The Chosen Summary
Chaim Potok

Everything you need to understand or teach The Chosen by Chaim Potok.

The Chosen Summary & Study Guide
18 Student Essay
1 Encyclopedia Article
12 Literature Criticism
1 Book Note
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The Chosen Summary

Book One

The Chosen explores the friendship between Jewish Reuven Malter and Hasidic (Jewish Orthodox) Danny Saunders. In Brooklyn during World War II, Danny hits Reuven in the face with a baseball, giving him a concussion. Reuven undergoes an operation to remove a piece of glass from his eye. In the hospital, he meets former boxer Tony Savo and Billy Merrit, a young boy blinded in a car accident. Danny visits Reuven and confides that his father expects him to become a rabbi, though he wants to be a psychologist. He also explains that his father disapproves of apikorsim (Jews who are not extremely orthodox) such as Reuven. Reuven's father, David Malter, urges Reuven to become friends with Danny because the Talmud (the book of Jewish holy law) says the two things one should acquire in life are a teacher and a close friend. When Danny calls again, the boys talk about... View more of the The Chosen Summary

Study Pack

The The Chosen Study Pack contains about 328 pages of study material in 36 products, including:

The Chosen Study Guide

Characters

Themes

Style

Criticism

Topics for Further Study

Compare & Contrast

What Do I Read Next?

For Further Study

Sources

Encyclopedia Articles (1)

The Chosen

4,069 words, approx. 14 pages

The Chosen by Chaim Potok Chaim Potok was born in 1929 in the Bronx, New York, the child of Hasidic parents who had fled Eastern Europe. After graduating from Yeshiva University in 1950, he went on... Read more

Chaim Potok Biography (3)

Chaim Potok

4,899 words, approx. 17 pages

Chaim Potok "wrote of what he knew best, Jewish-Americans in the 20th century struggling with two contradictory yet valid points of view," according to Shirley Saad writing for the United Press Intern... Read more

Chaim Potok

7,727 words, approx. 26 pages

Chaim Potok, rabbi and critical scholar of Judaic texts, has demonstrated in his literary career that the American novel is indeed a viable genre for writing about Jewish theology, liturgy, history, a... Read more

Chaim Potok

8,421 words, approx. 29 pages

Essays & Analysis (30)

Critical Essay by Karl Shapiro

628 words, approx. 3 pages

Critical Essay by Karl Shapiro [The Chosen] is a deeply considered exegesis of modern Judaism. Formally, it should be ticketed as an allegory. The plot is simple and slight, though strong and graceful... Read more

Critical Essay by Christopher Lehmann-haupt

625 words, approx. 3 pages

Critical Essay by Christopher Lehmann-haupt "In the Beginning" seems radically different from [Potok's earlier novels, "The Chosen" and "The Promise"].... Read more

Critical Essay by Eliot Fremont-smith

214 words, approx. 1 pages

Critical Essay by Eliot Fremont-smith ["The Chosen"] starts with a rousing softball game between two Jewish parochial schools that quickly explodes into a bloody holy war. This is, unfor... Read more

Critical Essay by Johanna Kaplan

713 words, approx. 3 pages

Critical Essay by Johanna Kaplan Beginning with his first novel, "The Chosen," Chaim Potok has illuminated for a vast and rightly fascinated audience the little-known and frequently misu... Read more

Critical Essay by Hugh Nissenson

735 words, approx. 3 pages

Critical Essay by Hugh Nissenson ["The Chosen"] is Chaim Potok's first novel and—let's face it—there's something rough and unpolished about his style. ... Read more

Critical Essay by Caroline Salvatore

161 words, approx. 1 pages

Critical Essay by Caroline Salvatore Once a man named Chaim Potok wrote a story called The Chosen. It was a good story and he told it skillfully. It was deeply evocative and called forth from the marr... Read more

Critical Essay by Sam Bluefarb

1,759 words, approx. 6 pages

Critical Essay by Sam Bluefarb The conflict in Chaim Potok's novel The Chosen functions at several levels. These are: the generational conflict; the temperamental; the conflict between head and... Read more

Critical Review by Granville Hicks

1,130 words, approx. 4 pages

In the following review, Hicks offers praise for The Chosen, which he describes as "a fine, moving, gratifying book." The impression one gets from most contemporary fiction is that youth... Read more

Critical Essay by Edward A. Abramson

8,984 words, approx. 30 pages

In the following excerpt, Abramson provides an overview of the major themes, characters, and narrative presentation in The Chosen. Jewish and Non-jewish Worlds The Chosen is set largely within a Jewis... Read more

Critical Review by Edmund Fuller

1,018 words, approx. 4 pages

In the following review, Fuller offers high praise for The Chosen. We are happy to report on a novel of exceptional beauty and freshness. For many readers its combination of theme place and time will ... Read more

