Friendship In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

At the beginning of the novel, their whole friendship wouldn't have started if one, Reuven didn't listen to his urging father and forgave Danny, and two, if Danny didn't stubbornly persist in visiting Reuven in the hospital, where he patiently waited for him to vent his anger. "Also, yesterday I hated him; now we were calling each other by our first names. I sat and

Reuven acts as a buffer between Reb and Danny Saunders. Since Reb feels he can't talk to Danny in order to raise him properly, he talks to Reuven about Danny. They talk to each other through Reuven. Reuven is also a very supportive and encouraging friend to Danny. He gives him advice and is willing to listen to Danny's problems.

In both Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck evident components of friendship are persuaded throughout the storyline, particularly in Lennie and George’s friendship in Of Mice and Men and Ralph and Piggy’s friendship in Lord of the Flies. In both books the authors focus on the natural dependence human beings have on each other. Of particular importance is the bond the characters share being outsiders, the dependence they have on one another, the respect they share, the theme of survival, the sacrifice that comes with love and the contrast in their personalities.

Danny views Orthodox Jews as unholy Jews. “I told my team we’re going to kill you apikorsim this afternoon.” (Danny Saunders 33). Danny hits a ball that hits Reuven in the eye, shattering his glasses and lodging a shard of glass in his pupil. Danny visits Reuven in the hospital to apologise for almost blinding him. Danny wants to strike a friendship with Reuven, but Reuven initially rejects him. However, over the next few days Reuven changes his views on Danny and becomes friends with him. “You did a foolish thing Reuven…You remember what the Talmud says. If a person comes to apologize for having hurt you, you must listen and forgive him”.(David Malter 94). Thus, a friendship is born out of animosity and continues to blossom.

After Danny’s original murderous intents towards Reuven, only Reuven’s anger stands in the way of their friendship. Reuven has outbursts of anger towards Danny when he comes to visit Reuven in the hospital and towards Danny’s father. When Danny comes to apologize to Reuven, Reuven tells him “For my part, you can go to hell” (61). Even after

Danny and Reuven’s relationship progresses from tension in the beginning to an intimate friendship because of a mutual trust that is established. Danny says, “Sometimes I’m not sure I know what God wants though…I’ve never said that to anyone before” (80). From early on Danny feels comfortable confiding in Reuven. He shares his innermost feelings with Reuven and they form a closely knit bond. Danny and Reuven have a conversation; Reuven asks Danny, “Are you going to like being a Rabbi?” (82). Danny replies, “No, but I have no choice, it’s like a dynasty, if the son doesn’t take the father’s place, the dynasty falls apart” (Ibid.). This piece of evidence once again displays a profound trust the boys have. This conversation is a turning point for the book because Danny admits he does not want to carry on his father’s rabbinic dynasty. The fact that Danny openly shares this shocking information with Reuven shows how strong the boys relationship is. After a personal conversation Reuven narrates as he observes Danny, “I saw him begin to play absent-mindedly with one of his earlocks. We were quiet for a long

Danny and Reuven represent deeply committed friends. Their live intertwine when historical circumstances , religious realities, and their father's differences in child rearing dramatically affect their respective senses of security and happiness.

After Reuven initially wakes up, Danny visits him in the hospital to apologize. “‘I am sorry,’ he said quietly. ‘I’ll just bet you are,’ I told him. He…turned and walked slowly away.” After Reuven tells his father of the events, his father tells him that he should have listened. This response on David’s part initially caused Reuven to listen to Danny when he returned the second time.

First off, Reuven never failed to stay strong no matter what. During a softball game in the beginning of the book, he never paused to feel sorry for himself, but continuously played for his teammates as best as he could. The left lens of his glasses shattered, but he determined himself to capture the escaping ball for his team, despite his painful wrist, elbow, and now eye injury. After a surgery to free his eye from tempered glass, Reuven stayed in the hospital for quite some time. During his visit, his arch rival kept him company. Little did he know that broken glass would open his vision towards Danny and his friendship with him. The never-ending strength Reuven displays inspire his readers.

Reuven Malther has an epiphany and realizes that Danny Saunders does not hate him and is normal, allowing the two to become friends. After Danny hurt Reuven’s eye at a baseball game causing Reuven to be hospitalized, Reuven believed that Danny hated him and “deliberately aimed at me [Reuven]” (54). When Danny visits Reuven

Reuven’s father sits and listens while Reuven tells him of the interactions he and Danny had just minutes prior (74). As the chapter progresses, Reuven wakes up the next day to find a curtain “drawn around Mr. Savos’ bed” with nurses scurrying in and out every so often, accompanied by the sounds of Mr. Savos’ moans (77). Later, Danny and Reuven’s father happens to visit Reuven at the same time, and that is when Reuven finds out that they knew each other and had met because Danny asked Reuven’s father for “books to read” at the library (85). When the two leave the hospital, Reuven walks back to his bed from the window sill the three were talking at to see a curtain now drawn “around Billy’s bed too” and falls asleep (88). The next morning, Reuven makes note that Billy is gone from his bed and Mr. Savos is awake with a “thick bandage” on his right eye before he is led into the examination room (89). In the examination room, the bandages are taken off of his eye, allowing him to see from both eyes and be able to go home (90). Reuven’s father comes to the hospital shortly after to pick him up, but fore leaving, Reuven finds out that Mr. Savos’ eye was removed before bidding him a “goodbye”

When Danny approaches Reuven in the hospital in the following days after the accident, there is a cold tense feeling between Reuven and Danny. Saunders politely wants to talk to Reuven, but is shut down very quickly by an unhappy Reuven. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure on how to feel when Danny decided to talk to Reuven, I felt as if it were another way to make Reuven feel bad about himself. Then pleasantly surprised how he simply wanted to talk, and apologize, then surprised again by how a friendship started to

The goal for many writers is to depict a specific understanding of human nature, and in many cases a discussion of the concept of friendship and loyalty is explored. Friendship, in literature refers to a relationship of mutual trust and understanding between two or more individuals, whereas loyalty denotes to one’s faithfulness to a commitment or obligation. Although both friendship and loyalty can add meaning to one’s life, it is arguable as to whether the addition of the two qualities is truly advantageous. King Lear, one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies is a play about a king who descends into madness after being betrayed by his daughters who faked their loyalty. Similarly, Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men also explores the concept of friendship

Reuven learns that even people that absolutely hate each other can later become good friends. Danny, a Hasidic Jew, hit Reuven in the face with a ball during a softball game. Danny aimed right at Reuven and Reuven ended up getting a piece of glass stuck in his eye. In Chaim Potok’s The Chosen, Reuven Malter, the main character, is a caring person, and learns that the best friendships are the ones that require the most work.

Despite the fact that Reuven and Danny have a wide array of differences, they also have similarities in certain key aspects in the story. Essentially, both of them are intellectual people, are always seeking to better their education, and both have very strong Jewish beliefs. Reuven is mainly a mathematician. He is very good at math and strives to better his knowledge especially in that field. Although Reuven is mainly focused on math, he excels in other academics as