Paper
Themes are literary tools used by authors to enhance their writings. When a similar theme exists in two different novels, parallels can often be drawn between the characters and structures of literary work. Such is the case for Bernard Malamud?s The Assistant and Chaim Potok?s The Chosen. Religion plays a major role in the shaping of both novels. Both books begin with the respective religious outcast (Frank and Rueven) befriending the respective character (Morris and Danny) as a result of an act of malice. The characters Ida and Reb Saunders from The Assistant and The Chosen respectively have similar reactions to their child?s involvement with this outcast. Thus, a definite parallel is evident between the general flow of both novels as a result of the religion theme.
The Assistant, set in Brooklyn during the 1940?s, opens with a robbery. Frank Alpine, a non-Jew who constantly found himself doing the wrong thing, was one of the men involved in the crime. Frank and his partner Ward robbed the grocery store of Morris Bober. Morris, a poor Jewish family man, had a mere $15 to offer them from his cash register. Ward reacted violently to this news by striking Morris on his head. Frank felt responsible for Morris? suffering and was overcome with guilt. To exonerate his conscience, he befriended Morris and started to work for him at the store.
In comparison to The Assistant, The Chosen also began during the 1940?s in a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. The opening scene is set at a softball game between two Jewish parochial schools. Hatred and determination were embedded in the minds of every player on that field. This was more than just a softball game between two schools. It was the Hasidics versus the traditional Jews. No one was backing down. Rueven Malter pitched the ball to Hasidic Danny Saunders. Danny?s bat connected with the ball and smacked Rueven in the face, eventually landing him in the hospital. Danny soon admits to himself that he fully intended to hit his rival. Similar to Frank?s experience after the robbery, Danny suffers from a guilty conscience. His next action parallels Frank?s decision to work for Morris. Danny visits Rueven in the hospital to apologize for hurting him. Like Frank and Morris, Rueven and Danny soon become friends.
These newly established friendships were eventually defied by a Jewish family member in both novels. In The Assistant, Morris? wife Ida Bober, was bitterly opposed to her husbands friendship with Frank. Ida was a typical Jewish mother who was distrustful of non-Jews. She did not like the idea that Frank, a non-Jewish stranger, was roaming around their store. She also feared any relationship that might develop between Frank and her daughter Helen. Ida did not want her daughter to be dating someone who wasn?t Jewish. She stated several reasons why she wished that Morris would fire Frank. ?The most important is I don?t want him here on account of Helen. I don?t like the way he looks at her.? As the story continues, Ida grows to dislike Frank more and more. Ida needs Frank?s assistance after Morris? death. She can not find it within herself to fully accept him. Perhaps she would have accepted him once she found out that he converted. Malamud does not provide this information.
In The Chosen, a family member also opposes a friendship with a person of a different religious sect. Reb Saunders, Danny?s father is the Tzaddik of the Hasidic community. Initially, Reb accepts his son?s friendship with Rueven. However, when he learns that Rueven?s father is a Zion activist he adamantly opposes any friendship. As a Hasid, Reb Saunders is deeply against the Zionist movement. He doesn?t want his son associating with the son of a Zionist advocate. He forbids Danny from speaking to Rueven throughout most of their college years. Like Ida, Reb allows his religious beliefs to control his opinion of others. He could not handle the idea of people thinking differently from him. It wasn?t until the Zionist movement had significantly died down, and Israel becoming a Jewish state, that Reb Saunders finally allowed his son to resume a friendship with Rueven.
Bernard Malamud?s The Assistant and Chaim Potok?s The Chosen are remarkably similar with respect to topics, characters, and patterns of events. These similarities are indicative of how authors use themes to dictate the flow of the novel. In both cases religion shaped the plot, and guided the actions and emotions of the characters.
33c
Другие работы по теме:
Career Certified Medical Assistant Essay Research Paper
Health Occupations Health Career Research Paper: Certified Medical Assistant There are many exciting careers in the medical field. One of them is the position of a medical assistant. There are many things that one is able to do as a medical assistant. Their main duty is to assist, as the title implies, their coworkers, usually doctors and nurses.
