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 #.) Skip a line between paragraphs, since you cannot indent on the blog.
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.
Reb Saunders was the most important image for me. He was kind of interesting about the way he raised his son. I understand what he tried to do by raising Danny the way his father raise him ,but that is not how it works on everyone, it worked for him but maybe not on his son. As he said it was in America not Europe, there was a lot of things to do out there, except studying the Talmud he needed to be a father to his son, and teach him both the religion life and the outside world. I think that would have given him an opportunity to know what his son was interested in , instead of letting him go out and struggle by himself, being scared of his father as if he was monster which later turned out to be bad because he almost killed Reuven by shooting that ball with anger which almost blinded Reuven. I don't know how he thought that Danny was going to grow up in fear and in life that does not give him choices. where he was born with a wife, and maybe his life was planned before he was born. The way Danny lived with his father was not normal it was as if it was a life of a boss and a worker they only talk for profession related things , which i think was the same way with Danny and his father , they only had a conversation on Talmud and that was it. Red saunders never knew what was going on with his son's life what if he ends up making wrong choices and maybe it would be too late to bring him back.
ReplyDeleteThis book has let me thinking about how sometimes parents could think that they are making the right decisions for their children ,and not realize how hard they are making it for their children not to pursue or follow their path. Parents sometimes make the children know what they want them to be, which also leaves them no choice , and they have no choice but to please their parents. In book it shows how hard it is for Danny to get to whatever he wants to be. Which is one of the reasons i think parents should be supportive to whatever their children decides to do because that might be more helpful and easier for them to follow their own path, and if they mess up they will have they own way out , and parents would not blame it on themselves. Do you think parents blame themselves on mistakes made by their children?
I do think some parents feel responsible for the mistakes, and even successes, of their children. As a parent, you are responsible for the care of your child. Making sure they are fed, clothed, clean, etc. You are suppose to teach them discipline, manners, common sense, and the right decisions. After a while, your child is able to care for themselves and make their own decisions. Despite how a parent raised their child, that child is their own person and can and will do whatever they please. Although some parents do blame or praise themselves for their child's mistakes or successes, they really should not.
DeleteThe final paragraph in The Chosen gives closure: "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." The on and off friendship between Danny and Reuven ends with this. Danny, instead of pursuing his planned future, goes on to discover his own passion, whatever it may be. He finally escapes the boundaries that were set by his father, and this left me wondering. He walks around a corner, and he is gone. Although there is some closure for Danny and Reuven, there is no more information on what the two accomplish later in their lives.
ReplyDeleteThis book left me thinking about how a career is not worth pursuing if there isn't passion. Reuven's father finds activism and feels like he is exactly where he is supposed to be. When Danny's future is planned for him, he feels restricted, and no one should have to go through life doing something that doesn't satisfy them or give them happiness. The story made me realize how lucky I am to have parents and friends who stand by me. Is passion in your career something worth fighting for? If so, why?
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DeletePassion in your career is something that would be worth fighting for. A career is a often a choice you make, its your way of contributing to others and yourself through the work you do. The idea that what you will do for the rest of your life being based solely on what your parents or father or mother want for you is not a way to live. The effects you'll have on the people you work with and see while doing so will all be based on passion. If a doctor was forced by their parents to become a doctor, yet they wanted nothing more than to build a restaurant and serve people in a big city, you could see that the passion, the effect on the people they worked with would never equate to what may have been had they fought for their passion and achieved it. It works in many different cases and especially in Danny's case. Had Danny become a rabbi instead of working in psychology and becoming everything he wanted to be, you could see he would be miserable, his heart would never be in his career as it was never his passion. There may never be an entirely right answer to this question but passion will always drive people forward.
DeleteI think passion in your life is something worth fighting for. It's something that you want to do because you believe you can accomplish something in a very good way or you can make some innovations in whatever you are passionate about. If you are not passionate about something I don't think you would be proud of what you do it would just be something that you do either because you are forced to do it or you don't have any other choice so I think there is no point in doing something that you are not passionate about.
DeleteA passage that seemed important to the text was when Reuven’s father had just learned that Danny’s father had been asking to see Reuven, and Reuven had only just figured out that he wanted to talk to him about Danny.
ReplyDelete“‘Why didn’t he tell me?’”
