How To Write A Shadow Of The Dragon Essay

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

      Danny and Reuven’s friendship went through many trials and after one challenging block in their relationship, it silenced them both. And even though there friendship was banned, it withstood till the end. Danny and Reuven’s friendship wasn’t only beneficial for them, so they could talk and be open, but it was beneficial to Reb Saunders as well. Because of Danny and Reuven’s relationship, Reb Saunders could talk to his son, through Reuven.

I was not really into reading at the time, but I remember that my teacher made us read for at least fifteen minutes at the beginning of every class. If we did not have a book there were many books from her library to choose from. I believe this was one of the first books that I read in her class, and think I chose this book in particular because it stood out. I mean the title itself already piqued my interest. I honestly did not think that I was going to enjoy it as much as I did, It was such a bizarre read with all the strange events and abnormal characters. And in a weird way, the strangeness of the story was what I really liked. I do not think I would have liked it as much if it was not for that. It was one of the first chapter books that I did not have to force myself to finish. This was also one of the first books I read that really got me into loving to read. I just loved getting lost in another world and I wanted to keep reading books that did that for me.

The relationship between Danny and Reuven is a very big theme in The Chosen. Danny and Reuven are two boys who have grew up within a few blocks of each other, but in two entirely different worlds. They meet for the first time in at a school baseball game between their two Jewish schools. Even though at first their only feeling for each other is one of hatred, they eventually get over their differences and become the best of friends. They learn a lot about each other and about the others life and religion. The boys’ fathers have very different views and that’s gets them in trouble. Danny’s father disagrees with Reuven’s father’s point of view on a certain topic, and forbids Danny from ever seeing Reuven again. After some time Reb gets over himself and permits Danny to see Reuven again. This situation goes back to the fathers’ ways of raising their child and their view on their religion.

To the reader it seems at first that Danny is an arrogant, uptight son of a rabbi. We learn as the novel progresses more about Danny and that he is a less than perfect

At the beginning of the book danny is shown to be a loud, rude person. Like during the soccer game, when Danny kept roaring at holling to get in front of doug swieteck’s brother “Danny screamed again “IN FRONT!” even though holling is his friend, he keeps yelling at him “Imagine a sound with a whole lot of vowels, and i think you have it”. Even though Danny was scared too, and Doug swieteck’s brother was a bully, he probably should’ve encouraged holling instead.

Personally, I think I can relate to the suffering that Danny went through. Years ago, when I was a child and in my early teens I struggled so much with my relationship with my father. Just like Danny, I never had a good communication with my dad. If he ever talked to me it was to make me feel bad about myself if I did something wrong. If I wanted to share great news with him regarding to my school grades all I received was silence. My father’s actions towards me were hurtful. Even though I now know the reasons for his actions it still causes me suffering because I wish my childhood could have been more

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.

… “Why don’t you ask Appleman? I said quietly. “I think I will,” Danny said. “I think I’ll do just that. Why not? What have I got to lose? It can’t make me any more miserable than I am now” (Potok 211). Reuven helps Danny make decisions about his future encouraging him to follow his heart and become a psychologist. It would mean deviating from the expected career of following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a Rabbi. This would be frowned upon. Danny’s father states, “For six generations now we have led our people. I will not live forever. Daniel will one day take my place ---” (Potok 166). Danny lives his dream in silence until his father finally realizes that Danny wants to attend college and pursue a career outside of the faith.. ”And my son, my Daniel, he will - he will go another way. I saw Danny’s mouth fall open…’I know Reb Saunders murmured’…” (Potok 282). If it wasn’t for Reuven’s kindness, encouragement, and compassion for Danny, then Danny would have followed in his father’s footsteps and lived a life of misery in silence. Reuven’s character demonstrated a level of maturity by his actions. This newfound maturity continued to grow.

Danny was a friend to Melba, by protecting her from the students. He was in the National Guard who was sent by the Governor of Arkansas to protect the Little Rock Nine. Danny was there for her when no one had her

He first comes to the hospital and tries to apologize to Reuven and Reuven first gets angry. Danny understood and came again to apologize. He also respects his dad even though his dad is hard on him and wants him to be a Rabbi. Danny did not get angry at his dad, but instead he listened and cared about what his dad had to say. Danny also showed respect to his father when he did not want Danny to see Reuven because of Reuven’s fathers beliefs and actions he took towards the Zionist movement. “Danny was not to see me, talk to me, listen to me, be found within four feet of me”(Potok, p. 231). Danny listened to his dad and show respect for his rules even if he didn’t agree with them. All of these situations show how to be respectful in certain situations and it relates to how children respect to not only parents and elders, but to people all

Danny both became skinheads, what Derrick did to land himself in jail, what their family went