The War With Mr Wizzle Essay Research
Paper Bruno Walton has declared war. Macdonald Hall has a new administrative assistant who is determined to bring the aging school up to date. Bruno doesn?t like Mr. Wizzle, he isn?t fond of Wizzle?s Magnetronic 515 computer, and he utterly detests Wizzle?s new jacket-and-tie dress code. But when he is the first to start collecting Wizzle?s demerits, and is the first to be assigned to write lines (Boy, that Mr.
Book Report Essay Research Paper The Chosen
Book Report Essay, Research Paper The Chosen, Chaim Potok The Chosen is about two Jewish boys, one a Orthodox Jew and one a Hasidic Jew, and how different and yet the same their lives are. The orthodox Jew, Reuven, is the main character of the story. He lives with his father and his mother is dead. Reuven is a very nice boy who is fourteen years old and aspires to be a Rabbi when he grows up.
Stand By Me Essay Research Paper Stand
Stand By Me Essay, Research Paper Stand By Me Stand By Me, is a film written in 1986, that focuses on the two day journey of four best friends. The music in the film is one that is mostly song scoring. The music in this film was chosen very well. It was even pop song scoring. This movie has two main examples of music that I would like to point out, starting with moodsetting, it then moves to song scoring.
Meaningless Tasks Essay Research Paper The Tenth
Meaningless Tasks Essay, Research Paper The Tenth annual Meaningless Task Awards are approaching us quickly. There have been many people I have scrutinized for this award. After looking at all of the aspects of these people, I have chosen one person I believe to be the best candidate. The person I have chosen is Monika Lewinsky.
Mother
’s Memories Essay, Research Paper In ?The Accuracy of Mother? Memories of Conversations With Their Preschool Children?, Maggie Bruck, Stephen Ceci and Emmett Francoeur examine the ?specific elements? of mother?s memories when interacting with their children. Twenty four mothers with young children from the ages of three to five were picked for this study.
Untitled Essay Research Paper Being a dental
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Being a dental assistant would be a great job because it has a variety of interesting duties. It has goo hours, pay and benefits. There are always advancement opportunities. Jobs will be available because the dental assistant is needed to help the dentist. Being a dental assistant has many good qualities.
God Existence Essay Research Paper I do
God Existence Essay, Research Paper I do not believe God exists. I have many reasons why I think that there is no God. One of my many reasons is that there is no way that one man could have
The Morgue Essay Research Paper The MorgueIt
The Morgue Essay, Research Paper The Morgue It was time to go now. The patient was in desperate need of repair. I had to go to the morgue. It never fails to be the most miserable type of weather when I make the trip. Cloudy, cold and dreary looking all around. So, off I went to find the organs needed for transplant.
Epic Hero Essay Essay Research Paper In
Epic Hero Essay Essay, Research Paper In the movie The Matrix , there is a character by the name of Neo. Neo is pulled from the world he knows and is trust into the real one. After being shown what the matrix is, he goes on a quest to find truth and meaning in a world of lies and corruption. Neo is an epic hero because he has been chosen to fight an evil force and because he is brave.
Elements Of Personality Essay Research Paper Theories
Elements Of Personality Essay, Research Paper Theories of Personality: (The Elements of Personality. Pp.40-42) The personality others are presented with is composed of our words and our actions. Yet our words and actions are, or can be, consciously chosen. We decide what we’ll say, and what we’ll do. The construction of a personality is simply selecting an action while considering the impression it will make.
Getting In Essay Research Paper The most
Getting In Essay, Research Paper The most significant experience of my life is yet to come. The most meaningful experience of my life must be the transaction from high school to college. My high school years
Jury Essay Research Paper Members of the
Jury Essay, Research Paper Members of the jury – you have been chosen because you are a captive audience. You will be required to submit a verdict of guilty or not guilty at the end of this trail by raising the appropriate card. The Foreman will tally the votes and tell the judge.
Krypton Essay Research Paper The element that
Krypton Essay, Research Paper The element that I have chosen in . The people who discovered it are known as Sir William Ramsay and Morris William Travers. Sir William Ramsay and Morris William
Comparitive Essay Essay Research Paper There are
Comparitive Essay Essay, Research Paper There are many stories of survival. When I think of survival I think of two things, The movie, Never Cry Wolf, and the story, When the Legends Die. These two are stories of men who survived in the wild after many obtacles. They were both very different but they were still the same.
