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Symbols
Reuven’s injured and nearly blinded eye plays a key role in The Chosen from early on in the novel. Even after he heals the threat of blindness continues. In a world that so honors knowledge, the ability to perceive and receive information regarding both the outside world and oneself is of great importance. The novel is punctuated by moments of single-minded hatred or blind misunderstanding, which can only be overcome through careful observation. Mr. Malter also uses the eye as a symbol of life when he lectures his son on the need to make an impact during his short time on earth: “the eye that blinks, that is something.” Potok adds power to his use of the eye by depicting them as a means of communication as well as perception. Reuven and Danny communicate with their eyes when they are not allowed to talk; Mr. Malter’s eyes become dark when he is angry; and Reb Saunders asserts that he knew of Danny’s choice to become a psychologist by stating that he could “see his eyes.”
Eyes and Blindness Quotes in The Chosen
The The Chosen quotes below all refer to the symbol of Eyes and Blindness. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2
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“Things are always what they seem to be, Reuven? Since when?”
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I couldn’t imagine what it was like to know that no matter whether my eyes were opened or closed it made no difference, everything was still dark.
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Chapter 11
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It was as senseless, as – I held my breath, feeling myself shiver with fear – as Billy’s blindness was senseless. That was it. It was as senseless, as empty of meaning, as Billy’s blindness. I lay there and thought of Roosevelt being dead and Billy being blind, and finally I turned over and lay with my face on the pillow and felt myself crying. I cried a long time.
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Chapter 15
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We had begun to communicate with our eyes, with nods of our heads, with gestures of our hands.
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Eyes and Blindness Symbol Timeline in The Chosen
The timeline below shows where the symbol Eyes and Blindness appears in The Chosen. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 13
...of the Hasidic students avoid all contact with him. He is angry with “Reb Saunders’ blindness” and frustrated “at Danny’s helplessness.” Reuven talks to his father about this and his father...
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...lays awake thinking of everything he and Danny had done since his ball struck Reuven’s eye.
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Chapter 14
...silence hurts Reuven so much that it starts to affect his grades. He feels a “blind, raging fury” towards Reb Saunders. Reb Saunders starts staging anti-Zionist rallies, which are not successful....
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...and Danny looks thin and pale. He does not even acknowledge Reuven and appears almost blind, which makes Reuven very angry. Reuven tries to forget Danny but cannot, especially because they...
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Chapter 16
...pay for a soul” but will not explain any further. But Reuven describes that his “eyes were dark.”
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