The Chosen Reading Schedule- 2012
Week One (11/19-11/26) - Chapters 1-2 (pages 1-53)
Quiz 11/26
Week Two (11/26-11/30) - Chapters 3-4 (pages 54-92)
Quiz 12/3
End Book One
Week Three (11/30-12/5) – Chapters 5-7 (pages 95-148)
Quiz 12/5
Week Four (12/5-12/12) – Chapters 8-12 (pages 149-203)
Quiz 12/12
End Book Two
Week Five (12/12-12-20) – Chapters 13-14 (pages 207-254)
Quiz 12/20
Week Six (12/20-1/4) – Chapters 15-18 (pages 255-291)
End Book Three
The Chosen Work Packet
Chapters 1 & 2 H.O.T. (Higher Order Thinking) Questions
1. Identify the time and place of the action in the story so far. Explain how the setting influences
the plot.
2. Explain why Danny considers Reuven and his classmates “apikorsim”.
3. Describe how and why the softball game is comparable to a war. Why was winning so important
to the two teams?
4. On page 24, Reuven explains that the reason his father is annoyed by the Hasidic Jews is
because of their “fanatic sense of righteousness, their absolute certainty that they and they
alone had God’s ear, and every other Jew is wrong, totally wrong, a sinner, a hypocrite, an
apikoros, and doomed, therefore, to burn in hell.”
What does it mean to be a fanatic? Does the word have a positive or negative connotation? Do
you think being a religious fanatic is dangerous? Why or why not? What are your opinions about
or experiences with people who are “fanatic” about their religion?
5. Based on what you’ve read so far, evaluate the relationship between Reuven and his father. Use
evidence from the text to justify your response.
Chapters 3 & 4 H.O.T. (Higher Order Thinking) Questions
1. What do Danny and Reuven want to be when they grow up? How might these future jobs
impact the story?
2. After Danny’s first visit to Reuven in the hospital, Reuven’s father reminds him of something
that the Talmud says. What is it? Why is it relevant?
3. What did Danny not understand about the ball game, and what made him feel better? Why
might that have made him feel better?
4. What is Danny’s gift from God, according to his father?
5. The Talmud says that a person should do two things for himself/herself. What are those two
things? Why should a person do those two things, in your opinion?
6. How does Reuven’s father know Danny?
Answer the following questions in complete sentences and cite examples from the text. You may need
to use the back of this sheet or a separate sheet of paper.
7. In chapter 3, Reuven describes his feelings about Danny. This passage begins with the sentence,
“I looked at him, and suddenly, I had the feeling that everything around me was out of focus…”
(Reuven Malter, The Chosen, p. 67) Why did this situation appear that was to Reuven? There
was an incongruity in Danny’s appearance to the way he spoke. What was that and why would it
be confusing from Reuven’s perspective?
8. Hints towards the book’s title are given in chapter 4. Danny and Reuven have begun to revise
their attitudes about each other, providing opportunity for a possible friendship. While they are
talking, some information about Hasidim comes out. Does the “chosen one” have a choice?
Support your answer from the text.
Chapters 5-7 H.O.T. (Higher Order Thinking) Questions
1. What are your impressions of the Hasidic community in which Danny lives? Explain.
2. After Reuven meets Danny’s father, Danny says to him, “You think he’s a tyrant.” What is your
reaction to Reb Saunders and his method of raising Danny?
3. How is Danny’s religion a source of both conflict and strength in his life?
4. Mr. Malter believes that it is natural for Danny to break his father’s rules and to read forbidden
books. Why? Do you agree? Explain.
5.
a.
b.
c.
What are Reb Saunder’s views on:
the world and what it does to Jews
life on earth
the study of the Torah
Explain Reb Saunder’s assertion that “we are only half alive in this world.”
Chapters 8 - 12 H.O.T. (Higher Order Thinking) Questions
1. What does the great Jewish scholar Graetz call Hasidim? How do you feel about this statement?
2. What language is Danny teaching himself? If you could teach yourself a language, what language
would it be and why?
3. Reuven is forced to tell Reb Saunders a secret. What is the secret? How would you feel if a
friend’s parent forced you to tell a secret about your friend?
4. Danny realized that he needed to study Freud, not read Freud. Explain the difference.
5. What important person died in Chapter 11? Why would this be a significant event during that
time?
6. According to Reb Saunders, why did the Holocaust happen? What is now the responsibility of
American Jews, according to David Malter? How do their reactions differ from each other?
