Character Analysis: The Chosen By Chaim Potok

The Qualities of a Scholar In Chaim Potok’s The Chosen, many great characters exist. The book covers Jewish life across different branches of the religion in America. The characters in this book all face their own challenges, and often times encounter them together. The main protagonist, Reuven Malter, stands out from the other characters in the book because of his success as a student. He exhibits many qualities that cause him to succeed in everything he does. Reuven excels as a student because of his hard-working mindset, his drive to improve himself, and his intelligence. Reuven uses his hard-working mindset to succeed. He believes when he does something, he should do it the best he can. The reader observes this trait first when Reuven

He constantly seeks to get better at everything he does. The reader can see this when the author describes how Reuven has perfected a certain type of softball pitch. “I had become quite adept at second base and had also developed a swift underhand pitch that would tempt a batter into a swing but would drop into a curve at the last moment and slide just below the flaying bat for a strike.” (6). Reuven does not just play softball; he seeks to be as good as possible at it. He demonstrates this quality again when he refuses to duck the ball hit by Danny. Although some may perceive it as stubborn or foolish, this act came from a need that Reuven had to be better than Danny. He could have ducked the ball, but instead he chose to try and catch it in an act of defiance against Danny. Reuven’s drive to improve himself and be the best makes him a good student, but it also got him

Reuven is very smart, and this helps him as a student. The reader can observe this trait twice while Reuven converses with his newfound friend Danny Saunders. “I’m really interested in logic. Mathematical logic.’ I said. He looked puzzled. ‘Some people call it symbolic logic,’ I said. ‘I never even heard of it,’ he confessed.” (83). Reuven has a knack for mathematics and logic. He even baffles Danny Saunders, another extremely intelligent person. The reader sees this intelligence again when Reuven visits Danny in the library. When Reuven found Danny reading, he chose not to disturb him and to go over mathematics in his head. He studied conjunction, disjunction, equivalence, and material implication in only his mind and called it all fairly simple. Reuven’s intelligence makes him a good student in both his Talmud studies and