Danny, a character from The Chosen, and I both struggle with personal desires versus family traditions and expectations. Potok depicts Danny’s struggles so seamlessly that I could greatly relate to it. For example, Danny consciously goes against his father’s expectations when he “[reads] in the library so [his] father won’t know” (Potok 80). His overwhelming desire to learn and read books overcomes the expectations of his father, which is parallel to the strong desire I have to be very expressive and free overcomes my mother’s expectations. The scene reveals that Danny is aware that he is going against his father, yet he still goes through with it willingly; it is similar to how I am aware that I am opposing my mother, but I refuse to surrender.