The Chosen

Conflicts in The Chosen
In reading The Chosen, one is exposed to conflicts between characters throughout the book, which Potok expresses in three main conflicts — father against father, son against son, and father against son. Each variation of conflict has a very important significance to the main theme of conflicts among four Jewish males throughout the book. In post-Holocaust times, can it be assumed that all Jews would share a common belief system and have no conflicts?
In The Chosen, the father against father conflict is a result of clashes between David Malters and Reb Saunders. Each held drastically opposite views on life, parenting, religion and most every issue. This created major conflict at a time when American Jews who had escaped Germany were beginning to relay horrific stories from the Holocaust. While David Malter and Reb Saunders are both fathers and religious scholars, they demonstrate fundamentally different beliefs about disciplining children and religion. Reb Sa...