The Chosen

In The Chosen, silence plays an important aspect in the characters lives. Reb Saunders forced silence and suffering upon his son Danny by not talking to him about anything other than his studies. He says he does this because he feels that Danny is so brilliant that he might not understand the suffering of others. Reb Saunders feels that silence is suffering by imposing non-communication, however, silence is really how Reuven, Danny, David Malter, and Reb Saunders communicate with each other and the world around them.

Reuven and Danny are friends when they enter Hirsch College. While they are at college, many of the students and faculty members have different stances on Zionism. During this time, David Malter organizes a pro-Zionist rally at Madison Square Garden that turns out to be very successful and over joys Reuven. However, when Reuven returns to school, he finds out that Danny is not allowed to be friends and talk with him anymore because of the rally. Reuven is extremely upset and furious. He calls Reb Saunders a "fanatic" and cries about Danny. Danny and Reuven do not talk for the whole semester and Reuven feels horrible about the situation. He thinks that silence is "cancerous, [and] was death" (221). By the next semester, Reuven promises to forget Danny and his silence; but he can't, even if he's mad. Later, Reuven and Danny start communicating in silence. David Malter told Reuven in the beginning of the novel that "two people who are true friends are like two bodies with one soul." (74) This shows the reader that Danny and Reuven still had to communicate with each other, even in silence, because they were bonded with a "true" friendship.

"I saw Danny all the time in school, but the...

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...not explain it. I do not understand ... "

Then his voice went hard. "There are better ways to teach a child compassion."

David silently tells Reuven that he knows about "raising a child in silence" because he does not answer Reuven's question directly. Instead, he says it in a form of a question directed to Hasidism. The second piece of information he communicates to Reuven in silence is his emotional state. Reuven catches that he is upset and "contempt" when he talks about silence in Hasidism. He also tells Reuven what he thinks in silence. David Malter imposes silence on Reuven by not explaining how Reb Saunders raises his son. However, whether intentionally or not, he still communicates information to Reuven in silence. By communicating to Reuven in silence, he sees how Reuven can communicate to his father. By communicating to his father in silence.