“‘Reuven, he did tell you. You have not been listening”’
“‘All these weeks–”’
“Listen next time. Listen when someone speaks to you’” (277)
Reuven does not like to listen to, or respect, people he is angry with, but he has to. I think this was one of the most important things Reuven learned from his father, and he was still learning it at this point in the book, though his father had been reminding him of its importance for years. He had to tell Reuven to listen to Danny when he first came to visit after the baseball accident when he was fifteen. Reuven had to learn that being angry with someone did not make it okay to ignore their pleas for help. The characters in the book also learned, along with us, that people aren’t always entirely who we think they are. They are, in part, who we think, but people are many things, and you will never like all of them. You have to accept that they can’t be forced to become different people.
The book left me thinking about the relationship between Danny and Reb Saunders. Reb Saunders raised Danny in silence–he put him through years of pain at not understanding it, and not being able to speak to his father. Reb Saunders didn’t claim that it was the best way–he said, “‘a wiser father… may have done differently. I am not… wise’” (288). However, to him, suffering seemed like the only way for his brilliant son to learn empathy, so he was willing to put him through it. What struck me the most was that Danny said that, if he saw no other way, he, too, would raise a child in silence. Was Danny’s father right? Did Danny really only become who he was because of his Reb Saunders’s silence? Was it worth it?
I almost wonder if Danny might judge whether or not it was worth it based on how the rest of his life goes. If Danny becomes an unsuccessful therapist and doesn't manage to fulfill his father's expectations for being a tzaddik no matter what he did with his life he might not deem that all the anguish he went through as a child was worth it. Perhaps his degree in psychology will allow him to find other ways to raise a compassionate child. Perhaps his brilliant mind combined with the passion instilled by his father will be enough to raise a child without forcing the child through that.
DeleteFYI: There is a sequel to this book called "The Promise." Copies are in my room. Next quarter we'll ask students to read a book on their own, and you could always choose this book if you so desire.
ReplyDeleteA quote that was important to the text was on page 217. “I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant.”. This quote was important because it seems to be the underlying message in the book. The friendship that Danny and Reuven have is what they are doing to fill that tiny span with meaning. The time you have on this earth does not carry the meaning. It is what you do in the time given to you that has the carries the meaning. Their friendship is immeasurable even though the time they were given for their friendship would eventually come to an end.
ReplyDeleteThis book has left me thinking about the value of friendship. We all go through life with friends. Over time these friendships begin to change. As they change we learn lessons along the way. Reuven and Danny were two people that found each other at the right time. They were both there for each other to confide in and learn from. Their friendship was immeasurable. Their friendship changed both of them in ways that they may never have thought possible. That is the power of friendship. I wonder how Danny continued to see life differently after the end of the book. How did his friendship with Danny impact the rest of his life?
I believe that Rueven's friendship with Danny allowed him to open his eyes in a way he never would have been able to do otherwise. Because of Danny, Rueven saw an entirely different lifestyle, and was able to form his own views of it, not just adopt his father's views. This is something he would have been able to take with him through the rest of his life. It taught him to be a more open, thoughtful, and overall wiser person. In addition, Rueven really grasped the importance of friendship through his relationship with Danny. They were so different, but cared for each other so much that they worked out all their differences, and learned to hear each other's views without judgment. This taught Rueven to put effort into the ones you love.
DeleteAbby this is a really interesting post. I agree with Skyra and believe that their friendship has taught Reuven many valuable life lessons that he will carry with him forever. In the beginning, Reuven, had a very negative connotation of Danny's lifestyle and through their friendship he learned a lot about tolerance and acceptance. He also learned that you do not have to dislike or shut out people you do not completely agree with, in fact, sometimes they provide you with deeper insight and a new way of thinking. Overall, I think their friendship taught Reuven not to judge a book by its cover and to go through life with an open mind creating your own path and opinions.
DeleteI bet that Danny and Reuven stay friends for the rest of their lives, and so their friendship will continue to have an influence. They are going different ways, so they will continue to learn from each other, but I don't think they are going to change each others lives so drastically as before. Now that Danny is speaking with his father, he and Reb Saunders don't need Reuven to connect them, so the first years of their friendship will influence the following years of his life more than the later ones.
DeleteI would agree that when Reuven’s father told Reuven this, it summed up the underlying theme of friendship in this book. I also think that this quote not only stuck with us the readers, but it also stuck with Reuven. Maybe what his father told him here helped him to appreciate his friendship with Danny and cherish it for the remainder of the book.
