Potok's autobiographically-based hero decides to isolate himself from his family to fulfill a desire to be an artist. In addition, Potok examines the theme of family versus the individual in his third novel, My Name is Asher Lev (1972). Nevertheless, The Chosen was nominated for the National Book Award and won the Edward Lewis Wallant Award, and The Promise received the Athenaeum Award. Its dialogue and plot resolutions have been called boring and systematic. Critics have both respected this novel and reproved it. Although the conflict centers on the beliefs of different Jewish sects, the conflict is universal. In The Chosen, the main character Danny Saunders is expected to follow his father in becoming a leader in the Hasidic community, but Danny is more interested in secular studies, especially psychology. This theme is particularly dominant in his most popular novels, The Chosen and its sequel, The Promise (1969). His success comes from his ability to describe the conflicting nature of living in a religious community and a larger secular community.
Potok has often been recognized as one of the most influential Jewish-American authors of the second half of the twentieth century. Throughout the eighties, he continued to write and was an important visiting professor at some of Pennsylvania's most well-respected universities, such as Bryn Mawr College and the University of Pennsylvania. In 1967, with the publication of The Chosen, Potok gained attention as an author of Jewish-American literature and as the editor-in-chief of the Jewish Publications Society based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During this time he began teaching at Jewish universities and institutes. Together, the couple had three children: Rena, Naama, and Akiva.
To complement his undergraduate studies, Potok trained to be a rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary Teachers' Institute, where he graduated with a master's degree in Hebrew literature and won several awards, including the Hebrew Literature Prize.įollowing the Korean War, in which he served as a chaplain, Potok married Adena Sarah Mosevitzky on June 8, 1958. Graduating from Yeshiva University with a degree in English, he showed promise by earning summa cum laude honors in 1950. Literary works, such as James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, sparked Potok's interest in becoming a writer. Raised in an Orthodox Jewish family and environment, a young Potok struggled to maintain his interests in painting and fiction writing while simultaneously being faithful to the strict traditions of the Orthodox teachings. Herman Harold Potok (Hebrew name: Chaim) was born in New York City, to Polish-Jewish immigrants Benjamin Max and Mollie Potok, on February 17, 1927.
0 kommentar(er)
