The Chosen - The development of Malter One of the most moving scenes in The Chosen by Chaim Potok is when Reuven accompanies Danny Saunders to speak to his father. Danny has a great mind and wants to use it to study psychology, not to become a Hasidic tzadik. The two go into Reb Saunders' office to explain to him what is going to happen, and before Danny can talk about it, his father does. Reb Saunders explains to the two friends that he already knew that Reuven was going to get his smicha and that Danny, who is on his way to becoming the next tzaddik of his people, would not do so. This relates to the motif of "Individuality" and the theme of "Danny's choice to join the family dynasty or wherever his heart leads him". The most developed character in the novel is Reuven Malter. One of the ways he develops in the novel is his understanding of friendship. His friendship with Dfanny Saunders is encouraged by his father, but he is wary of it at first because Danny is a Hasid and considers ordinary Orthodox Jews to be apikorsim due to his father's teachings. Reuven goes from not being able to have a civil conversation with Danny to becoming his best friend with whom he spends all his free time, studies Talmud, and goes to college. Reuven really grows because he learns, as his father says, what it means to be a friend. Reuven also grows up learning to appreciate different people and their ideas. He starts out hating Hasidim because it's the "pious" thing to do, even though his father (whom I think of as the Atticus Finch of this novel) keeps telling him that it's okay to disagreeing with ideas, but hating a person because of them is a good thing. intolerable. Through his friendship with Danny, his studies with Reb Saunders, his brief crush on Danny's sister (who was never given a name), and time spent in the Hasidic community, he learns that Hasids are also people with their own ideas and beliefs that are equally valuable. like his. He learns why they think, act, speak, and dress the way they do and realizes that he does not have a monopoly on virtue. A third way Reuven grows, although the book doesn't talk about it much, is in his appreciation of life, or cha'im in Hebrew. He nearly loses his sight, his father nearly dies on the job, six million Jews are massacred in Europe, and Danny's brother's poor health threatens Danny's choice not to become a tzaddik. When his eye fails, he cannot read and indeed notes that it is very difficult to live without reading, especially with a voracious appetite for learning like his. His father almost died twice and he talks about how difficult it is to live alone in silence (which is a metaphor referring to Danny's daily life) for a month while his father is in the hospital. He sees Reb Saunders and his father feeling the pain of the six million deaths, Saunders crying and remaining silent, David Malter working for the creation of a Jewish state and being a leader of the movement, in addition to teaching in a yeshiva and adult education classes. And of course, Danny is very worried about his brother's illness (hemophilia?) because if he dies, it will be even more difficult for Danny to refuse his tzaddikship. By the end of the book, Reuven Malter is a very changed character. Potok is an expert in the use of allusions and metaphors. Very subtly throughout the book, he uses it in an effort to strengthen his arguments, foreshadow, and make the book more enjoyable to read when you've already read it and know the outcome. An example of this, which I missed the first time I read the book in 7th grade, is the paragraph at the end of chapter nine where Reuven.