In The Chosen, Potok describes the Jewish culture during the period of World War I. Beginning with the affluence of Polish Jews before the war, Potok established a circle of relationships. In the book, there are three main relationships. The first one is father-son, between Danny and his father, Reb Saunders and between Reuven and his father, David Malter. The relationship between Reuven and Danny is the second main relationship in The Chosen. The third main relationship is Hasidism verses Zionism. 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 ...
In the book The Chosen the four main characters have different views on how children should be raised. Danny Saunders was said to be raised in silence. Danny was raised in silence in that communication was cut off between Danny and his father, except when they were studying Talmud. The reason Danny’s father did not speak to his son is because Rabbi Saunders wanted to have Danny think things through himself. Reb Saunders also wanted Danny to grow up in the same manner he himself was raised.
Another link between these three characters is their family ties. They highly regard their elders, and consider the effects of the decisions they make on t...
David Malter was part of the Jewish sect that took on a more modern approach. He is very understanding, and he cares very deeply for his son Reuven. Reuven and his father's relationship would be considered healthy by most people. They love each other very much, and they have a very open communication with each other.
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.
They became friends and kept seeing each other after Reuven got out of the hospital. One day, Reuven went over to Danny’s house to meet his father. Danny’s father was a rabbi and raised his son in silence. They never talked except when they studied the Torah together. Reuven’s father was a Zionist and Danny’s father was an anti-Zionist.
In all of their conversations, Mr. Malter seeks to pass his moral wisdom onto Reuven. At the beginning of the novel, after Reuven refuses to listen to Danny’s apology, his father visits him at the hospital to discuss his ignorance: “‘You did a foolish thing, Reuven,’ he told me [Reuven] sternly. ‘You remember what the Talmud says. If a person comes to apologize for having hurt you, you must listen and forgive him’” (96). Reuven’s father teaches him about applying the Talmud to his daily life and about becoming a better person. After Reuven and Danny begin to become friends, Reuven begins to look at the baseball game in retrospective. He tells his father he is shocked how such a strong friendship can emerge from such a meaningless occurrence. His father replies, “‘Reuven, as you grow older you will discover that the most important things that will happen to you will often come as a result of silly things, as you call them‘ordinary things’ is a better expression. That is the way the world is’” (110). Mr. Malter shares his wisdom of Jewish morals and way of life with Reuven so he may pass his knowledge on to his children, or perhaps his future followers. Mr. Malter tries to pass more wisdom to Reuven as the ...
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.
Children are seen as adorable, fun loving, and hard to control. Ida Fink uses a child in “The Key Game” to be the key to this family’s life. The setting is placed during the start of World War II; Jews all around were being taken. Fink uses a boy who doesn’t look the traditional Jewish, “And their chubby, blue-eyed, three-year-old child” (Fink). As they read on the emotional connection is stronger because there is a face to go with this character. Fink draws a reader in by making connections to a family member the reader may know. A blue-eyed, chubby child is the picture child of America. A child in any story makes readers more attached especially if they have children of their own. The child is three way too young to be responsible for the safety of the father, yet has to be. Throughout the story, we see how the mother struggles with making her child play the game because no child should be responsible like
The role of a father could be a difficult task when raising a son. The ideal relationship between father and son perhaps may be; the father sets the rules and the son obeys them respectfully. However it is quite difficult to balance a healthy relationship between father and son, because of what a father expects from his son. For instance in the narratives, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences” both Willy and Troy are fathers who have a difficult time in earning respect from their sons, and being a role model for them. Between, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences,” both protagonists, Willy and Troy both depict the role of a father in distinctive ways; however, in their struggle, Willy is the more sympathetic of the two.
In conclusion, although Beowulf possessed many heroic qualities he would not be considered a hero in today’s world. A hero varies from culture to culture. The Anglo-Saxon appreciated different things in a person that what do not we appreciate today. Many things have changed a lot with time, the requisites for being considered a hero have also changed. Today we do not like to solve problems with war. Pride and honor are not as important as the willingness one has to help others. Beowulf is not feeling that contact with people he doesn’t identify with them because he believes himself better, a part of a hero´s cycle is to be identified with the community. To be part
Judaism is a prominent feature in The Chosen, but it is presented in many different ways. Danny’s father is a rabbi and holds sermons in the synagogue. Reuven’s father, however, is more of a radical and a scholar. While Judaism is very common in the story, there are a few characters that are nonreligious, such as Billy and Mr. Savo; they provide a bridge to the rest of the world and a contrast to the Jewish culture which the reader is able to comprehend. At the same time there are historical landmarks in the making that impact the cultural aspect of the story. Hence, the cultural and historical values in Chaim Potok’s The Chosen are important to that era.
However, eventually what De Beauvoir refers to as the crisis of adolescence starts to occur. The crisis of adolescence is what forces youth into the realization that they to have responsibilities as individuals who exist in this world, we can understand what De Beauvoir means by this when she states “Men stop appearing as if they were gods, and at the same time the adolescent discovers the human character of the reality about him. Language, customs, ethics, and values have their source in these uncertain creatures. The moment has come when he too is going to be called upon to participate in their operation; his acts weigh upon the earth as much as those of other men.” (De Beauvoir 16) What I believe De Beauvoir is saying here is that we realize as youth that we have our own subjectivity and as well we are able to realize the subjectivity of the other. It is at this point in my life that where the easily traced path of childhood branches into a series of unclear dangerous and often deceiving trails which we may choose to go down in hopes of achieving an end
Beowulf displayed great courage and honor throughout his journeys and battles; he was an epic hero. An epic hero is a person who is viewed as larger than life and possesses values of a certain society. From the time of Beowulf’s battle with Grendel to his brawl against the dragon, he has showed everyone what being an honorable hero looks like. His heroism is revealed through both youth as a young warrior and wisdom as a reliable king. He never backed down and didn’t give up when situations were tough. Beowulf had obligations to fulfill and went about every aspect of his life with courage and strength. He cared for his people and was willing to take on anyone that threatened them or his kingdom. He sincerely was the hero of his time.
The father’s character begins to develop with the boy’s memory of an outing to a nightclub to see the jazz legend, Thelonius Monk. This is the first sign of the father’s unreliability and how the boy’s first recollection of a visitation with him was a dissatisfaction to his mother. The second sign of the father’s lack of responsibility appears again when he wanted to keep taking the boy down the snowy slopes even though he was pushing the time constraints put on his visitation with his son. He knew he was supposed to have the boy back with his mother in time for Christmas Eve dinner. Instead, the father wanted to be adventurous with his son and keep taking him down the slopes for one last run. When that one last run turned into several more, the father realized he was now pushing the time limits of his visit. Even though he thought he was going to get him home, he was met with a highway patrol’s blockade of the now closed road that led home.
The period of adolescence is a time of immense changes, both biologically and socially, through self-discovery and identification. During adolescence, the human body goes through a wave of hormonal changes in preparation for sexual reproduction. As the individual reaches adulthood, this process is called puberty (Arnett, 2015, p. 350). In addition to the physical changes, teens undergo many social and psychological changes as they approach adulthood, preparing them for the many responsibilities to come (Arnett, 2015, p. 350). Adolescence is constructed by changes in relation to the physical, cognitive, and emotional states of an individual. Within each of these developmental areas, teens mature in varying ways. In regards to physical changes, adolescents undergo the previously mentioned process of puberty, but they also face many issues such as eating disorders and substance abuse (Arnett, 2015, p. 357-359). For cognitive development, teens undergo