CLASH OF CULTURES IN POTOK’S THE CHOSEN (Pages 145-151) by Mrs. Myrtle Samuel in THE INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH SPECIALIST / ISSN: 2350-1499 (Online); 2350-0751 (Print)

This paper is a study of a Jewish writer, Chaim Potok who was brought up in an Orthodox Jewish family. The novel The Chosen portrays the culture clash of two young Jewish boys growing up in different Orthodox Jewish families facing the challenges of secular knowledge. Danny Saunders is a brilliant Hasid, the son of the Orthodox leader Reb Saunders. Reuven is the son of David Malter who is an Orthodox Jew, a scholar and a humanitarian. The novel traces the friendship of Danny and Reuven who grow up in different Jewish homes: one which is very strict and narrow minded, the other tolerant and scholarly. Danny wants to become a psychologist while his father has decided he should be a tzaddik. Reuven encounters this traditional world of the Hasid and its culture. Reuven wants to be a Rabbi. With World War II and creation of a Jewish State as the background, the novelist creates a culture conflict. While Reb Saunders is still waiting for the Messiah and is not willing to accept a new Jewish State, Reuven’s father strongly believes that it is the duty of the Jews to create a new state and he works tirelessly for it. Severe culture and ideological clash persist in the place of learning till the time a new Jewish State is created. The novel ends as Danny waves goodbye to his friend to pursue his study of psychoanalysis while his father knows he will be an observant Jew. Keywords: Orthodox Jewish family, traditional world, World War II, culture conflict, ideological clash etc.