1. Quote one line/passage OR note one image from within Chap 13-18 that feels imp’t to the text, and write a paragraph explaining why. (Note page #.)
2. What has this book left you thinking about? Explain. End your post w/ a question.
3. Also, reply to at least one student's post.
(Skip a line between paragraphs.)
3. Also, reply to at least one student's post.
(Skip a line between paragraphs.)
A quote that I thought was important to the chapters we read, was after Danny’s father admits he knows about Danny not wanting to take his position, and he says to him, “Forgive me... for everything …. I have done,” (288). I felt this was important because I think Danny finally was able to understand why his father was so silent all these years. I also think it gave him peace of mind to know his father supported him in doing what makes him happy even if his father didn’t completely agree with his choice. This part also gave Danny a better appreciation of his father’s choice to not speak to him, and why he decided to do it, after the years of not knowing and sadness Danny endured because of it. Overall I think this part brought all the confusion of why Reb Saunders did what he did to a close, in which Danny was now able to respect and fully understand his father’s choice.
ReplyDeleteFor me the book left me feeling hopeful about the characters futures. For instance, it left me feeling hopeful that Danny and Reuven would remain friends, since throughout the book they had gone through so much together. The ending also made me feel hopeful that over time Danny and Reb Saunders would become a lot closer, after having the reasoning behind the silence explained. Overall I think the book left off on a good note, giving room for the readers to think about what will happen next in the characters lives. And this brings me to my question.
Why do you think the book was called The Chosen?
I was wondering this too. I feel like it's called the Chosen because Danny and Rueben were chosen to be together. Like when Reb Suanders was talking with Rueven he said that god sent Rueben and his dad to help Danny find his way. That could be why it's called that.
DeleteA passage that I thought was important to the text was during Chapter 13 when Reuven is concerned about his father’s health and well-being. Reuven’s father picks up the conversation when Rueven tells him, “I wish you’d take it a little easy,” (215). His father responds to this by explaining to Reuven why it isn’t the time to take it “easy” with all the violence happening in Palestine. His father really starts to upset Reuven when he talks about life and that it’s importance to have a meaning. I think this passage of the text is important because it tells the reader how important it is to fight for what you believe in (even if you need rest). When you fight for what you believe in it gives your life a purpose and a meaning. I think this is what Reuven’s father was talking about.
ReplyDeleteAfter finishing this book it left me thinking about the very beginning of the book and how much Danny and Rueven’s friendship has progressed. At first they were enemies and wanted to kill each other, and now at the end of the book they seem to be lifelong friends. Both friends care so deeply about eachother, and when they were separated by Danny’s father it was torture for the both of them. Which shows how much they depend on one another. A question I have about the book is how come Reb Saunders and Rueven’s father never met or exchanged words? I feel like this could be an idea for another book just from a different perspective.
I agree it would have been interesting to read about them meeting, but I think they both had very different views and therefore they didn’t ever meet. I think they both respected each other, and also respected the fact that they had the right to their own opinion, but I think they both disagreed with the others beliefs too much to talk to one another. For example when Reuven was staying with Danny while his dad was in the hospital and Zionism was mentioned, Reb Saunders blew up. I think this shows that even though we know Reb Saunders thinks highly of Reuven’s father, he disagrees too much with his views to talk to him. It would have been interesting to read a discussion where the two discuss their different views though.
DeleteA passage I thought was very important was towards the end of the book at chapter 17 when Rueven and his father are talking about how Danny was raised, “‘What kind of way is that to raise a son?”’ “‘It is, perhaps, the only way to raise a tzaddik.”’ “‘I'm glad I wasn't raised that way.''’ “‘Reuven,”’ “my father said softly,” “‘I did not have to raise you that way. I am not a tzaddik.”’ (251). In this book it’s so easy for Rueven to judge Danny’s lifestyle looking in from the outside, but I feel like Rueven’s dad understands how Danny’s religion works. So Rueven’s dad is trying to get Rueven to be a little less harsh on them, and try to put himself in Reb Suanders shoes.
ReplyDeleteThis book really made me think about how diffrent Danny and Rueven’s worlds are. It really is mindblowing to me that two types of Jews can live such completely different lives. Before this book I didn’t even know how different they were. My question is a big one and it’s briefly visited throughout the book but I never really got a clear direct answer. Why did these two types of Jews turn out to be so different from each other? They do have their similarities, but they have a lot of differences. Like what they wear, how they act and specifically for Danny what they can do.
