Chaim Potok’s novel The Chosen features Daniel, or Danny Saunders as one of the two main characters. Throughout the novel, everything that happens to Danny changes his character. Danny’s goal to become a psychologist drives everything he does. He has an “agreement with [his] father. [He studies his] quota of Talmud every day, and [Reb Saunders] doesn’t care what [he does] the rest of the time” (68). Daniel also faces the obstacle of being the son of an important Hasidic rabbi that would disapprove of his son’s goal to become a psychologist. His father, Reb Saunders, affects what he does the most. Danny’s behavior at the baseball game was all based around the fact that he told his father that Reuven’s team was “the best team around, and that [they] had a duty to beat [those] apikorsim at what [they] were best at” (71). Danny’s goals, obstacles, and acquaintances make up his character in the novel. …show more content…
All of his actions are somehow related to this desire. He fulfills his daily Talmud goal so he can go to the library and study psychology. He learns German so he can read the original works of Sigmund Freud. His father bans communication between Danny and his best friend Reuven on the grounds of Zionism, and they do indeed ignore each other. This is because Reb Saunders threatens to send Danny to a school where he will not obtain a college degree; he will only get his rabbinic ordination. This will doom any chances Danny has of becoming a psychologist. Daniel’s main focus is psychology, which causes chain events throughout the