Reuven Malter: A Literary Analysis

The modern Orthodox world of Reuven Malter is very different from the Hasidic world of Danny Saunders. Danny feels that he constantly has to live up to his father's expectations, while Reuven feels that he has more of a breathing room and freedom. This is expressed in the novel in the following ways the way each of their Yeshivas plays baseball and the way each of them, Danny and Reven, deal with their secular and religious lives.

Both the boys school's treat the importance of the game of softball very differently. Mr. Galanter, the coach for Reuven's team, treats the game like war, and in turn his team does too. "No holes...what kind of solid defense is that? Close in. A battleship could go in between you and Malter..." (Potok, 14)

Mr. Galanter coaches with a method that forces the kids to play their hardest every minute of every game, which leads to all the kids getting to tired and running out of gas towards the end of every game.
On the other hand, Danny's team's coach, the rabbi, sits on the bench reading a book the entire time not paying attention. "...I saw the rabbi look up a moment from his book, then resume reading."(Potok, 22) This psychologically makes the kids want to impress the rabbi so they play their hardest every second.
Danny cannot decide whether to stay a devoted orthodox jew or reach out to join mainstream American culture. In this regard, Danny's predicament symbolizes the concern of many Jews in the United states.
The background against which Danny must make his decision about how much to assimilate into popular culture is the changing political and cultural situation of Jews in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

For hundreds of years, Jews were excluded physically and intellectually from the predominantly Christian civilization. They lived in their own world. As long as their communities, called ghettos, paid taxes and acted in a passive, almost subservient manner, they were allowed to exist peaceably. Their schools taught mostly traditional Jewish texts, with little instruction in secular affairs.

The question Danny asks himself is better answered by Reuven. Reuven has merged hid Modern Orthodox faith and American culture. Danny is not allowed to go to movies or wear the same clothes as his ancestors. These rules were made by Danny's rabbi, dad. Danny's dad even had raised Danny in silence. This had caused Danny throughout his life to try to meet the expectations of his father.

This predicament is resolved when Danny, at the end of the book, he cuts off his earlocks and wear modern clothes. Danny's dad also realizes that he cannot control Danny from becoming a modern kid. "This is America. This is not Europe. It is an open world here . . . . All his life he will be a tzaddik. He will be a tzaddik for the world. And the world needs a tzaddik." ( Potok,

280)
Throughout the entire novel, Danny is constantly trying to live up to his father's expectations, in the end, Danny's father accepts that Danny is changing. You cannot control what other people do you can only help them down the path they choose.