DeleteFrom Owen Deffner
The entire passage where Danny and Reuven and Reb were in the room together and Reb explained why he had raised Danny the way he had was incredibly interesting (262-268). What really struck me from it was learning about why Reb knew about Danny's desire to pursue a degree in psychology and (most likely) become a therapist and didn't say anything. And why he was okay with it when he and Danny and Reuven finally discussed it. The whole idea behind raising Danny in that silence was that Reb needed his son to have a soul. To have compassion and to want to carry the suffering of others and not mindlessly thirst for knowledge like his brother did. I think Reb knew for a long, long while that Danny was never going to become a tzaddik. He gave proof of that when he talked about how America was not closed of like Europe was and the access everyone had to knowledge through books and universities. He knew his son's mind and he knew that mind would be drawn towards knowledge. He even said so in the book. As Reb said, he raised his son so that his son would have the soul of a tzaddik regardless of his profession. I think once he learned that Danny was going to become a psychologist and perhaps a therapist that he had succeeded through his method in giving Danny the soul of a tzaddik because therapy is a profession dedicated entirely to helping what I'm sure Reb would refer to as the soul of a person. Rather like a tzaddik would.
ReplyDeleteThis book has left me thinking on mental illnesses. Danny exhibited a couple signs of having some sort of mental illness (which would make a whole lot of sense to me) and I'm just really curious as to what kind(s) he might have. The bit in the beginning of the passage where Reb was describing how Danny behaved when young really struck me there with the complete lack of empathy. He also had some really severe and long lasting mood swings and there were a couple times when he acted a bit manic. I can't really remember much specifically, but I do remember as I read this book that I kept thinking stuff along the lines of, "That sounds like a symptom." I wouldn't mind re-reading the book looking specifically for those signs because it would be really interesting to figure out if he actually had one or if he just exhibited symptoms of some here and there.
This is really interesting Ian! I never really thought about it too much until now. I think to really see you would have to go through the book again and specifically look for it. If this is the case I do wonder how this/ if this has any affect on the book. I would also look for signs in Reuven picks up on it or not.
DeleteI wonder what additional lessons this layer brings to the reading. I agree completely that Danny's academic genius seems to be countered with some sort of disorder. In addition, his abilities seem to torture him. He is depressed often, seemingly because he is smarter than his superiors. His soul often lags behind his mind. This is what his father was trying to teach him. He wanted him to grow into a compassionate, empathetic human, in addition to the once-in-a-generation mind he possessed.
DeleteI think that your observation about mental illness is an original way to look at this text. It is apparent that the characters in this book are constantly subject to intense intellectual discussion that often directly affects their lives. It seems to me that because of this, the development of symptoms of mental illness in multiple characters is very realistic.
DeleteAn image that stood out to me was on page 240. This quote shows the beginning of a problem in our world today. Therefore it is significant. “I cried like a baby when the result was announced, and later, when my father came home, we embraced and wept and kissed, and our tears mingled on our cheeks… The death of six million Jews had finally been given meaning, he kept saying over and over again… After two thousand years, it had finally happened. We were a people again, with our own land… We had been given the opportunity to see the creation of the Jewish state”(240). This is a very powerful moment for many people around the world. Finally after so much torture they were given an opportunity to have a place for themselves where they belonged. Once again it is interesting that even this decision can have opposition by the other Jewish sects. This United Nations vote on the Partition Plan still is current to today. I like being able to see such clear connections through so much time. Israel and Palestine is still a major conflict today. Just recently Israel was going to take property of palestine. The United States position has favored Israel recently especially the Trump administration. This resolution in this book that caused much happiness could be in some way reversed or majorly changed in the near future.
ReplyDeleteThis book left me wondering many things. Specific to the book I wonder about the future of the boys and their relation. However I have larger thoughts and questions about themes mentioned in this book. Both of these kids were different than their families. They were very curious. I wonder how each parenting style affected the boys. Danny was more constricted and he wanted to be more like Reuven at times. Reuven had more control over his life yet was so intrigued with Danny’s super religious way of life. Also I wonder about how these Jewish sects interact now. Is there still such a strong divide?
Your first point is powerful. For your question, I think that there is still a strong divide, but maybe not as prevalent. Between the boys, however, there is not. They have put it aside in order to maintain their friendship. When they are able to move past their long silence, the difference doesn't seem as significant.