7. How does Danny believe he can escape becoming a tzaddik?
Chapters 13 - 14 H.O.T. (Higher Order Thinking) Questions
1. Compare and contrast Danny’s feelings after the first week of college with Reuven’s feelings
after the first week of college.
2. Why does Reuven suggest that Danny have a heart to heart talk with Professor Appleman?
3. Briefly, explain what Zionism means.
4. David Malter discusses his health with Reuven. What does he say to Reuven that makes cold
sweat run down his back? Why might Reuven have such a reaction to his father’s words?
5. Reuven’s father delievered a speech at a pro-Zionism rally at Madison Square Garden. His
speech was printed in Yiddish newspapers. What did Reb Saunders do after he read the speech?
6. Book Three begins with the quote, “A word is worth one coin; silence is worth two.”
–The Talmud
Do you believe this quote is applicable to The Chosen? Why or why not? (5-7 sentences)
7. What does Reuven’s father mean when he says, “A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning
is not automatically given to life.” Do you agree or disagree? Why? (5-7 sentences)
Chapters 15 - 16 H.O.T. (Higher Order Thinking) Questions
1. After Reb Saunders anti-Zionist league seemed to have gone out of existence, what happened
between Danny and Reuven? Why is that an important event in the book?
2. What is the first thing that Reuven says to Danny? Why do you think he said this?
3. Why does Reuven have such a dislike for Reb Saunders?
4. “You can listen to silence, Reuven. I’ve begun to realize that you can listen to silence and learn
from it. It has a quality and dimension all its own. It talks to me sometimes. I feel myself alive
in it. It talks. And I can hear it.” (pg. 267) What does this quote mean to you? Why is this
quote relevant to the story?
5. In Chapter 18, Reb Saunders explains to Reuven his reason for raising Danny in silence. Explain
that reasoning. Do you agree or disagree with Reb’s choice to raise Danny in silence? Would
you ever do the same? (Answer in short answer form- you’ll need at least 3 5-7 sentence
paragraphs to completely answer this question.)
Setting
Setting is the time and place of the action in the story. The setting of a story may be a real or
imaginary place in the past, present, or future. The Chosen is set in a real place – Williamsburg
in Brooklyn, New York- in the 1940s. Potok helps bring this setting to life by providing details
about particular places.
Pick two of the places listed below, and give descriptive details from the novel that help you
visualize the setting.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Streets of Reuven’s neighborhood
Streets of Danny’s neighborhood
The Malter’s apartment
The Saunder’s synagogue and apartment
Theme
The theme of a literary work is an insight about life or human nature that the writer
presents to the reader. In The Chosen Potok shares some ideas about religion, tradition,
relationships with family and friends, and education.
Come up with two themes from the first four chapters of The Chosen. Write them down
and include details from the story that led you to these themes.
Characterization
Characterization is the method the writer uses to create a character. There are four
different methods of characterization:
 description of physical appearance
 the character’s own thoughts, feelings, speech and actions
 other character’s thoughts, feelings, speech, and actions
 the narrator’s direct comments.
Describe the character (personality and physical traits) of Reuven and Danny. Give specific
examples of characterization from the text to support your description.
Conflict
Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces in a story or book. There are two types of
conflict: internal and external. An internal conflict occurs within a character and an external
conflict occurs between a character and an outside force.
Identify one internal and one external conflict in the book The Chosen. Explain each of the
conflicts using specific evidence from the text to support your explanation.
Plot
Plot is the sequence of events in the story.
Summarize, in chronological order, the main events that happened in The Chosen. You should
include one event from each chapter. You may create a timeline, if you would like.
Comic Strip
Create a comic strip showing the plot of your novel. For The Chosen, use chapters 1-5.

Your comic strip must be 12 cells or blocks.

It must be colored.

It must have dialogue or narration.

No stick figures!!!
Farcebook
Using the Farcebook template, create a Farcebook (fake Facebook) page for a character from
The Chosen. The Farcebook templates are on the website for you to print.