Free Sample Essays > Literature
Chaim Potok : The Chosen
to Reuven’s father. Reuven’s father asks Danny if he will raise his son in silence. Danny says that he will unless he finds a better way, for it is all he knows.
The main literary element of this novel is the characters. The conflict of The Chosen revolves around them. They exist and interact. The plot shows them living their lives. Each character is unique; the reader truly knows each one.
One of these characters is Danny Saunders. Danny has the mind of a genius and is the chosen one to inherit a life he doesn’t want. He is destined to follow in his father’s footsteps as the leader of his Hasidic sect. Yet his intellect cannot be satisfied by his instructions, which are almost primarily in religion. Instead he wishes to study psychology, despite the obvious conflict between the irreligious components of Freudianism, of which he is a great admirer, and his Hasidic belief. Therefore, Danny must face the conflict between his father’s wishes and his Hasidic background and the more secular life that he desires. Despite these conflicts, Danny never condemns his father for his cruel treatment, but rather thinks it necessary for his training as a tzaddik. It is all he knows.
Reuven Malter is another main character in The Chosen. He is Danny’s best friend and the narrator of the story. He is from a less orthodox religious background than his friend. Reuven serves as a line of communication between Danny and his father, who speaks to Danny only when they discuss the Talmud. Although Reuven respects Danny’s father, he greatly dislikes him because of his stern treatment of Danny and his later command that Danny be forbidden to have any contact with Reuven because of his Zionist views. Unlike Danny, Reuven was not raised “in silence,” and can therefore see the injustice of it.
Reb Saunders, a third character the reader gets to know, is Danny’s father. He is a tzaddik. He is a stern man who has suffered greatly, having fled from Russia during the Bolshevik revolution with his followers after the murder of his first wife and children. He retains an absolute conviction in his Hasidic beliefs. Although capable of kindness and compassion, shown in his treatment to Reuven and his other children, Reb Saunders treats his son harshly, never speaking to him.
The fourth main character of The Chosen is David Malter, Reuven’s father. In The Chosen, David serves mainly to offer historical perspective on Jewish culture and a broader viewpoint on Hasidism in order to contrast with Reb Saunders’ absolute conviction in his faith.
One of the main themes of this novel is the conflict within characters between secularism and religion. The most obvious way this is shown is between the friendship of Reuven, who has more flexible religious customs, and Danny, who comes from a very strict Hasidic background. This conflict also takes place internally within Danny Saunders, who must choose between a life devoted to intellectual study of psychology, which holds an irreligious view of human [next page]