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Reuven In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

545 Words3 Pages

“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” This quotation from Helen Keller clearly clarified the relationship between two teenagers living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. While one teen lives in darkness and loneliness, another youth accompanies him by bringing radiance and hope. As painful situations happen frequently in one’s life, that person’s companion assists him through both their outer and inner trials. In The Chosen, Chaim Potok uses the protagonist to demonstrate the necessities of genuine companionship. As a result, Reuven Malter developed true friendship with Daniel Saunders via loyalty, sympathy, and trustworthiness. First of all, Reuven exhibited his strong and steady assistance even when derision tries to break the new bond. Actually, a schoolmate rudely commented on Danny, which incurred the protagonist’s hidden anger. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines loyalty as “the quality of being loyal to someone.” During recess at the yeshiva, a classmate brought up last week’s softball game, which obviously attracted Davey’s attention. He recollected the event: “It seemed silly to me, the way they kept talking about the game, they both sounded so childish, and I got a little angry when Davey Cantor started talking about ‘that snooty Danny Saunders,’ but I didn’t say anything” (149). The …show more content…

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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While silence is not considered to be the absolute best way to rear children, one cannot deny the effect and impression it made on not only Danny, but also the Malters. Even Reuven’s father at times remained silent when he could have mentioned things about which he had prior knowledge, not completely dissimilarly to Reb Saunders’ approach. One could assume that he desired for Reuven (and Danny, by default) to come to certain realizations himself. Regardless of the motivations behind any character’s choice of silence, this epigraph genuinely depicts the alleged value of silence

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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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583 Words | 3 Pages

When Danny came back to apologize to Reuven for hitting him in the eye during the baseball game, Reuven apologized too. Reuven apologized for the rude actions that he committed earlier in the morning when Danny came to visit. By his actions of apologizing, Reuven revealed he is a nice and good

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569 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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629 Words | 3 Pages

Reuven did not have time to react, and thus the hit caused a serious injury to his left eye and hospitalization for about a week. After staying in the hospital a couple days, Reuven received a surprise visit from Danny who tries apologizing. The furious Reuven demands that Danny leaves without hearing his apology. However, Reuven thinks about the circumstances and accepts Danny’s apology the next day. “Yesterday I had hated him: now we were calling each other by our first names” (67).

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1084 Words | 5 Pages

In the end, even through the rather judgmental filtration of the narrator’s view, Reb Saunders was presented as a very complex, conflicted, and multifaceted character. He represented the dangers of fanaticism and harmful isolationist behavior, but he also showed a profound, painful love for Danny and a deeply human sense of the importance of empathy and

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478 Words | 2 Pages

Reuven found a new appreciation of his health since he could have gone blind. Another example of perception change from the novel is when Reuven realizes Danny isn't how he appeared to be. During the story, Mr. Malter says “Things are always as they seem to be, Reuven?”. He says this because Reuven told him that it seemed like Danny hit him deliberately.

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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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752 Words | 4 Pages

The novel Ordinary People, by Judith Guest is a touching and admirable story told from two similar however slightly different characters. The story is so touching due to all the emotions and everyday struggles on one seemingly ordinary family. The Jarret family, Conrad, Calvin and Beth, face anxiety, deep depression and growth as a unit throughout the book while different events in each character’s life that affects them differently. By telling the story from two different perspectives, a reader may conclude that Calvin and Beth both withhold many similarities, although they come off as completely opposite characters.

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445 Words | 2 Pages

Self Interest vs. Compassion In the novel, Messenger, by Lois Lowry, the author uses the main character’s reactions to many different challenges throughout the text to develop a theme of self interest versus compassion through two main events. The main character is Matty, a young boy who came to Village as young boy. He had two main challenges throughout the book, keeping a huge secret of him having a gift and him having to help Kira travel through Forest to village. One of the challenges Matty faces throughout the text is keeping his secret.

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747 Words | 3 Pages

Obstacles of Intelligence The definition of intelligence is “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.” Chaim Potok has created many incredibly intelligent characters in his novel The Chosen. These characters have many trials they must overcome. Some must overcome sickness, or possible overcome losing a dear friend, even one may be helpless to what his father wants. Nevertheless, they overcome these obstacles.

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476 Words | 2 Pages

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)

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1070 Words | 5 Pages

Michelle Moffo English 1110.03 Peter C. Dully Jr. 26 February 2018 Most people who read The Road by Cormac McCarthy would describe the novel as a very bleak and grim tale. McCarthy uses a wide array of vocabulary and imagery to create a world that the reader themselves would want to escape from, describing the world as “Barren, silent, godless” (McCarthy 4). While the novel may appear to be very depressing on the surface, the hope and goodness that exist within the two main characters, referred to as the man and the boy, keep the reader clinging to every word. It is evident that McCarthy uses the boy as an example of how religion, hope, and morality can bring people through the darkest of times.

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863 Words | 4 Pages

In enduring these complex emotions, this section was the most remarkable part. One of the first apparent emotions the boy experiences with the death of his father is loneliness to make this section memorable. The boy expresses this sentiment when he stays with his father described as, “When he came back he knelt beside his father and held his cold hand and said his name over and over again,” (McCarthy 281). The definition of loneliness is, “sadness because one has no friends or company.”

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417 Words | 2 Pages

Silence can be excruciatingly painful to bare, but the silence can also allow one to grow and understand more than words ever would be able to bestow. Reb confronts Danny, through Reuven and he explains, "You think I was cruel? Yes, I see from your eyes that you think I was cruel to my Daniel. Perhaps.

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