuven’s father, believed the need for a Jewish state was dire because of the information about Hitler and his concentration camps that had been published in the newspaper. The historical significance of millions of Jewish lives lost in Europe affected the cultural values in the Jewish community. Mr. Malter states, “We cannot wait for God….We have a terrible responsibility…The Jewish world is changed” (Potok 191). The impacts of the concentration camps were enormous and left the world unsettled. He goes on to say, “If we do not rebuild Jewry in America, we will die as a people” (191-192). He strongly believed his religion would waste away when the American Jews passed on. He believed this because of the historical events that had taken place; history affects culture. Reb Saunders’ viewpoint is much different from David Malter’s; instead, he believes that a Jewish state without the Messiah would be blasphemous. He asks, “Tell me, we should forget completely about the Messiah? For this six million of our people were slaughtered? That we should forget completely about the Messiah, that we should forget completely about the Master of the Universe” (Potok 198). Danny’s
The way in which Reb Saunders and David Malter raise their children reflect the conflict between tradition and modernity in this story. David Malter raises Reuven with a modern approach. He encourages Reuven to learn about the modern world as well as hold on to his religion. Reb Saunders to shelter Danny from modern ideas. With the exception of teaching Danny about the Talmud, he raises Danny in silence. He has his own reasons for raising Danny this way. “I did not want to drive him away from God, but I did not want him to grow up a mind without a soul” (Page 266). Reb Saunders raises his son through a tradition that has been in his family for a long time. However, he accomplishes his goal. His method of raising his son is dramatically different from David Malter’s modern practice. The results are also different. Danny has gone through much more pain and suffering than Reuven, and he chooses to carry on this practice if he must. Modernity and tradition present in the different ideas of these men influences the lives and ideas of their children as well.
William Bradford is the epitome of somebody who never intended to become the person he became, never seeking out leadership, or fame, he just wanted to help his fellow man live a better life of religious freedom. However, once he did find himself in the role of leader, he is able to begin turning a few dozen men and their families from scared, sick, and unprepared, immigrants into vibrant, self-supporting compatriots, who together began rising a new country.
His ability to rationalize situations and make decisions that were not based on sentiments made him stand out as one man among many.
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
"The Sweet Hereafter" by Russell Banks is a fictional novel based on a real life tragedy. The story is about a community coping with the loss of almost all of its children after the towns school bus is involved in an accident in which most of them die. The accident occurs on a treacherous winding highway when the driver loses control of the school bus and it plunges down an embankment into an ice covered sandpit. The novel is unique in the way that it is written because it's story is told 4 different ways, from 4 different characters, each one filling you in just a little more on their perspective of what really happened. One of these characters is Mitchell Stephens. He is a lawyer from New York City with an undeniable past. He is a compelling character with an interesting story.
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.
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, proves to be a sinner against man, against God and most importantly against himself because he has committed adultery with Hester Prynne, resulting in an illegitimate child, Pearl. His sinning against himself, for which he ultimately paid the
...s that he views learning propaganda as useless, while his efforts to get his students’ writings to be “legible and comprehensible” (157) indicate that he views literacy as practical and thus focuses his efforts on teaching his students to be literate.