Critical Review by Sandra Schmidt

534 words, approx. 2 pages

In the following review, Schmidt offers high praise for The Chosen. The Chosen is a very special book. It deals with a special era—the middle 1940's when war and the end of war was chang... Read more

Critical Review by Times Literary Supplement

342 words, approx. 2 pages

In the following excerpt, the critic gives a favorable assessment of The Chosen. Three more novels [Potok's The Chosen, Martin Yoseloff's A Time to be Young, and Charles Elliott's... Read more

Religious Appreciation of Family Life

1,239 words, approx. 5 pages

My Name is Asher Lev's Asher and The Chosen's Reuven Malter were brought up in much the same fashion, but Reuven seems to appreciate his family more than Asher does. Their families are also quite s... Read more

The Chosen

667 words, approx. 3 pages

Many challenges across which people come are definitive of their life. They derive their success and integrity from their mistakes and the obstacles they have overcome. The experience leaves people ... Read more

Friendship in The Chosen by Chaim Potok

264 words, approx. 1 pages

In the first book of the novel The Chosen written by Chaim Potok, the author shows that the beginning of a true friendship will defy all boundaries whether ther... Read more

Critical Analysis: The Chosen

590 words, approx. 2 pages

I was caught off guard by Chaim Potok's The Chosen. Through the first few pages of the novel, I was a bit skeptical of the rest of the story, however, after the first chapter, I was unable to put it... Read more

The Chosen

1,161 words, approx. 4 pages

In Chaim Potok's, The Chosen, he highlights the lives of a couple young men as they grow both together and individually. One of the boys is Daniel Saunders, the son of a tzaddik and Hasidic Jew. He c... Read more

Values in "The Chosen"

733 words, approx. 3 pages

Throughout my reading of the novel, The Chosen, by Chaim Potok, and I definitely did read it, I found three distinct values to be evident. Friendship, individuality and religion were very focused ... Read more

The Chosen, and Related Readings

2,017 words, approx. 7 pages

The story "In my Father's Court," by Isaac Bashevis Singer connects in many ways to both The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev, both written by Chaim Potok. Danny Saunders, from The Chosen, is the so... Read more

The Chosen: Examining Points of View

850 words, approx. 3 pages

The Chosen by Chaim Potok has many religious, historical, and worldly points of views. The characters of this book share a common religious culture and live in the same community, but attend different... Read more

Assimilation in the Chosen

374 words, approx. 2 pages

"Assimilate v. To absorb into the prevailing culture." The story in The Chosen at times seems to be near the quintessence of that definition. The characters in the book were all affected by it in so... Read more

The Chosen, A Review and Summary

709 words, approx. 3 pages

As people mature they begin to realize what the destination of their lives will be, but the also remember those who helped them to get there. In "The Chosen" Danny is a faithful religious young man. W... Read more

The Chosen, a Review

803 words, approx. 3 pages

Reb Saunders raised his son in silence. During the time of which this book was written, it was considered "another way to raise" a child. Reb Saunders did this to show his child compassion. When D... Read more

Symbolism in the Chosen

479 words, approx. 2 pages

In The Chosen Chaim Potok, author, uses eyes to signify Danny Saunders and his personality. Three examples of this are when Danny hits Reuven in the eye, when Danny gets glasses, and how Danny blinks... Read more

Raising Children in the Chosen

464 words, approx. 2 pages

Families choose many ways to raise their children, such as to be brought up in freedom, or to be "brought up in silence." Families are always big influences in their children's lives, the influence i... Read more

The Chosen

1,502 words, approx. 6 pages

T.J. Warner Prof. Vogel Literary Analysis Dec. 8, 2004 The Chosen, by Chaim Potok, is a story about two Jewish boys who lived only five blocks from each other, but they never knew about one ano... Read more

Book Review of "The Chosen"

643 words, approx. 3 pages

In Chaim Potok's novel: The Chosen, Danny Saunders, the son of a Hasidic Rabbi has to come to terms with his own future following in his father's footsteps as a rabbi. During his early teenage ye... Read more

Family Life in "The Chosen"

713 words, approx. 3 pages

There is a very interesting portrait of family life provided in this work of literature. The first thing I noticed when I began reading this book was that the Malters are missing a primary female inf... Read more

Plot Summary of "The Chosen"

552 words, approx. 2 pages

The novel "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok is a story about a Jewish boy growing up in Brooklyn, New York. The story begins with two boys competing in a school softball game. The main character, Danny Sa... Read more

The Roles of Silence in the Chosen

984 words, approx. 4 pages

Silence is like the wind. Sometimes you feel it, rushing through your hair and causing goose bumps on your arms and legs, while other times it goes by unnoticed, filling your lungs unfailingl... Read more

Free Book Notes (1)

The Chosen

14,869 words, approx. 50 pages

The Chosen Book Notes is a free study guide on The Chosen by Chaim Potok. Browse the summary below: Author Biography / Context of the Work One-Page Plot Summary Character De... Read more

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