Quote 2 particular lines or passages from within Chap 5-12: one that feels imp’t to the text and one that feels imp’t to you, and explain why they feel imp’t. End your post w/ a question. (Note page #s, and skip a line between paragraphs.)
Also, reply to at least one student's post.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading chapters 5 -12 of The Chosen, one line that struck me as important to the text, was right before Reuven met Reb Saunders for the first time. Danny says to Reuven, “He’s a really great man, my father. He saved his community. He brought them all over to America after the First World War.” (page 117). I found this line interesting, because it highlights the difference between Danny and Reuven’s home and family lives. Reuven and his father have a very close bond, since Reuven’s mother died when he was young, and he seems to have no other relatives around. Reuven admires his father, and though their relationship is complex, it is far less tense than Danny and Reb’s. Danny has a very different home life than Reuven. His father rarely talks with him unless it regards his education. Also, Reb treats his immediate family, and the family of his congregation the same. It feels almost as if Danny is trying here to convince Reuven that Reb really is a good man.
ReplyDeleteOne line that felt important to me, was during chapter six when David Malter said, “Reuven, as you grow older you will discover that the most important things that will happen to you will often come as a result of silly things, as you call them- "ordinary things" is a better expression. That is the way the world is.” (page 110) This line lead me to think about the drastic change from Reuven hating Danny after the baseball game, to becoming his best friend throughout the novel. It is kind of bizarre how quickly and dramatically people can change. I think that this book has done a good job of illustrating how a different perspective can change everything. This brings me to my question. While Reuven was meeting the Saunders family, he said he met Danny’s sister and mother, but never said what their names were. Do you think that this is because he doesn’t have any female loved ones, or is it simply because they aren’t overall significant characters?
Response #3
DeleteI personally think that the author didn’t say the names because they were not a major character to the story line. I feel like even though he doesn’t have females in his life, if he felt that they were important to the storyline he would have mentioned their names anyway.
Blog #3
ReplyDeleteThere was so much reading through chapters 5 - 12 in “The Chosen”, that it was really hard to choose only one quote that was important to the book, since there were so many. I think the one that stood out the most for me is in chapter 10, when Danny is trying to learn how to read Freud. “Freud had to be studied, not read.” (171) Even though Danny was told this, he ended up doing the opposite, which actually ended up working better for him. After he started to read, he started to learn Freud and do much better with it. The reason I chose this quote is because it shows that only you can truly find the way that you personally learn best, and it is nearly impossible for other people to pick the ways that you learn.
One line that was important to me was from Chapter 6, “Reuven, as you grow older you will discover that the most important things that will happen to you will often come as a result of silly things, as you call them - "ordinary things" is a better expression. That is the way the world is.” (page 110) This quote was important to me because one of the people who are my best friends now, was someone I didn’t actually like at first, for some stuipid thing, But now that I have gotten to know him, he is one of my best friends.
Which leads me to my question, do you think this was the case with Danny and Reuven, or do you think they just happened to become friends?
I personally think they became friends as a result of a “silly thing.” During the game they both hated each other, but because of the incident with Reuven getting hit in the eye they were able to meet each other in the hospital which ultimately led them to become friends. Reuven even says on page 110, “it all started with a silly baseball game.” Without the baseball game and Reuven in the hospital they both probably would have continued on with their lives, resenting each other, and this is why I think just a silly incident caused them to become friends.
DeleteI was debating whether or not t use the quote you used for your Quote-that-was-important-to-you-quote. I found it interesting for the same reasons you did. I do think they became friends because of the reasons you stated, but after reading Hunter's reply. I am beginning to think that they were just made to be friends and the baseball game just made it happen. Good blog post!
DeleteOne part I feel, is very important to the text is on page 201, when Danny explains how he doesn't want to take his father’s place as a tzaddik, but instead he wants to have his brother take the position. Reuven responds to this by saying, “Your home hasn’t blown up recently, so I take it you haven’t told your father” (201). Danny responds by saying “No, I haven’t. And I’m not going to, either. Not yet” (201). I felt that this was important to the text, because it gives the reader some insight on what is going to happen later on. It shows that there will be a major conflict later in the plot between Danny and his father once he tells him that he doesn’t want to take the position. This will also affect Reuven, since Danny says that Reuven will need to be there when he tells his father. Overall I thought this part makes the reader start to think about the future of the plot and what will happen once Danny explains how he doesn't want the job.
ReplyDeleteA part in the book that felt important to me was on page 173, when Reuven attempts to call Billy and Billy’s father picks up. He tells Reuven, “Billy is in Albany with friends of mine. My company has transferred me to Albany. We’re moving out today” (173). This was important to me, because it reminded me of the times where I have received news when it was too late to say goodbye, especially when the news has been received over the phone. My question relates back to my first paragraph. Since we know Reuven will be there once Danny confesses he doesn’t want the job, do you think this event will bring them closer as friends or cause them to drift apart?
