The greatest virtue one can possess is being generous. The Decameron “Day 10, story 3” and “Day 10, story 4” present different perspectives of generosity. Nathan and Gentile express generosity in different ways, but Gentile lacks true generosity and possesses insincere intentions. Nathans attitude, method, and transformational results overpower Gentiles.
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.
When they meet at the baseball field they judge each other based on rumors they have heard or by the actions of the team. Reuven thinks of them as the “whole snooty bunch of Hasidim” (Chosen 62). Reuven thought Danny was a malicious person because he knew that Danny purposely tried to hit him. But later when Reuven opened up to Danny and stopped being so judgmental, Reuven realized that Danny was kind and just needed a friend. When Reuven is hit with the baseball, there is a chance he might be blind.
Faith is having absolute loyalty and trust towards a tremendous power in their growth. In the biography Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayer, Alfons Heck is a strong supporter of Hitler, but his relationship decreased. The memoir Night by Elie Wiesel, a Jewish holocaust survivor, has a wavering relationship with God that also decreases as time continues. Both Heck and Wiesel are devoted to their God’s at first; however, Wiesel is confused with his faith, while Heck continues to follow Hitler. In the end, each boy feels betrayed by their leaders.
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.
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.
'Charlie is forced into adulthood early through necessity; the choices he makes are purely selfless. ' Discuss. Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of Robert Newton’s coming-of-age novel, Runner, pertains to the drastic choices surrounding a child who is being forced into adulthood early through necessity. This aspect is explored through Charlie Feehan, the fifteen-year-old main protagonist living in the struggle town of Richmond, who is cast into early adulthood after the death of his father.
Elijah was heavily influenced by war, to stray along the wrong path. The characters change throughout the story, however many of them remain true to their cultural identity. Boyden shows that being true to one’s identity allows one to have self-discipline, and therefore they should treasure it. Boyden repeatedly demonstrates how the conflict between
Chaim Potok, the author of The Chosen sought to teach his readers that in a world filled with traditions and responsibilities that may trap us in a certain way of being, individual choice is a value that cannot be overridden, for it is far too important to wholeheartedly be
“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide” (Emerson). The character Gene learns of this not until after many trials and a great tragedy. In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the idea of self-reliance is greatly stressed. The novel A Separate Peace conveys how Gene’s envy and imitation of Finny affect him, how Gene’s envy and imitation affect their relationship with Finny, and Gene’s achievement of peace. The envy towards and imitation of Funny greatly affect Gene.
Genuine friendships are excellent things to have. It’s nice to have somebody to confide in when you don’t know where to turn. In The Chosen, Reuven states that he “didn’t mean to offend you [Danny] or anything, I just want to be honest.’ ‘I want you to be honest’ Danny said.” (Page 119)
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Having faith in a higher archy is a prelevant theme in the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel. Set during the Holocaust, a time of extermination of the Jews, Wiesel’s faith in his god wavers as he describes the situations he endures. One will notice as Wiesel’s faith decreases his identity goes downhill. Although, changing views in religion can affect more than just one’s identity, Wiesel explains his faith in god has a huge impact on his personality to prove one’s religious aspects can affect the way they choose to live their life.
Faith is such an important part of life. It is the drive, the motive to live, to breathe, to feel. When faith is lost, so is the reason to exist; life is lost in oblivion. Faith is a truly powerful weapon and as the story of Eliezer 's life during the Holocaust is played out through this book, a first-hand perspective is gained of what someone can do to cause questioning of faith and how people respond, whether by strengthening faith or losing it entirely. Eliezer is hit with every hard trial imaginable within a year of his life and eventually withers and hardens into this completely new person than the boy he was when he first stepped into that cattle car expelling him from Sighet, his home, and life.
In “The Chosen,” Chaim Potok uses the relationship between Danny and Reuven to show the social and political problems that they dealt with. Reuven didn’t fully understand the Hasidic view on things; he asked his dad, Mr. Malter, many questions, that of which his dad knew most or just gave his opinions. Reuven was drug into Danny’s father, Reb Saunders’s, synagogue multiple times, where he learned more about the Talmud and the history behind the Hasidic religion. Reb Saunders’s was considered a tzaddik, by which everyone looked upon him as a god, but a tzaddik is just a pious leader that is a messenger between God and man. Also, with Reb Saunders being a tzaddik, he will have to pass down the role to his son, Danny.
It is crazy to think how pop culture can point to the things it works so hard to reject, but in the case of Divergent by Veronica Roth, parallels between it and the gospel abound. Divergent is set in a dystopian Chicago in which the citizens are divided into 5 factions; the brave, the selfless, the intelligent, the honest and the kind. The story follows Tris Prior, a sixteen year old girl who realizes her Divergence, or possession of characteristics of more than one faction. The novel and film adaption of Divergent include many similarities to the gospel, notably the emphasis on a choice of commitment, the concept that we need more than one characteristic to grow, that salvation is brought about through sacrifice, and that humankind is at its heart, evil.
