The Chosen
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The Chosen is a book by Chaim Potok published in 1967. It is about two teenage Jewish boys who form a friendship, though they come from different worlds. It is a first-person narrative from the point of view of Reuven Malter.
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Setting
The Chosen is set in the 1940s, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City, New York. The story takes place over a period of seven years.
Characters
- Reuven Malter, a Modern Orthodox teenage boy. Smart and has a head for mathematics.
- Daniel (Danny) Saunders, a Hasidic teenage boy. Brilliant with a photographic memory. Feels trapped inside an intellectual prison with his father.
- David Malter, Reuven's father. A critical Talmudic scholar. Considered an heretic by fundamentalist Hasidim.
- Rabbi Isaac Saunders, Danny's father. Head of a Hasidic sect. Wants Danny to succeed him.
Plot
Reuven and Danny meet at a inter-yeshiva baseball game. A ball hit by Danny hits Reuven's glasses, and almost blinds one of his eyes. Danny comes to visit Reuven in the hospital, and the two strike up a friendship.
The story follows Reuven and Danny through their high school years. Reuven once comes to visit Danny at his shul. He sees that every Shabbat afternoon, Danny and his father engage in a battle of wits regarding knowledge of the Talmud. Throughout high school, Danny becomes interested in psychology and teaches himself German to be able to read Freud in the original.
Danny and Reuven go to Hirsch College, a Modern Orthodox institution in Brooklyn. While there, discussion about the State of Israel arises, and Reuven's father becomes an active Zionist. Unfortunately, Danny's sect is very anti-Zionist, and so Reuven and his father are put in cherem, a Jewish form of excommunication, until the Israeli War of Independence. Reuven becomes very depressed while this is going on. Meanwhile, Danny becomes serious about going into psychology, as opposed to taking over leadership of his sect from his father. He becomes ever more fearful about facing his father. However, in the end, Reb Saunders gives up and lets Danny follow his wishes.
Themes
External themes
While the story is taking place, many references are made to outside events, including World War Two, the Holocaust, and the founding of the state of Israel. Potok reveals the reactions of different groups to each of these events.
Internal themes
Growing up, father-son communication, and friendship are all themes of the story. Chaim Potok reveals the challenges of growing up in different worlds: the exposed and the closed off. He shows the difficulty of fathers in communicating with their sons as they grow up, and the changes that take place in the way father and son relate. Also, Potok illustrates the need for companionship among maturing boys, and the close relationship that arises as young adults develop.
<p> The sequel to this book is The Promise.
The Chosen was made into a movie in 1981, and into a play in 2004.
External Links
- Review of the play, The Chosen (http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/items/moviereview/item_3861.html)
- Review of the play, The Chosen (http://www.johnlloydyoung.com/ChosenTimesReview.htm)