The Chosen

Inflective and Forward Personalities



In Chaim Potok’s The Chosen, two contrasting characters are introduced—Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders. They are opposites. While Reuven is forward—speaking his mind, Danny Saunders shows a stark contrast—an inflective soul, listening to silence, and growing from it. These characters set the stage for a lasting relationship to form, to be strengthened, and to be stressed.

Danny’s father’s name is Reb Saunders. The tzaddik of a small community within close proximity of Reuven’s home, he was born in Russia and later brought his congregation to America. When Danny is speaking to Reuven, he tells him the story of this occurrence.

“They bribed their way though Russia, Austria, France, Belgium, and England. Five months later, they arrived in New York City.”

This was the original catalyst for the relationship between Reuven and Danny. If Reb hadn’t brought his congregation to America, ever, Danny and Reuven would not have met in anything close to the same circumstances.

When introducing the reader to the novel, Reuven explains why the inter-parish softball leagues were formed by the Jewish parochial schools after World War II.

“…America’s entry into the Second World War and the desire this bred on the part of some English teachers in the Jewish parochial schools to show the gentile world that yeshiva students were as physically fit, despite there long hours of study, as any other American student. They went about probing this by organizing the Jewish parochial schools in and around our area into competitive leagues, and once every two weeks the schools would compete against one another in a variety of sports.”

This was the second factor in the friendship. It would be unlikely for the matter of a soft-ball league to be considered on the part of Reb Saunders if he had not seen any particular reason.

On Danny’s second visit to the hospital, Danny and Reuven talk about...