ipl-logo

The Chosen By Chaim Potok Figurative Language

932 Words4 Pages

The Epigraphs: The Spoken Words of Silence
Silence is a major aspect of life, regardless of whether or not people choose to accept and acknowledge it. Silence is also integral throughout The Chosen, by Chaim Potok. Within this novel, silence is utilized through different relationships, in different circumstances, and for different purposes. Potok immediately introduces the idea of silence, and continues to do so, before he even gives the narrator, Reuven, his first line. The idea of silence is immediately approached in the first epigraph, or brief quote, at the beginning of Book 1, and another epigraph related to silence is introduced at the each of the beginnings of the following two books. Potok’s use of the epigraphs throughout his novel …show more content…

This quote is not even exclusively religious, as was the previous, but can be viewed completely secularly without an issue. This quote stands out from the other two, as it explicitly states that silence should not only be practiced, but should in fact be treasured. Danny finally fully accepts the silence with which he was reared at the end of the novel, and even decides to raise his kids with it, should he not find a better alternative (Potok 290). It is a time of enlightenment for both Danny and Reuven. Neither fully realized the true importance of it, until Reb Saunders explained his actions. 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

Show More
Related
802 Words | 4 Pages

Do parents tend to push their children into a specific career path? In the novel The Chosen by Chaim Potok, David Malter and Reb Saunders have affected both Reuven and Danny’s way of life. The story starts out with Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter meeting. Later in the novel, Reuven learns that Danny’s father does not talk to Danny and Danny learns that David Malter has a strong relationship with Reuven. As the novel progresses, David and Reb influence the future path for their sons such as David’s Zionism affecting Reuven, Reb’s method of raising Danny, and both Reb and David influencing Danny and Rueven’s future occupations proves that parents can influence their children in both positive and negative ways.

Read More
646 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout this excerpt, the use of imagery is vital to the evolution of Chief Bromden. Chief wakes up with the sudden urge to do something. As he walks around, he feels the cold tiles against his feet, and he realizes how many times he had walked on the tiles before, but had never felt it at all. “I walked down the windows to one where the shade popped softly in and out with the breeze, and I pressed my head against the mesh.” In this paragraph the imagery of the smells and Chief presses his head against the mesh, appeals to the senses of smell and touch.

Read More
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.

Read More
975 Words | 4 Pages

Even though Danny hates it as well, he accepts it, but Reuven is furious at Reb Saunders for torturing his son even further. He believes that the silence is not only destroying his relationship with Danny, but also Danny’s soul. When Reuven speaks with Reb Saunders again on Saturdays, Saunders does not say anything about the two year ban between the two boys, which Reuven finds frustrating and weird. Reuven did however learn a lot about silence in these two years, as he never thought silence could be so full.

Read More
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.

Read More
879 Words | 4 Pages

In this quotation, Reb Saunders is telling Reuven how brilliant he thinks Danny is, but also tells him how he saw him reading a story when he was four years old. He talks about how he didn’t read the book, but he “swallowed” it. He also talks about how it was then that he found out that there “was no soul” in his four-year old Daniel, and there was only his mind. Later, he talks about how this is the reason that he raised Danny is silence. This shows that although Reb Saunders thinks his son is brilliant, he also thinks that it was important for him to raise him in silence so that he could develop emotions and feelings for others.

Read More
816 Words | 4 Pages

Shouts of faith are not to be taken lightly. By comparing the two, the

Read More
705 Words | 3 Pages

The Chosen is a novel by Chaim Potok. It tells the story of a Modern Orthodox Jew named Reuven Malter, and how he befriends a Hasidic Jew named Danny Saunders. It includes how these two unlikely teenage boys become friends, grow up, and pursue their dreams in the future. It takes place during the end of World War II which is occurring in Europe. To begin with, this is a type of novel that I would not normally read.

Read More
1215 Words | 5 Pages

To choose or to be chosen; which is better? The gift of choice is something not bestowed upon everyone, and this is especially true for the main character of Chaim Potok’s The Chosen. The novel describes the life of two boys, Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter, one of which has been granted the freedom to choose his own destiny, and the other has already had his life mapped out since the day of his birth. Throughout his childhood and much of his adolescence, Danny struggled between the life he wants and the one chosen for him by his father, Reb Saunders, the rabbi a Hasidic congregation. As the eldest son of his family, Danny has been born into the position of the future rabbi of his temple, however, he yearns for something much different.

Read More
548 Words | 3 Pages

Mr. Malter explains to his son that despite pride or anger, one must show forgiveness and kindness. In addition, David also exemplifies wisdom as he quietly and subtly introduces Reuven and Danny to become more than just acquaintances. He decides to intelligently take it slow when introducing the two, in order to ensure they could develop a strong friendship. Hence,

Read More
476 Words | 2 Pages

“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.

Read More
430 Words | 2 Pages

For Danny its the only time his father will talk to him, on the other hand learning and studying give Danny comfort from the silence that he grows up from. Both boys inherit their love of learning from their fathers. Both David Malter and Reb Saunders are obsessed with knowledge, and are both scholars in their religious sects trying in different ways to pass on their teachings to their

Read More
1852 Words | 8 Pages

3 The story of “A&P” by John Updike adopts the uses of figurative language to embellish the critical moments of transitions of people’s lives, particularly in the life of Sammy. Updike utilizes crafts of plot, character, setting, point of view, theme, and symbol to constitute the story, and to project the idea of "life passages. " Also, Sammy undergoes a series of events that enables him to transition as a person in his life. 3

Read More
666 Words | 3 Pages

This is showing that Danny and his father don’t talk about anything besides Talmud. It is also showing that Reuven and his father talk about many things together. Since Danny and his father don’t talk about a lot, Danny ends up keeping a lot of secrets from his father. A big secret he keeps from his father is sending out college

Read More
599 Words | 3 Pages

The Saunders, Malter, and Merrit family all demonstrate their own ways of family loyalty. To start, Reb Saunders loves his son very much, but displays his love in a way that the characters and even the readers do not understand. He raises Danny up in silence. At the end of the book, Mr. Saunders reveals his reasons for not regularly talking to Danny and explained, “‘He taught me to look into myself, to find my own strength, to walk around inside myself in company with my soul’ (284)”. Reb Saunder’s believed silence would help teach Danny to grow up with both a mind and soul.

Read More

More about The Chosen By Chaim Potok Figurative Language

Related Topics

Open Document