I thought the same thing. I noticed that when you mentioned that Reuven's father trying to get Rueven to walk in other peoples shoes. This made me think of Reuvens father as a kind of Atticus Finch character. I also really liked how talked about the two types of Judaism that were shown in the book. You had a very good question too. I think this same question is also one of the reasons why so many different religions are hated or looked down upon. there are any different religions, and each religion has its own denominations (sub religions). Each with there own beliefs/values. It is many of these values that are the reason that many people find certain regions disagreeable. I think it is also the reason that Danny and Reuven had some complications due to family.
DeleteThis book was filled with great imagery and quotes. Many parts I was totally able to visualize exactly what was going on in the book. One quote that stuck out to me in the text was not so much a line, but an entire section. On pages 254-256 Reuven, Danny, and Reuvens father are talking to Danny about his decision to not become a rabbi. Reuven's father tells Danny “It will be a very uncomfortable situation”(254). This made me think about my mother and how she is a pastor and about a time when I was in a situation like this. The situation I was in was nothing like Danny’s situation . I remember one time, This guy comes up to me after a service and tells me that since my mother is the pastor I will become one too. This was very awkward because I never thought about being a minister, and I definitely don’t want to be a minister. While this is nothing close to what Danny is having to go through, I can relate on a microscopic level.
ReplyDeleteThis book left me with a better understanding about friendship and how Reueven and Danny’s friendship grew throughout the book. For instance, at the beginning of the book, Reueven hated Danny, and they seemed as though they were gonna be enemies in the book. At then end however, they became so close they were almost brothers. My final question is: If the book was to progress and go on, how would their friendship change throughout their age? Would they move and then become slowly move apart? Or would they be together?
To answer your question, I personally think that they will forever stay friends, no matter their age or if they are far apart. When Danny’s father let Danny and Reuven talk to each other again towards the end of the book, they talked and acted as if nothing had changed in the two years they hadn’t talked. That really showed the importance of their friendship and how close they really were to each other.
DeleteI wonder this too, and I think that if the book were to go on much further, that the author would have the two of them drift slowly, maybe having the two of them hear from one another every once and a while.
ReplyDeleteBlog #4
ReplyDeleteThe author really crammed a lot of information throughout the final reading of the last five chapters of The Chosen. I found myself often going back and rereading parts to gain a full understanding of what was going on throughout the story. One of the lines that really stood out to me and showed how much detail the author put into the book, was the last paragraph of chapter 18. “We shook hands and I watched him walk quickly away, tall, lean, bent forward with eagerness and hungry for the future, his metal capped shoes tapping against the sidewalk. Then he turned into Lee Avenue and was gone.” (271) I chose this quote mainly because of the amount of detail that the author had put into this line. I could really imagine this whole scene with the emotion and the way he was walking away, but I could mainly imagine the part where he turned the corner, and couldn’t see him any more.
One thing that this story really left me wondering is why the author decided to have Danny and Reuven start off not being friends, then going through the main part of the book being friends, and then going back to not being friends, and finally ending the book mutually. This takes me to my question, which is whether the author had done this to show character development throughout the story?
DeleteI think that Potok may have done this to show character development and thicken the plot. If Danny and Reuven had remained perfectly happy and joyous friends throughout the entirety of the novel, there wouldn’t have been any real motive to keep reading. Personally, I think that the times that their friendship faltered was what kept the book interesting and left me wondering. However, Potok also may have done this simply because it is realistic.
After reading Chaim Potok’s The Chosen, one line that felt important to the text, was during chapter eighteen when Danny was “set free” from his father’s high expectations. “I saw Danny’s mouth fall open. His body gave a single convulsive shudder.” (Potok, 282) I think that this quote, and the passages that followed it had very strong imagery. It was easy to envision the scene in my own mind, especially when Reuven said that Reb was talking to Danny through him. It was also a major shock for Danny, as he was finally unrestrained. It was evident that though Reb was looking at, and addressing Reuven, his words were meant for Danny. This image made me sad and surprised all at once. It was interesting how Danny reacted to the news. He was emotionally and physically overwhelmed, unsurprisingly so. He has just found out that he can be whoever he wants to be, after believing all this time that his life was a paved road since the day he was born.
ReplyDeleteThe Chosen has left me thinking about different circumstances everybody has in life. For example, it was ironic how Reueven could become anything but wanted to be a rabbi, and Danny wanted to be anything except for a rabbi. Throughout the book, a strong theme that I saw was friendship. Danny and Reuven’s friendship was an accident, yet flourished into the most precious and fragile bond. At the beginning of the novel, I wasn’t sure that Danny and Reuven’s odd connection would last. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would like to read the sequel. One question that I have for my peers, is how do you see metaphorical themes of war throughout the book?