This file is copyright of Jens Schriver (c) 
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Essay Name       : 908.txt 
Uploader         : Shit!, if I told you that my teacher might find out...NOT GOOD!
Email Address    : 
Language         : English
Subject          : Fictional Stories
Title            : Chaim Potok's book:  The Chosen
Grade            : An "A" I hope!  Oh, grade!, I'm in 10th
School System    : Shitty One!  High School
Country          : USA
Author Comments  : This book sucks!,  Can not find crap on this book, yer lucky if you found this!,  It is hard to find stuff about this book!
Teacher Comments : I have not turned in the paper yet...
Date             : 11-11-96
Site found at    : I was lucky, uhm, I went under Keyword:  Research
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Released in 1967, The Chosen became a bestseller. Author Dr. Chaim Potok's knowledge
of Jewish culture and his knowledge of philosophy greatly influenced this piece of
literature helping him to create a realistic setting with a believable scenario. 

Centered around Brooklyn, two teens, Reuven Maulters and Danny Saunders become
best friends. Because of the fact that their fathers are leaders of different Jewish beliefs,
hatred clashed between them when they first met. This hatred lead to the injury of
Reuven, but was the key that opened their long lasting friendship and eventually, the key
that made it possible for Danny's father to have the courage to talk to Danny. 

The critics agree that all the main characters in this novel were all unique. One of these
characters is Danny.  Danny was a person who was very smart, a person of his caliber
was born once in a few lifetimes. “In many of the books I have read, there is always at
least one person who has a superabnormal characteristic.” (Toguchi, Mark). Reuven is a
likable person who is also smart, but nowhere close to Danny. Reb Saunders, Danny's
father, is inconsistent at many times. “He had mood swings often, but I think this was
made intentionally to show how much he is affected by the silent relationship with his
son.” (Merkin, Daphne).  Mr. Malters, Reuven's father, is an adult who constantly gives
advice and takes charge of all situations. “To me, he seems a little unreal because he is
always right and has a solution to everything.” (Toguchi, Mark). 

“In dialogue, I thought Reb Saunders was the most effective person. Whenever he talked
to people, it made the reader want to listen to him. Whenever he was furious, I was
blown away by the intensity. Danny's dialogue showed how he wasn't perfect because he
responded to some situations negatively.” (Wise, Ruth R.). 

The theme seemed to be that a good relationship with your parents is vital. Both Danny
and his father were miserable by there current relationship. “I think the author is trying to
tell the audience that people shouldn't get so caught up in life that they sacrifice time
with the people they love.” (Merkin, Daphne). 

What made the novel exciting was how Potok presented Reb Saunders through
description and dialogue. Reb had so many mood swings, that I was always trying to
guess what would happen whenever he came into the scene. The baseball scene at the
beginning of the novel was intense because of the hatred and rivalry between Danny and
Reuven. “The author did an excellent job in writing the baseball scene, which set the
tone for the whole novel.” (Toguchi, Mark). 

The originality, the intensity, and the uniqueness of each character in this novel made it
excellent. The way Potok wrote about the little known topic of Jewish culture lived up to
be a bestseller. 
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