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The Chosen

The Chosen is a book by Chaim Potok published in 1967. It is about two teenage Jewish boys who form a friendship, though they come from different worlds. It is a first-person narrative from the point of view of Reuven Malter.

Contents

Setting

The 1940s, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The story takes place over a period of seven years.

Characters

Plot

Reuven and Danny meet at a inter-yeshiva baseball game. A ball hit by Danny hits Reuven's glasses, and almost blinds one of his eyes. Danny comes to visit Reuven in the hospital, and the two strike up a friendship.

The story follows Reuven and Danny through their high school years. Reuven once comes to visit Danny at his shul. He sees that every Shabbat afternoon, Danny and his father engage in a battle of wits regarding knowledge of the Talmud. Throughout high school, Danny becomes interested in psychology and teaches himself German to be able to read Freud in the original.

Danny and Reuven go to Hirsch College, a Modern Orthodox institution in Brooklyn. While there, discussion about the State of Israel arises, and Reuven's father becomes an active Zionist. Unfortunately, Danny's sect is very anti-Zionist, and so Reuven and his father are put in cherem, a Jewish form of excommunication, until the Israeli War of Independence. Reuven becomes very depressed while this is going on. Meanwhile, Danny becomes serious about going into psychology, as opposed to taking over leadership of his sect from his father. He becomes ever more fearful about facing his father. However, in the end, Reb Saunders gives up and lets Danny follow his wishes.

Themes

External themes

While the story is taking place, many references are made to outside events, including World War Two, the Holocaust, and the founding of the state of Israel. Potok reveals the reactions of different groups to each of these events.

Internal themes

Growing up, father-son communication, and friendship are all themes of the story. Chaim Potok reveals the challenges of growing up in different worlds: the exposed and the closed off. He shows the difficulty of fathers in communicating with their sons as they grow up, and the changes that take place in the way father and son relate. Also, Potok illustrates the need for companionship among maturing boys, and the close relationship that arises as young adults develop.



The sequel to this book is The Promise .



The Chosen was made into a movie in 1981, and into a play in 2004.

External Links

Last updated: 08-14-2005 19:36:56
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