Summary Of Chaim Potok's The Chosen

There are over seven billion people on this planet, many of whom are parents, and each one has a slightly different way of protecting his child. A person can show this sentiment in many forms. Some are very lenient in their protection. Others are very strict, but both are trying to achieve the same goal, keeping their lineage safe. The Chosen written by Chaim Potok parallels the real world in that love is the backbone of this desire for parental protection. As a result of all the emotion put into safeguarding their children, many parents wind up controlling their child's life, and the children never see the sentiment behind the control. Through Reb Saunders's motivation behind his silence and its subsequent impression on Danny, Potok conveys …show more content…
Reb Saunders decided to raise his son in complete silence and to only speak to him during Shabbat conversations. Why, however, would he choose such an isolative way to raise his son? This answer is one that has roots in Europe. Specifically in a small Russian town where Reb Saunders was raised. There he lived with his father who was also an infamous Tzaddik. Reb's father wanted very much so for his future predecessor to grow up with a sense of compassion. This lesson was learned through silence. In Potok's novel, Reb says, "He taught me with silence. He taught me to look into myself… to walk around inside myself in company with my soul…" (Potok). Not only did he wish for his son to have compassion, he also desired his son to be aware of the sufferings of others. This was accomplished in a very severe way. Reb's father would wake him every night when he was young and would tell him stories of the destruction of Jerusalem, so that he would cry. All of this was done in order to teach his son to understand the sufferings of others. Reb Saunders tried very hard to find another way to raise his son in which silence would not be involved, but in the end he decided it was the only way to give his son an understanding of compassion. Another reason that Reb raised Danny in silence