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Theme Of Family Loyalty In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

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Recommended: Representation of family in literature

“Family- like branches on a tree, we all grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one.” This famous quote describes a theme in Chaim Potok’s book, The Chosen. Although the friendship between Reuven and Danny showed apparently, the family relationships also had a very strong say in the book. Loyalty displayed by both boys towards their fathers is evinced throughout the book. Although each family had their ups and downs, in the end, family became the most important thing. Danny even defended his dad’s style of teaching in front of his best friend, Reuven. Family loyalty is obvious in how Danny treats his dad, how Reuven confides in his father, and how Reb Saunders loves his son despite all his faults. Firstly, although his dad, Reb Saunders, did not give Danny many reasons to like him, Danny still loved him and defended his dad. At times, Danny might seem to despise Reb Saunders, but at the end of the day, he still loves him. For instance, after Reuven met Reb Saunders for the first time and got intimidated by him, Danny stood up for his dad. He even went as far as to say that he sometimes enjoyed his dad’s grilling. However at times, even though one does see the …show more content…

RebSunder and Danny’s father-son relationship was not as it seemed and Danny at the end still respected his father although his father had given him the silent treatment for as long as he could recall. Reb Saunder had honourable intentions behind teaching with silence and he only wanted what deems best for Danny. On the other hand, Reuven and David Malter had a special relationship that most people would envy. They could confide in each other and had no barriers between them. Reuven could ask any thing or state his opinion and Mr. Malter would give an honest reply and helped Reuven when he could. Family loyalty, although shown in two different ways, was a prominent theme The

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Seeing Through Another’s Eyes In Chaim Potok’s book, The Chosen, blindness is a reoccurring theme throughout the book. The first example of blindness is Danny and Reuven live within five blocks from each other for fifteen years and have no idea that the other person exists. Because the boys have such a different culture, they live in their own world and are blind to each other.

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Reuven is stubborn and willing to hold on to his own opinions even when there are evidences showing that he is not right. As the story approaches its end, Reuven is still continuing to make rash choices based off of his feelings rather than learning more about the situation. When Danny tells Reuven that his father wants him to come over for Passover, Reuven has no intention to, and tells his father about the invitation. However, Reuven’s father is oddly upset when he learns Reuven has been refusing the invitations: “[Reb Saunders] has been asking all long”

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In his book The Promise Chaim Potok leads the reader on a heartbreaking journey full of spiritual conflict and decision. As a sequel to The Chosen, The Promise picks up with Reuven Malter, the main character and a Jewish man now in his mid-twenties, attending Hirsch University, a Jewish seminary in Brooklyn, New York. Reuven keeps his friendship with Danny Saunders, whom he met on a baseball field during his teenage years and later went to college with, even though they now go their separate ways as Reuven becomes a rabbi, and Danny practices psychology. During the summer Reuven dates Rachel Gordon, the niece of Abraham Gordon, a man excommunicated from the Jewish society, and meets Abraham’s son, Michael, a stubborn teen with a mental issue. Also, over the same summer Reuven’s father, David Malter, wrote a controversial book about the Talmud.

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Reb Saunders is not understood by many because of the way in which he raises his son, Danny. Danny grew up in complete silence from his father. Reb Saunders would only speak to his son about the Hasidic religion. For Danny’s childhood and much of his young adult life, he had no one to turn to for advice on life. This style of parenting was not understood by Mr.Malter, who viewed it as a cruel way to raise a child.

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“I [Reuven] saw Danny all the time in school, but the silence between us continued. We had begun to communicate with our eyes, with nods of our heads, with gestures of our hands. But we did not speak to each other.” (Pages 255-256) Reuven and Danny were not allowed to speak to each other, so they communicated without speaking. They kept their friendship alive even though Danny’s father had tried to kill it.

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But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” Reb Saunders, Mr. Galanter, and Mr. Malter live that out extremely effectively. Reb Saunders exhibits dedication in a couple ways throughout the book. Clearly, Reb has displayed that he loves his family very much. He cares especially about his eldest son Danny.

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