ipl-logo

Religion In The Chosen, By Chaim Potok

1162 Words5 Pages

Religion itself, is the belief in a superhuman or entity that guides us. It acts as a set of standards that affects our faith and ideas on morality, beliefs and the way to live our lives. In The Chosen, by Chaim Potok, it is clearly visible that religion affects people tremendously. Both Reuven and Danny are Jewish yet, they are divided due to religious differences between Hasidism and Orthodox Judaism, in Brooklyn, New York during the mid-1940s. With such differences in cultures, the boys face tensions caused by their limiting religion. And as displayed throughout the novel, Reuven Malter finds that his religion brings him comfort, whereas for Danny Saunders it causing limitations that he must face to overcome this restricting religion, so he can embrace what the world has to offer.
Reuven as well as his father, …show more content…

Reuven’s father teaches his son that there is much in the world to understand, between all peoples. When David brings his son a radio while he is in the hospital, he tells his son that, “The radio brought the world together” (Potok 52). And because of this, he refers to it as a blessing. His father is not one to accept things as they are and believe that it is purely by the word of God. After all, David Malter is a teacher. He uses scientific criticism to observe God’s Commandments (135). His father also makes Reuven aware of pain he can cause someone, and instead of reprimanding him he allows the words of the Talmud to guide him. David Malter refers to the Talmud in

Show More
Related

  • Important Events In The Friendship Of Reuven And Danny

    176 Words  | 1 Pages

    While Reuven is in the Hasidic synagogues, he sees how the Hasidic men treat Danny and Reb Saunders like their God. Reb Saunders Reuven about gematriya as a way of proving if he is worthy to become Danny’s friend. Reuven feels like he passed the test by pointing out a mistake in one of the gematriyot. The Hasidic

    Read More

  • Vision As A Motif In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

    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

  • Analysis Of Chaim Potok's The Chosen

    782 Words  | 4 Pages

    Thus, throughout Chaim Potok’s novel The Chosen, Reuven Malter exhibits immense courage in every situation, compassion towards Danny and Billy, and respect in regards to his father. Even in the midst of many trying

    Read More

  • Reb Saunders Quotes

    1310 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

    1015 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie Crawford, a woman who is in search of her authentic self and for real love goes through a journey where she survives and triumphs through three different marriages. Janie's meaning of love is defined during the pear tree vision she experiences. Hurston exposes Janie to the erotic feeling of pleasure of a relationship at the age of sixteen. As Janie "saw a dust bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom" (Hurston 11), Janie’s women hood started beyond this point as she came to a revelation “so this was a marriage” (Hurston 11), she translated the feeling of pleasure she felt from the pear tree into what a relationship of marriage is and meant to her. Hurston takes us

    Read More

  • David Van Biema's The Gospel Truth

    369 Words  | 2 Pages

    When it comes to knowing and learning the religions of the world one must approach them with a critical mind. One cannot simply just believe every religion and know have their own view points. David Van Biema presents his ideas about Christianity and Jesus in “The Gospel Truth?”. Van Biema’s main point is about how “Matthew, Mark, Luke and John… is notoriously unreliable,” . Van Biema writes about how one cannot be completely sure about whether to believe if Jesus actually said what is written in the bible, he continues to say that Jesus may even be an “imaginative theological construct” .

    Read More

  • Mitch Albom's Eulogy

    1420 Words  | 6 Pages

    Instead of selfishly wanting to experience all of the world that he can, the Reb is content to make an impact on the lives of those he encounters while he is still here. For example, Mitch may have just forgotten about his old rabbi and his faith if the Reb had not asked Mitch to do his eulogy. The Reb decided to invest in Mitch and trust him to carry on his memory, especially by doing his eulogy. He must have had a lot of faith in Mitch to trust him in this way. This could have also been the Reb’s way of “touching everything”; he takes chances on people whenever her can in hopes of them remembering him and his

    Read More

  • Reuven Malter In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

    629 Words  | 3 Pages

    Abraham Lincoln said, “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” A person’s character defines them. In Chaim Potok’s book The Chosen, the reader gains an understanding of the character qualities of Reuven Malter. Reuven proves himself a kindhearted young man through his behavior towards Danny Saunders as well as many others.

    Read More

  • Characters In The Chosen By Chaim Potok

    532 Words  | 3 Pages

    “‘Before you tell me how much you hate me,’ he said quietly, ‘let me tell you that I’m sorry about what happened. ’”(p.61). Danny also displays his uneasiness toward Reuven when he asks his father, Reb Saunders, if Reuben can stay at their house since Mr. Malter, Reuven’s dad, got extremely sick and had to stay in the hospital for a month. Danny also explained what he read to Reuven so that Reuven could understand it also. Danny showed how worried he was toward Reuven multiple times in the

    Read More

  • Reuven In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

    717 Words  | 3 Pages

    Reuven is stubborn and willing to hold on to his own opinions even when there are evidences showing that he is not right. As the story approaches its end, Reuven is still continuing to make rash choices based off of his feelings rather than learning more about the situation. When Danny tells Reuven that his father wants him to come over for Passover, Reuven has no intention to, and tells his father about the invitation. However, Reuven’s father is oddly upset when he learns Reuven has been refusing the invitations: “[Reb Saunders] has been asking all long”

    Read More

  • Blindness In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

    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.

    Read More

  • Differences Between Danny And Reuven

    179 Words  | 1 Pages

    This quote introduces one of the many themes that are shown throughout the entire novel-the contrast between people and their diverse ideas. In their antagonistic relationship, Danny is portrayed as a formidable opponent and a possible rival for Reuven. Even during their first meeting with one another, almost immediately, Reuven notices the obvious differences between him and Danny. For starters, Reuven is Orthodox whereas Danny is part of a different sect of Judaism, known as Hasidism. Despite their contrasting appearances and beliefs, the two boys are also similar in many ways; they both play an important role in their softball teams including the genuine devotion they both have towards their own religion.

    Read More

  • Spiritual Conflicts In The Promise By Chaim Potok

    1558 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Religion In The Stranger, By Albert Camus

    251 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Stranger, the crucifix appears to represent Christianity, a religion that Monsieur Meursault refuses to believe in or accept. Additionally, it represents rational beliefs that the magistrate attempts to thrust upon Meursault. He wants Meursault to accept God so that his sin will be forgiven. However, Meursault rejects the notion that his life have any significance or rational explanation.

    Read More

  • Cain And Abel By Elie Wiesel

    723 Words  | 3 Pages

    day for God was different than what is associated with a day today. God perceived “time very differently-even thousands of years must pass quite quickly for him” (Kugel 49). God did not create the world in what we consider 6 days today, and Adam did die on the day he disobeyed God. The story of the original sin and the disobedience between Adam, Eve and God and their punishment teaches a valuable lesson that God’s promises are certain.

    Read More

More about Religion In The Chosen, By Chaim Potok

Open Document