chosen

A detailed Summary of chosen

Throughout our lives, we are given choices to make. Whether these choices involve the people we will spend our time with, how much effort we will put into our work, or even the places we'll choose to go, they are for the most part up to each individual. In The Chosen by Chaim Potok, these kinds of choices are not up to each person, but rather up to the father of a very strict family of Jews.

After Reuven Malter returned home from the hospital, Danny came to visit and apologize for hitting him in the face with a baseball. At first, the conversation between the two was not very pleasant, but changed dramatically when they both discovered each others more admirable qualities. When Danny decided that Reuven was the kind of person that he would like to be friends with, he first had to consult with his father about the relationship.

"He wants to meet you. I told him we were friends. He always has to approve of my friends. Especially if they're outside the fold." (111)

After spending an entire night with Danny and his father, Reuven was finally "chosen" by Reb Saunders as a suitable friend for Danny. In a sense, the entire process was a selection. Danny had no choice in who he could spen

Before Danny made his final decision to not continue the tzaddik tradition, his thoughts were in total disarray as to what he wanted to do with his life. This is evident through a detailed passage at the end of chapter nine when Reuven witnesses a fly trapped in a spider's web.

"This is not Europe. It is an open world here. Here there are libraries and books and schools. I knew already when he was a boy that I could not prevent his mind from going to the world for knowledge." (266)

"A spider had spun a web across the corner of the upper rail, and there was a housefly trapped in it now, its wings spread-eagled, glued to the strands of the web, its legs flaying the air frantically.... I rose from the chair and went over to the web.... I bent and blew hard against the web. It swayed but remained intact. I blew again, harder now, and the strands seemed to suddenly melt. The fly fell on its back to the wooden floor of the porch, righted itself, then flew off, buzzing loudly. The spider tumbled from the broken web.... Then swiftly climbed the strand, scrambled across the top front rail of the porch and disappeared." (165)

It is apparent that throughout the novel, Danny does not want to be a tzaddik,

but instead would like his brother to take his place. This idea is not new to the memories of Reb Saunders, whose brother also challenged the title of the "chosen". Reb Saunder's brother was, like Dann

Some common words found in the essay are:
Saunder's Danny, Reb Saunders, Reuven Malter, Frankenstein Danny's, Talmud Danny's, Title Throughout, Chaim Potok, reb saunders, chosen reb, chosen reb saunders, Universe Universe, life danny, throughout lives,

Approximate Word count = 965
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Movies