The Chosen by Chaim Potok: Exploring the Relationship between Rueven and Danny

Danny and Reuven's many similarities such as their intelligence, religion, and love of learning bring them to become friends, while their differences in culture allow them to learn from each other. It is in this way that Reuven and Danny's strengths complement each other's weaknesses. Both the boys support each other by sharing their knowledge of the world, which is perceived differently because of their two very unlike types of Judaism. The experiences they share …

…in effect, gained too many attributes of the other, with Danny going into the more mathematical field of experimental psychology, and Reuven becoming a rabbi. This seems ironic, even to the two men, but was probably inevitable considering how much time the two spent learning and teaching each other's ways. This friendship was a journey of discovering their true selves and helping one another find the courage to do what they really wanted in life.