Chaim Potok, The Chosen

Patrick Chura (University of Akron)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1967

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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The riveting first chapter of

The Chosen

depicts a violent confrontation between two groups of young men from opposed cultures in a diverse Brooklyn neighborhood. One side believes that they alone have God’s ear and that their rivals are sinners and hypocrites who will “burn in hell” (28). The other side is enraged by the fanatic self-righteousness of their antagonists. Bitter acrimony drives both factions, and the participant who narrates the confrontation suffers a dangerous eye injury deliberately inflicted by an enemy. After the clash, that enemy speaks of having “really wanted to kill” (67) the injured boy.

From this description, one might guess that Potok’s chapter is about a gang war, tribal feud or street fight of the type that begins a work like Shakespeare’s Romeo

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3850 words

Citation: Chura, Patrick. "The Chosen". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 June 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35888, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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