The chosen, written by Chaim Potok, is my third quarter research novel. It describes a friendship between two Jewish boys in opposite religion sides after World War II. Danny is the son of the leader of traditional Orthodox Jew. He should succeed his father while he has a strong desire for secular knowledge. He does not want to fully follow his father's path so that the contradictory thoughts cause main conflicts in the novel.

This is my essential question that comes up in my mind after I finish the book. I am very interesting in the parent-children relationship in psychological field.

Nowadays, children are embedded in a more competitive condition. Status, performance, and appearance are the standards to success. Even though people sometimes realize that encourage children to be themselves is very impressive, in most of time, public will judge the kids by the grades and prizes. As a result, pushing teens to be the best is very popular and well-intentioned. Every parent worries that kids may be left behind in a such competitive world. Ironically, if parents get too much involvement in forcing kids to succeed, children may become less motivated and more sustainable. Also, if the status is too high for kids to reach, it may engender fear that kids will be afraid of all possible failures. In another perspective, teens will lose chance to discover themselves when they acquiesce to parents. In addition, excessive worry about kids' success is not good for parents, either. They may lose temperament easily, causing the loss in daily work.

My favorite quote is, "Encouraging teens to think and advocate for themselves, making their own choices, and experience natural consequences of their decisions fosters the development of identity, values, and responsibility." In my mind, it is the most impressive sentence in the article. It suggests an idea that teens should be encouraged by parents, instead of just acquiescing parents' orders. It is better to think in their own way and manage their life. Children can learn a lot from independence that can help to develop a more prudent and brilliant identity.

The research answers the essential question in a interesting way, demonstrating that excessive pressure is not beneficial for kids' growth. If parents make all decisions for kids and push them to success, children will lose the ability of self-management, value conception, and responsibility. In the novel The Chosen, Danny Saunders, one of the main protagonists, has a strong conflict with his father about his future life. He wants to become a scholar who can seek for knowledge beside only reading the religion books; however, his father is the leader of Hasidic and wants his son to succeed his position. Consequently, from the research's view, Danny behaves in a correct way that he can chase for his own dream and learn from his unique experience, building up a good identity.