t occurred to me suddenly that not a single word had passed between him and his father all evening, except for the Talmud contest" (145). This silence is basically what drove Danny to search for guidance or someone to talk to. "There's ransom in a voice," relates to Rueven being Danny's savior. As Danny explains to Rueven what he said to his father, "I told him we were good friends, I really think we are" (119). Danny relied on Rueven as a friend for the next several years. The silence was now bearable with a friend at his side. He eventually gained enough confidence with Rueven's help to tell his father he did not want to become a Rabbi like him and his father. He had risked the destruction of traditional ways by disobeying his fathers wants. "But Silence is infinity," explains how Reb Saunders (Danny's father) has raised his son in silence since he was born. Even though Danny is used to the silence, and still does not like it, others are appalled by it and do not understand it. Danny does not question the silence because his father does not speak. But by raising Danny in silence... it teaches him to be more independent, it puts him in the position to be a leader... a Rabbi, but Danny does not want this. He continuously reads books on great scholars and on psychoanalysis, because of this certain interest he decides he would like to be a psychologist. Danny explains to Rueven how he wants to be a psychologist, "I'll be majoring in psychology" (148). The Dickinson quote relates to almost everything in the novel, and is very easy to use while explaining certain details. The novel, The Chosen, shows us how important friends really are, and what kind of effect your family has on the decisions you make. The bond brought between Danny and Rueven is remarkable, a quest to absorb as much knowledge as possible like they did, is incredible. The strange way of bringing up a child in silence rubbed off on Da...
