Essay Questions for The Chosen

Throughout the novel, Potok uses imagery of eyes, glasses, and other items associated with vision and perception. What do these images symbolize? Discuss several examples and how they relate to themes of the book.

Chaim Potok’s working title for The Chosen was A Time For Silence. Sound and silence play a huge role throughout the book. Compare and contrast how author use these opposites to further the messages of the book.

In The Chosen, every character, event, action, and idea seems to have a parallel, an opposite, or a complement. Identify several such relationships, and explain the purpose they serve in the novel.