The Chosen, By Chaim Potok

871 Words2 Pages

Change is good. Our world is changing constantly and we must be able to adapt to this. The main characters in The Chosen by Chaim Potok, Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein and The Man to Send Rainclouds by Leslie Marmon Silko recognize this. Adapting how we live and our traditions is necessary to live in this world, even though tradition is still very important. Tradition is a central theme throughout the entire play of Fiddler on the Roof. It dictates the way the residents of Anatevka live. Though, while they stay in the same mindset of living, the rest of the world is evolving. The three daughters of Tevye are able to get out of this mindset and show Tevye and the rest of the town that change is beneficial. When Tzeitel and Motel …show more content…

They tell Tevye that they are engaged and that they just want his blessing, similar to modern day engagements. He blesses the marriage and Hodel eventually moves to Siberia to be with Perchik. Their marriage symbolizes the tradition starting to break down into something much better. True love and devotion is always better than a set standard. Even Tevye and Golde themselves realize this when they sing about how they’ve slowly fallen in love with the song “Do You Love Me?” The true reality that times were changing and that the community needed to adapt to the changes had become very apparent. The outside world was going to evolve with or without the residents of …show more content…

Their entire lives, though both different, are dictated by tradition and repetition. They have many expectation that they are to meet, especially their fathers’ expectations. Danny is intended to inherit the role of being the tzaddik, even though he has no desire to be one. He is incredibly indecisive about his future, because one side of him wants to see the family legacy of tzaddiks continue, but he knows he’ll never be happy with that life. Danny decides to break free from his father’s wishes, and studies secular knowledge in college, without his beard and earlocks. If he had become a tzaddik like expected, he would’ve spent the rest of his life unhappy. What’s the point in following a tradition if it doesn’t bring you

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