DeleteThroughout the entire book Reb Saunders has always been a mysterious, shadowy figure to me. To be honest in several part of the book I began to grow upset with his character. The very end completely reversed that. From the first couple chapters, when Danny was obligated to become a Rabbi and inherit his fathers spot, I felt Danny was trapped. Later it was when Reb Saunders found him reading Freud, when we got closer to the end during the college years when Reb Saunders seemed to have changed completely. From pages 265-68, Reb Saunders came out and explained why he raised Danny the way he had, talking through Reuven to Danny until finally he spoke to Danny. "' Daniel,' Reb Saunders said, speaking almost in a whisper, 'When you go away to study, you will shave off your beard and earlocks?'..." further down, "'You will remain an observer of the commandments?'" (267-68) This part of the passage was very powerful. Throughout the book Danny had felt trapped and this was his freedom through his fathers acceptance of his wishes. On page 269 and 270, during the morning congregation, Reb Saunders announced Danny's freedom to study psychology. He spoke of Danny remaining observant of the commandments and that he had his fathers blessing. His younger son would take on his place. On page 270, Reb Saunders withdrew the promise to the girl Danny was supposed to marry. I always wondered if Danny would end up taking his fathers place or if he would go on to lead the life he wanted to. Which brings me to what I learned from this book.
ReplyDeleteThroughout every chapter of this story something inside me was picked at. It either made me laugh or smile or furious in some places. But from the novel I learned most of all that silence is not a virtue I could endure and friendship is crucial. The relationship between Danny and his father was interesting. Reb Saunders caught on to many of Danny's habits well before they were exposed. If Reuven had never met Danny, there never would have been a voice for Reb to speak to Danny through. When Reuven unearthed Danny's reading to his father, there was acceptance by Reb for both the act and for his son's choices. Danny had a voice telling him to speak to his father, to go for what he wanted and not what he felt was obligated to do and this of course was Reuven. Reuven's father had given wisdom to both his son and to Danny, teaching them both, the importance of expression. If Danny had never applied himself into reading Freud or going to college for psychology, even if it was a form of the subject he hated, it's a possibility Danny would have never freed himself as never having expressed his interests to his father. Silence would never have led to such a an outcome, it was almost like Reuven was his voice. I wish to live my life with some of the virtues they express. I've never worked for what exactly I want, there has always been a place that has been made for me. My friends now have broken me out of the feeling of standards and that I need to apply and express myself and wants and needs before I'll get there. This may be the reason why I felt an instant connection to Danny once I learned who he was. An from this novel I've taken an appreciation for the people who influence me and learning to always speak and apply myself when I need to. Would the outcome of this story have even been possible without a friendship like this? Who would Danny be? Also where can I buy this book?
“‘Rueven, I want you to listen carefully to what I will tell you now.’ He had said: Rueven. His eyes had said: Danny” (282).
ReplyDeleteI felt this line was incredibly important to the text. This is when Reb Saunders begins to explain why he raised Danny the way that he did. What strikes me most about this phrase is that, even after all this time, Reb Saunders is still unable to speak freely to his son. He must still speak through Rueven to Danny. Danny’s whole childhood has been formed around silence. His father understands why this is, and finally, Danny does too. However, Danny is not a child anymore; he is a man. He has learned everything his father intended him to learn through his life of silence, and Reb Saunder does not need to continue to not speak to him. However, this phrase truly shows the toll silence has had on their relationship. Even now, Reb cannot freely express himself to his son. He must use Rueven to do so.
The main thing this book has left me thinking about is the relationship between Danny and his father. Honestly, even after he explained it, I found the way that Reb Saunders chose to raise Danny very confusing. Throughout the book, Rueven and his father talk about how they do not believe in a childhood without speaking. I agree with them. I understand that it had to do with religion and tradition, and that Reb was trying to keep Danny from being soulless and heartless, but I do not understand how this accomplished that. However, I do not think this was the most important part of their relationship. I believe that the importance of their relationship was acceptance. Reb and Danny had significantly different views of how Danny’s life was going to go, but their love for each other overcame these differences. In the end, what was most important to Reb Saunders was that his son was happy and doing something that he loved, which is what all fathers should wish for.
Why did Reb Saunders feel as though the only way to raise a son as brilliant as Danny was to completely shut him out? How did this accomplish what Reb wanted? Was this truly the best way for Danny to be raised?
