Reason, Type and Setting:This book was recommended to me by a relative a while ago. the Chosen takes place in a Jewish Sect of New York during World War II.
Plot: This book follows the friendship of two high school Orthodox boys. One of the boys is a Hasid and the other Orthodox. The two boys have the same faith but were raised entirely differently. While Reuven, the Orthodox boy, was raised by a very intelligent father and was always encouraged to ask question and expand on his knowledge. Danny, on the other hand, was raised in silence by his father. According to the traditions that Danny's family and their followers abide by, Danny would be the next leader of the colony and their connection to God. Danny doesn't wish to follow the tradition, rather he would like to study phsycology and Freud and other famous philosophers. Reuven is one of Danny's outlets and gives Danny the opportunity to talk to someone who can understand his need for change. Unfortunately when Danny's father forbids Danny to see Reuven because of a disagreement of beliefs.
Character:Danny is a curious, head strong and independent young man. He is the other protagonist of the story and is a very interesting character. He is described as a genious and is highly adored by his niave followers. Danny's struggle to follow dreams that he could never expose for the fear of losing his family, made him an even more passionate person. I personally don't like when people use misfortunes in their lives as excuses to fail rather than reasons to succeed. In the end of the novel he was able to stand up for what he honestly wanted to be following rather than for what his father had in line for him.
Evaluation: I really did like the novel and I felt I could relate to it in an acedemic, social, and even religious way. I would definitely reccommend this book to anyone intrested in an exciting and unique read. The story was amazing and the author's style was very unique and i enjoyed it.
The story definitely relates to teenagers and some of the problems they have to deal with in literal and metophorical ways as well. Since the story took place during and after World War II one of the main conflicts in the novel were between the Zionists and the Anti-Zionists. People should know about what was going on during that time between the two groups of Jews, whether it is through reading this book or another.
Author, Context and Trivia: Chiam Potok has also written the books: The Promise, In the Beginning, The Book of Lights, Davita's Harp, Theo Tobiasse. I haven't read any other books by Potok, but I have heard that Davita's Harp is also just as good.
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