Internal Blaze

Bombs bursting brilliantly with a fiery passion within oneself. This is a common experience that everyone faces throughout their lives, internal conflict. In The Chosen, by Chaim Potok, Internal conflict is oozed through this paper throughout that is shared with many of the characters that struggle through the persecution and murder of six million Jews in the Holocaust by the Nazis during World War II. One of the characters who fight through internal conflict is Danny Saunders, who is the friend of the main character, Reuven Malter. Danny Saunders experiences internal conflict through a rift of secular and religious worlds, an internal relationship with his father, and Danny’s Internal conflict with friendship.

Danny’s internal conflicts largely has to do with his continuous interest in the secular world. A big clue to this interest is what Danny wants to do for a career. When Reuven asks, “What do you want to be…” Danny replies that he wants to be “... a psychologist.” This remark brings Reuven to the conclusion that Danny “... seemed to be the last person in the world who would qualify as an analyst…” (Potok 69 and 70) .This dream job goes against Danny’s Hasidic beliefs, but Danny seems determined to follow his dream job, even if it means making his brother, “... a fine tzaddik.” (Potok 190) to replace him in the family Dynasty. However, this surprises Reuven because he notices how Danny is great at memorizing the Talmud with his eidetic memory and would make a fine Hasidic rabbi. On the other hand, Danny doesn’t want to follow that path of continuing the family line. His interests into the secular world has caused signs of boredom for Danny when he studies the Hasidic Talmud. Danny beings to “...get tired of studying only ...

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...y son was ready to rebel. He sent you to listen to my son’s words. He sent you to be my closed eyes and my sealed ears. I looked at your soul, Reuven, not your mind…. I knew your mind… A thousand times I have thanked the Master of the Universe that he sent you to your father to my son.” (Potok 267) Reuven is almost like a common father figure to Danny when they were growing up, as Mr. Saunders isn’t willing to break his idea of growing his son up in silence just to listen to his goals and dreams, especially Danny’s secular ones. This impact on Danny has changed him throughout the novel. For example, This friendship has helped him to face his father and speak up. The help of Reuven has brought the courage and the determination to follow his true path and become a psychologist. These two friends are bounded together with a shared soul under two very different bodies.