I think it will cause them to become closer friends, because Reuven has consistently supportive of Danny, but they might become separated after Danny tells his father. Danny's father might blame Rueven for Danny not wanting to take his father's place, so his father might not let Danny see Rueven.
DeleteThere were many lines that I thought were important to the text but some that stood out to me were when after the war ended and all the war stories were released to the public. Reuven’s dad as well as Danny’s took the news of how many Jews were slaughtered very personal and they both went through periods of grief. “and I walked out and left him there, crying, and went to my room.” (189) Reuven’s dad was more upset about the numbers while Reb Saunders took it really personally, “and sometimes at the kitchen table I would see him begin to cry suddenly…” (193) This is because Reb Saunders is a tzaddik and he has to suffer what other people have suffered. I thought this was important because it shows some of the effects of World War II had on certain people.
ReplyDeleteA line that I thought was interesting was when Danny is expressing his feelings about his life.” I want to be able to breathe, to think what I want to think, to say the things I want to say. I’m trapped now, too.” (202) I think Danny feels very trapped by all the expectations that are set upon his shoulders by his father and his faith. Since Danny was able to share that with Reuven, it shows how much he trusts Reuven and relies on him as a friend. “Danny never went to the movies. They were forbidden by his father, he said.” (176) This quote shows how he is being trapped by his father. A question that I raised was during the multiple times Danny offers to walk Rueven to his house. Every time he stops about halfway at the exact spot where Rueven and his father pray. “We had come to the corner of the synagogue in which my father and I prayed. Danny stopped.” (145) My question is, is Danny being secluded by all other people that don’t share his faith and if so is it because of his father?
I think that Danny’s faith does isolate him from certain parts of society. However, I think it if his father wasn’t so hard on him it wouldn’t make a difference. Danny faces so much pressure just from his father. It is constricting him in many ways. For example, he doesn’t want to become a rabbi, but fears that his father will reject him otherwise. Reb also seems to be less welcoming to people or ideas outside of his own faith. I hope that as the novel goes on, Danny will gain independence.
DeleteIn these chapters I found a lot of quotes that I thought were important to the text, but one really stood out. In Chapter 8 when Rueven goes to meet Danny at the Library and they talk about a book about the Jews history, “He says here that Dov Baer used to crack vulgar jokes to make people happy, and that he used to encourage his followers his followers to drink alcohol...My father isn’t like that at all.” (153). This is really tough moment for Danny because he’s releasing what terrible things past people in his father’s position have done. I think this is important to the book because this is when Danny realises that his part of judaism isn’t as good as he thought it was. Another quote on that page about this passage was when Danny said “It’s awful to have someone give an image like that of yourself ” (153). Along with his realization about his religion he realizes that people think bad things about his beliefs and voice them in hurtful ways.
ReplyDeleteA line that I thought was interesting was when Rueven and his father were talking about Danny’s , “‘ It is cruel, Rueven. But that is the way the world is. ”’ (147). Those words are so powerful, because that's the way the world works even back in the 1940s. I feel as though well talking with his dad Rueven understands more about Danny’s life and how lucky he is that he doesn’t have to be put under that pressure every week. My question is why does Danny’s father forced him to be put on display like that?
One quote that I really enjoyed was the first three paragraphs on page 97. The authors use of descriptions really helped create the scene and build a world that my brain was able to easily visualize. I read more on the Shabbat and was then really able visualize what was on the table. One specific quote that I enjoyed from this was “He was holding his glass of tea in his hands, the bottom of the glass resting upon his left palm, the body of the glass encircled by his right hand,...” (97). I really liked this part because it is so specific that it gave me chills. It also answered a question I had from the first week: “Will the narrator use more of these descriptions?”
ReplyDeleteAnother quote that I enjoyed is on page 110. In this scene Reuven is describing a dream he had in which a bunch of things are going on. “Someone was playing a piano nearby and the music drifted slowly in and out of my mind like the ebb and flow of the ocean sure I almost recognized the melody, it slipped a cool silken wind from my grasp. (110”. I enjoyed this quote because I tend to remember what happened in my dreams, but I can’t always remember certain things from it. Much like reuven I sometimes wake up and be able to understand what was in my dream but not be able to recognize it. This is much like the song Reuevn heard. The question I end with is this: Will something come between Reuven and Danny’s growing relationship?
No, I don’t think anything more will come between them. The whole book starts off with the mention of Danny and I imagine it will end with him as well. Both boys already have an unusual relationship, with being part of different Jewish groups. I think their relationship will continue to thrive and even if there is a hardship between them, Danny has no one to go to other than Rueven for his problems so I imagine there will not be a permanent obstruction between the two.
Delete