Romero Essay Research Paper In the movie
Romero Essay, Research Paper In the movie Romero, Archbishop Romero changes very much in his understanding of love and in his understanding of true conscience. At first Romero is just a priest who isn’t really concerned about the poor and how they are being oppressed, but when Romero is chosen to be the new Archbishop his friend, who is assassinated, I think has a slight impact on him.
The Godfather Essay Research Paper Violence and
The Godfather Essay, Research Paper Violence and The Godfather Throughout time there have always been people who held more power than others. There are many different methods used to both demonstrate and maintain the power which they possess. Often times violence is the method chosen to achieve these goals.
High Performance Training For Track And Field
Essay, Research Paper Phillip Lucas Mr. Tarlow 120 English The book I have chosen to research is High Performance Training for Track and Field. Every since the age of nine I have been in love with track. My uncle would make bets with the other guys in the neighborhood that their kids couldn’t beat me in any all out sprint.
Fate Vs Freewill Essay Research Paper The
Fate Vs. Freewill Essay, Research Paper The argument has been made by some religious people that every person’s fate is predestined, and everyone is subject to the fate God wills them. Others have argued that everything in life is based on free will where each person decides their own fate. Still others have strayed towards the middle, claiming it is a combination of both.
Paul Ryan Essay Research Paper Dear Paul
Paul Ryan Essay, Research Paper Dear Paul Ryan: Do we really need the Electoral College? I?m writing to you saying that we really don?t need it. I am looking forward in voting in my future years for further elections, but is the Electoral College really needed? I believe that the way that our country votes is wrong.
Danny Saunders From Chaim Potok
’s The Chosen Essay, Research Paper A key charectar in the book The Chosen, by Chaim Potok is Danny Saunders. Throughout the book, one experiences the sorrow and joy of Danny, and relives the events that impact his life. Two events in specfic show how Danny grows over the course of the book. These isolated events illustrate how the huge the impact of such a relatively small thing can impact someone’s life.
The Chosen Essay Research Paper THE CHOSENWith
The Chosen Essay, Research Paper THE CHOSEN With dramatic force, with a simplicity that seizes the heart, the chosen illumines- for us, for now- the eternal, powerful bonds of the love and pain that can join a father and son, and the ways in which these bonds are, and must be, broken when the boy has to become a man.
Fairness Of Jurors Essay Research Paper MUST
Fairness Of Jurors Essay, Research Paper MUST A JUROR’S MIND BE EMPTY TO BE OPEN?This article is about a concept of choosing the 12 jurors. In any case, jurors always play important roles in the court since they are the people who will come up with a verdict. Because of this, people believe that when the jurors are chosen for a certain trial, they must be aware of that case and know what is going on in that case.
Water Ways Essay Research Paper Water WaysDo
Water Ways Essay, Research Paper Water Ways Do Water ways effect how we look at the world today? Waterways influence the economic, social, and the political developments of a nearby nation in many different ways. The water ways that I have chosen to discuss are seas, rivers and oceans. In this essay I will talk about how water ways influence a nearby nation.
Market Research Essay Research Paper Many businesses
Market Research Essay, Research Paper Many businesses are Product Orientated. This means that they design and make a product, and then try and convince consumers to buy it. Business can also be Market Orientated . This is where they try to find out what consumers want before making the final product. Finding out about what consumers want and need, and what makes them buy, is called Market Research .
Physician Assistant Essay Research Paper What is
Physician Assistant Essay, Research Paper What is a physician assistant? Academically and clinically prepared to practice medicine with the supervision of a doctor, the assistant physician practices medicine. The doctor that supervises the physician assistant is licensed with medicine or osteopathy.
Bank Manager Essay Research Paper The career
Bank Manager Essay, Research Paper The career that I have chosen to research is the Bank Manager. The bank manager has to have excellent people and communication skills, also they have to be
The Christmas Carol Essay Research Paper A
The Christmas Carol Essay, Research Paper A Christmas Carol The main character is Scrooge. He is very mean to other people. He wouldn t give a dime to anyone. Scrogge is very