Analysis of The Chosen by Chaim Potok

The Chosen A. Plot Summary The Chosen by Chaim Potok is set in the 1940's neighborhood of Brooklyn in Williamsburg. Two boys who live a few blocks from each other but in totally different environments forge a unique relationship. Reuven Malter, the son of an Orthodox Jewish scholar, and Danny Saunders, the brilliant son of a great Hasidic rabbi, meet for the first time in a baseball game between their two Jewish parochial schools. Reuven …

…the pioneer of psychoanalysis and says, " 'Today my Daniel is free.' "(p.268), allowing him to become a psychologist. Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders have a very close relationship. Danny is lonely and comes to depend on the friendship of Reuven. Danny also affects Reuven by changing his dream of becoming a mathematician to becoming a rabbi. He shows Reuven that after the Holocaust, Jews are in dire need for more leaders to help rebuild.