The entirety of Reb Saunders's, Danny’s, and Reuven’s conversation provoked a very strong image for me, but this passage, especially, created a vivid image:
ReplyDelete“‘Reuven, I did not want my Daniel to become like my brother, may he rest in peace. Better I should have had no son at all than to have a brilliant son who had no soul. I looked at my Daniel when he was four years old, and I said to myself, How will I teach this mind what it is to have a soul? How will I teach this mind to understand pain? How will I teach it to want to take on another person’s suffering? How will I do this and not lose my son, my precious son whom I love as I love the Master of the Universe Himself?’” (265-266)
In this moment, Reb Saunders revealed his reason for instituting silence between himself and Danny and is consequently an important moment for all three characters. When Danny was a child, Reb realized that Danny, although a brilliant boy, had no empathy or compassion for those who have suffered. This devastated Reb. He felt as though his son was brought into this world without a soul. Having mercy, sympathy, and sensitivity towards others were extremely important to Reb; a duty of all tzaddik, and he could not let his precious son live without those qualities. Reb struggled to find a method in which he could show Danny how to feel these emotions but do so without driving his son away. By instilling silence between himself and Danny, Reb believed that he could do just that. He believed the silence would pain Danny and therefore help him feel other’s pain. Reb truly wanted to do the right thing for his son. His actions were out of love; never cruelty. Nothing in the world was more important to Reb than his son, and he was willing to risk losing him in order to bless him with a soul.
After taking a closer look at this passage and realizing how difficult a decision this was for Reb Saunders, it made me think about the decisions parents make every day, and how usually, they are for the well-being of their children. All, if not most, parents want the best for their children. They want them to be happy, healthy, and safe. Reb Saunders had nothing but love for Danny and truly thought this was for the best. Reb sacrificed a normal father and son relationship and possibly the love of his son, just to give him the gift of empathy. It really makes me wonder what my parents have given up or sacrificed to either keep me happy, healthy, or safe. I know this is an opinion based question, but, is there anything stronger than the love from a parent to their child?
“I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something” (217). This quote is important to the text because, to me, it puts the father figures in the story into perspective. In this quote, Reuven’s father is talking about how insignificant human’s lives are, but how significant the humans living them are. In this paragraph, Reuven’s father is giving Reuven his idea of the meaning of life. This, in itself, is important to the book because it shows why he is a rabbi and what religion means to him. It is also important because it can be tied to the messages that both Danny and Reuven’s fathers are giving them. They are both trying to teach their children how to be significant and get the most they can out of life. This, in my opinion, is important to the overall story as well, because I feel as if the point of life or life’s significance is a key theme.
ReplyDeleteWhen I finished the book I was left thinking about the significance of silence. From the very beginning of the book I thought about this concept due to the nature of Reb Saunders and Danny’s relationship. I thought it was odd that Reb Saunders did not speak to his son. I felt as if this was not a healthy relationship. I went through the book considering how it must feel to Danny not having someone to confide in. To me, I feel like losing the open communicative relationship I have with my parents would be significant. By the end of the book, when silence was stressed, I considered it more. This was especially the case when Reuven went to the Saunders’ house for Passover. When Reb Saunders talked to Danny through Reuven, addressing his reasoning for silence, it gave silence a whole new meaning for me. Before, silence was awkward to me. I feel as if this mindset was created by the fact that I grew up in a fairly loud and talkative household. After reading, and realizing, how significant silence was in Danny and his father’s relationship, I looked at it differently. Silence is more than an awkward pause. Sometimes silence can speak volumes. Silence can open your mind in ways words cannot. I feel this is the way Reb Saunders interpreted his father’s quote about words. This, I feel, a large reason that he treated Danny this way.
I wonder if Reb Saunders’ silence in his and Danny’s relationship influenced Danny’s decision to become a psychologist? Was Danny’s pursuit of psychology an attempt to understand his father? If not an evident one, an unconscious effort?
I think that is a very interesting question. I think that somewhere in his subconscious the way Reb raised him made him interested in psychology. Reb was a very complicated man that mostly kept to himself. He was also very pained. Maybe in an attempt to understand his father better, he became interested in psychology.
Delete“Four the rest of that semester, Danny and I ate in the same lunchroom, attended the same classes, studied in the same school synagogue, and often rode in the same trolley car -- and never said a single word to each other (234).”
