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Danny And Reuven Friendship Analysis

546 Words3 Pages

The Importance of Friendship

If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you- Winnie the Pooh. In literature and movies, society repeatedly stresses the importance of friendship. The Chosen by Chaim Potok is no exception. Two Jewish boys, Danny and Reuven, grow up only two blocks from each other but lead parallel lives. When they finally meet as two teenagers on a baseball field, their lives change forever. The importance of friendship shines through its unique impact on Danny and Reuven, when they are together, and the toll it takes on them when they are forced to be separate.

The comradeship of friendship likely saves Danny from depression. Because Danny is so smart, the only way his father sees to teach him compassion is to stop talking to him and hope that through the pain of silence, he will learn sensitivity and empathy for others. As his father predicts, Danny hurts incredibly from this silence. Danny struggles to process his life without anybody to guide him so when Danny and Reuven meet, Danny pours out his intimate concerns and hurts. Throughout their friendship, Reuven listens and gives advice to Danny as Danny make major life decisions. Reuven also cheers Danny up, an important …show more content…

Unlike Danny, Reuven’s dad talks to him all the time. However when Reuven’s dad suffers from a heart attack, Reuven feels like his soul is torn apart. Coming to the rescue Danny invites Reuven to stay at his house in this tough time. The boy’s friendship also influences Reuven’s life by teaching him to be unprejudiced towards those who differ from him. If the boys had continued their lives on separate paths, Reuven would have always thought the Hasidic sect was weird and extreme. Through actually learning, what it is like to be Hasidic, Reuven’s perspective of the world changes and he grows in understanding and sympathy. The effects of friendship in Reuven’s life are far

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The second important event in the friendship of Reuven and Danny is when Reuven eats a Shabbat meal with Danny. Reuven goes to the Hasidic synagogue because Reb Saunders wants to meet him. Reuven discovers that Reb never talks to Danny except when they are studying Talmud. Danny says to Reuven “…I told him we were friends” (p. 115). However, Danny says that Reb Saunders needs to approve of his friends, especially if it is not a Hasid.

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1866 Words | 8 Pages

He is taught to be exactly like his father when he becomes an adult and he is extremely observant. I was raised like Reuven and completely agree with his father’s approach of raising Reuven. I completely disagree with Reb Saunders way of raising Danny because it was essentially a “radical” way of

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1116 Words | 5 Pages

Both ultimately share insight with both Danny and Reuven including the importance of their friendship.

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902 Words | 4 Pages

Due to the fact that Reuven and his dad have frequent conversation, they have a much closer relationship and Reuven loves and admires his father very much. Danny is showing Reuven his house, “Danny took me to the third floor rooms. They were identical with the ones in which my father and I lived” (161). Because they grew up in the same neighborhood, the places where their families lived are basically the same. While they may have their differences, because Reuven and Danny grew up in the same area, family living dynamics are very

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270 Words | 2 Pages

Reuven was glad that Danny came to visit again despite their previous encounter. after sending Danny away, he was surprised at his own actions and had come to regret it at the end. His own father reminded him that the Talmud says that if a person is willing to apologize for his own wrongdoing, then you must at least try to understand and forgive him and that is exactly what Reuven intends to do after feeling angry and depressed with himself from what he had said to Danny. Throughout this chapter, an unlikely friendship between the two boys develop. They begin to talk and learn more about one another rather than dwelling in fateful day of the ballgame; in other words, they let bygones be bygones.

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871 Words | 4 Pages

Danny also has a great amount of respect for his father even though he has been raised in silence. Even when Reuven questions that Reb Saunders sounds like a tyrant, Danny defends his father by saying “He’s a very strong-willed person. When he makes up his mind about something, that’s it, finished” (p. 116). Reb Saunders wants to raise a son that will be the leader for their people and Danny respects his father for doing anything that he needs to do to accomplish that goal and they both love each other

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569 Words | 3 Pages

This really makes Reuven realize how lucky he was to have good eyesight

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1558 Words | 7 Pages

These people along with Reuven’s ranting teacher, Rav Kalman, form the intricate web of conflicts and friendships in The Promise. After the summer Reuven continues his course under Kalman; Michael enters a center for mental treatment, and Danny becomes his therapist. Even

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462 Words | 2 Pages

Although Danny did not always agree with his father’s teachings, he made sure that Reuven never became his father’s

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943 Words | 4 Pages

As Reuven and Danny walk through the hallways of Danny’s family’s brownstone, all of Reb Saunders’s supporters step aside for Danny. Danny explains to Reuven, “Number one on our catechism: Treat the son as you would the father, because one day the son will be the father” (122). Reb Saunders’s supporters treat Danny very well, believing that Danny will continue the dynasty and take over his father’s position as a rabbi eventually. Later in the book, when Danny and Reuven are in college, Reuven is shocked to learn that Danny’s future wife has been promised to him. Danny says to Reuven, “That’s another reason it won’t be easy to break out of the trap.

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648 Words | 3 Pages

That Reuven is no longer a little boy and is finally finding his place in the world. Danny’s father then goes on how his son has grown as well. Though a small part of the book, it just goes to show that the boy’s friendship ultimately changed and shaped their future

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545 Words | 3 Pages

During the hospital visit, Reuv noted that even though Dan Saunders dresses identically to a Hasid, his thoughts differ greatly from those in his community. Steadfast constancy enables unswerving support to Danny amid criticism. A caring soul empowers commiseration to conquer insensitivity. An honest spirit equipped Reub for the future ahead concerning the mysterious silence. Thus, Reuby learned to cherish and appreciate this special tie thanks to these three characters: true-heartedness, condolence, and

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582 Words | 3 Pages

After the game, Mr. Galanter calls a cab to take Reuven to the hospital, and Danny went to the hospital for apologize to Reuven. This shows out that he is very responsible to things that he did, even though they were in different culture. After Danny went to the hospital to apologize to Reuven, Reuven said, “Well, I don’t want to listen. Why don’t you go home? Go home and be sorry over my eye!”(Chapter 3), but in the next day Danny came back again for apologize to

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668 Words | 3 Pages

Malter, Reuven's father, exemplifies devotion to a political cause he believes in. After receiving news about the Holocaust, Mr. Malter becomes deeply troubled and worried about the state of the Jewish people. He spends large amounts of time researching the topic and searching for solutions to the ongoing problem. Reuven notices that his father, even while confined to a hospital bed, "talked of nothing else but European Jewry and the responsibility American Jews now carried" (185). After being released, Mr. Malter goes even further, attending Zionist rallies and teaching a class about political Zionism.

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719 Words | 3 Pages

He can also be considered as a major character and the narrator for the whole book. He drives or leads all the readers from the beginning of the story till the end. His special character also brought him a different life experience when compared with the boys at the same age groups. In addition, Reuven also became an example for many teenage children to follow because he knows how to take control of his emotion during puberty. He did not get frustrated when dealing difficult situations, but taking a calm step and decisions.

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