during Asher’s earlier years‚ Potok shows us that in childhood a person’s identity has not been formed and therefore is only a duplicate of their parents’ or guardians’ identity. One of the first mythic ancestor appearances happens after Asher is scolded by his father for drawing instead of doing something useful with his time. The mythic ancestor yells Aryeh Lev’s words‚ burning the message into Asher’s brain‚ chiding him for “Playing‚ drawing‚ wasting time” (Potok 36). The mythic ancestor represents
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The Chosen Parallels In the novel The Chosen by Chaim Potok‚ the use of parallelism is evident throughout the entire book. Potok uses these relationships to compliment and develop every single idea and feeling in the book. Because The Chosen is a bildungsroman‚ parallels play a key role in the growth of the protagonists‚ Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter. The major parallels are the secular and the religious‚ illness and mortality‚ the fathers‚ and Danny and Reuven. The parallel between the secular
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October 2014 Choosing Versus Chosen Chaim Potok’s novel The Chosen focuses on the relationship between Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter. Although they do not have a lot in common‚ the two boys along with Reuven’s father‚ David Malter‚ are chosen to fulfill certain duties. Throughout the course of a lifetime‚ people have the option to choose what he or she wants to do‚ or to have it chosen for them. In The Chosen‚ by Chaim Potok‚ Reuven Malter‚ Mr. Malter and Danny Saunders all deal with
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The Chosen The Chosen‚ by Chaim Potok‚ is a story about two Jewish boys who lived only five blocks from each other‚ but they never knew about one another until a certain baseball game. It was that baseball game that brought two different personalities together to form a lasting friendship‚ and that friendship would experience both ups and downs. Although both Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders were of the Jewish religion‚ both were raised very differently because of the influence of their fathers
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In the novel‚ The Chosen‚ written by Chaim Potok‚ you learn how important a relationship between a father and a son really is. Both of the main characters‚ Danny and Reuven‚ are deeply influenced by their fathers. Both of their relationships are based on education‚ but they differ in every other way. One relationship is caring and compassionate‚ while people believe the other is cruel and harsh. Danny was raised by his father Reb Saunders. The only time Saunders speaks with his son is when
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Extremes Collide In My Name is Asher Lev‚ Chaim Potok writes about a young boy in a Landover Hasidic community in Brooklyn who is an excellent artist. Asher travels through childhood hanging onto his art‚ but when his art interferes with his religious studies‚ Asher’s two worlds of art and Torah collide. Potok deliberately chooses the extreme icons and symbols of secular life‚ such as the world of art‚ on the one hand‚ and of Judaism‚ Hasidim‚ and the Rebbe‚ on the other hand‚ to intensify
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Silence in "The Chosen" In the book "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok‚ there are many situations where silence between characters is present. Some characters‚ such as Reuven and David Malter‚ believe that this deprivation is a cruel and inexplicable way of raising a child. On the other hand‚ Reb Saunders‚ a Jewish Hasidic leader‚ raises his oldest son in silence to prepare him for his future as a Rabbi. Silence is a driving force to understand and learn about other characters and the world around
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affection for another. In The Chosen‚ by Chaim Potok‚ various friendships impact several people. Danny and Reuven’s friendship influenced both young men in different ways. Their friendships sculpted the rest of their life in many different aspects. If Danny had not befriended Reuven‚ he most likely would never have experienced a life outside of Hasidism. If Reuven did not befriend Danny‚ he may have always hated Hasid‚ and never really understood them. If Billy and Reuven were not friends‚ Billy would
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1 Themes of the Chosen The Chosen is a book about the growth of two young boys. The two boys Danny and Reuven began as enemies and then became best friends. Their friendship was based on parallels in their relationships. There are many parallels and contrasts in the book between the two boys and their families some of them are; the religious values of the two fathers‚ the ways their fathers teach them‚ and the careers and classes of the two boys. The Saunders and the Malters have many differences
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Secondly‚ Reuven extends the hand of friendship to a boy whose beliefs completely differ from his own. Even though Danny follows Hasidism‚ Reuven puts aside his anger to become his friend. Reuven’s Father tells him‚ “‘The Talmud says a person should do two things for himself. One is to acquire a teacher. Do you remember the other?’ ‘Choose a friend‚’ I said. ‘Yes’” (74). Danny and Reuven acknowledge that even though they come from two different religious sects‚ they can still be amazing friends.
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