ReplyDeleteSilence is a central theme of the book. It represents mystery, confusion, and emptiness. The theme is introduced through Danny and Reb’s relationship. None of the characters really knew what to make of it, and, as a reader, neither did I. I wondered, is it a strategy? Is it a mistake? An issue? A statement? A tradition? Silence is, in many ways, the absence of evidence. Drawing conclusions from silence is nearly impossible. This is why silence is so damn interesting in this book: It allows for interpretation from every character, and all of them are on a mission to find out whether it is positive or negative. Once Reb forbids Danny from interacting with Reuven in any way, the protagonist transitions from being confused by silence to despising it. He has lost his best friend (or so he thinks), and the reader’s compassion for Reuven leads to a hatred for the silence imposed by Danny’s father.
Once it is revealed that the silence between Reb and Danny was a strategy to grow compassion, and, in fact, Danny’s father was completely aware of the way Danny was going to stray from carrying on the family burden, countless ideas, thoughts, and emotions flooded into my mind. Again, I was full of questions, but this time, they were proactive questions: Can silence be a helpful tool in relationships? How do you balance tradition with modern common sense? The end of this book was thought provoking to a level that rises beyond literature.
In the case of Danny Saunders I think that the correct method of parenting was silence. I think that the relationship between Danny and Reb was the way it had to be. Reb is an incredibly smart man who recognized that Danny was special and that he needed special parenting to make him a productive, compassionate person. If not for these methods Danny wouldn't be who is now.
Delete"The ban has been lifted," he said simply (260).
ReplyDeleteThis sentence marks the ending of the silence instituted by Reb Saunders nearly two years ago. After two years of no communication between Danny and Reuven the ban is lifted by Reb. The closeness of these two people before Danny was forced to ignore his dear friend was incredible. The toll that the silence would have on Danny's brain would be large. After the two old friends reunite Danny says that he still has no idea why his father did this to him. He also reveled that they never talk still. Reb Saunders still fathers his children with silence. I really liked this quote. It brought these two characters back together after so long and they just picked up right there they left off.
The ending of the book was very surprising to me. When the antagonist Reb Saunders turned out to be a compassionate father who deeply regretted what he thought he had to do to make his son compassionate. The silence that Reb used to parent Danny was necessary, otherwise Danny would be unable to feel compassion. Reb's method was horrible. Throughout the book it seemed like it was a terrible thing. But did his method work out in the end? Would Danny be the same person that he is if it weren't for his fathers unconventional parenting styles?
A passage that felt very important to me is on page 217 where Rueven's father discusses the significance of a man's life with him. For me, this is the epitome of David Malter's wisdom in the entire book. He clearly opens himself up to his son in this scene and speaks of his true goals in life. For me the character of Rueven's father is one of the most fascinating aspects of this book. He consistently exudes such a high level of wisdom and experience and helps to define the undertones of the book. The concept of a person's life taking the form of an idea is very interesting to me, and I have never seen it exemplified with greater detail than in David Malter.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this book my thoughts dwell on the matter of knowledge. In this book all of the main characters showcase an amazing level of intelligence and knowledge of various subjects. Reading the detailed dscriptions of academic and conceptual debates between the characters and within their individual minds is fascinating. This book made me further recognize the importance of education and intelligent arguement. It painted the world as a place of endless complexity but presented this world in a way that made it beautiful. Having intellectual debates and conversations is something I love to do and something I believe should be a commonplace in our society. The depth of discussion in The Chosen is unlike any I have read before. How is an author able to construct such a complex world full of rigorous ideas out of pure thought? Could the debates between characters represent internal conflicts of the author?
Then I sat and listened to Danny cry. He held his face in his hands, and his sobs tore apart the silence of the room and racked his body (268).” I feel this line is important to hthe book because of how it illustrates how hard it was for Danny to not become a tzadikk and carry on from his father. When I read earlier that Danny was planning on telling his father that he would not carry on the family legacy, I assumed that the only fear he had of doing this was having to talk to his father about it. However when I read this passage, it struck me how hard it was for Danny to break off, sort of, from his family.
ReplyDeleteThis book has left me thinking about how religion affects so much of our lives. Despite Danny’s family being very religious even for that time period, his religion and the social and familial problems that Danny faced took up the majority of his life. I have now thought a lot about what religious differences inside a family, especially one like Danny’s, can change the family dynamic. I was surprised that Danny’s father respected Danny’s wishes. Is it hard for parents to deal with their children having different religious beliefs than them?
BTW---the above is from Owen, who remains unable to post from his home computer.
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