Compare and Contrast Characters from The Chosen Essays

Compare and Contrast Characters from The Chosen Essays Compare and Contrast Characters from The Chosen Essay Compare and Contrast Characters from The Chosen Essay Essay Topic: The Chosen For example, Mammons father raised his son the traditional Hashish way; proportioning the Talmud over any other knowledge and forbidding secular books. However, Mammon, with a brilliant mind and a thirst for knowledge, wanted to know more. Thus, he began to teach himself German, but remained dissatisfied. He then proceeded to abandon his wife and child to join a group of philosophers before dying at the estate of a Christian friend. The quick escalation in Mammons life from a traditional Hashish Jew to a philosopher who abandoned his family to become a philosopher, frightened Rebel Saunders. Reevess father agrees stating that Danny has a mind like Solomon Mammons, perhaps even a greater mind, (Chi. 18) and even expresses fear that Dandys life will end up worse due to the fact that America is free. There are no walls here to hold back the Jews. (Chi. 18) Rebel Saunders brother, another influence on Danny silent treatment took a different road. He is described by his older brother as proud, haughty, (and) impatient with less brilliant minds. (chi. 18) Rebel Saunders later describes his brother as unable to understand pain. It was indifferent to and impatient with suffering. Chi. 1 8) Of course none of this bothered Rebel Saunders brother at the time, so he followed his aspirations by becoming a mathematician and teaching in a university. Rebel Saunders hopes that his brother would have learned how much suffering there is in this world, (Chi. 18) after his tragic demise in a gas chamber. Danny, unlike the other two characters, is in line to become the addict and lives in America. Clearly, the latter distinction scares Rebel Saunders the most due to the multitude of cultural and social influences that threaten to corrupt his sons retorted life. While the discrepancies between the characters influence Rebel Saunders decision to raise Danny without speaking to him informally, the alikeness of certain traits between Danny, Mammon, and Rebel Saunders brother appear to frighten the rabbi more. One of the most striking parallels between the three is their impatience with suffering. (chi. 1 8) Mammon even abandoned his wife and child during hard times. Likewise, Rebel Saunders attributes his brothers cruelty to Dandys mindset by describing an instance where Danny claims a man is an ignoramus. Rebel Saunders replies angrily that Danny needed to stand in the mans shoes in order to know the pain he (the man) feels because of his ignorance, (Chi. 18) and adds that Danny will not laugh. (Chi. 1 8) Obviously concerned that his son will turn out like his brother who, in the end, was not an observer of the ten commandments, (Chi. 18) Rebel Saunders chooses to raise his son in silence. Other resemblances between the three men contributing to the silence Danny experiences, like a strong desire for knowledge not from the Talmud and an aspiration to teach oneself German, are the breaking point for Rebel Saunders. Although it hurts him dearly as well as Danny, he decides to scarcely talk to his son. In conclusion, the resemblances and uniqueness of Danny, Mammon, and Rebel Saunders brother contribute to Rebel Saunders desperation for a solution. Although the rabbi tries other ways to teach his son compassion, his knowledge of Mammons story and past experiences push him to become detached from his son. The greatness of their minds and thirst for knowledge cause Rebel Saunders to impose this horrible yet seemingly effective method upon Danny.