Potok+Biography

//"Ideas are far more powerful than guns. We don't allow our enemies to have guns, why should we allow them to have ideas?" "Death is the solution to problems. Not man - no problem." "A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic."// How do these quotes represent what Aryeh Lev is trying to prevent? What do the quotes say about how the Jewish people were viewed in Asher's life time? Consider how Stalin's actions affected Asher and his family.
 * Opening Activity:** Consider the following quotes by Joseph Stalin:


 * Biography:** Chaim Potok was raised in a community where they were told to study the Talmud, not write stories or paint. He was brought up in a strict Jewish community that limited his writing apiration. Asher has a similar problem with his drawing and painting. Potok's eyes were opened to art when his school hired a teacher that showed paintings and taught the class how to paint. However, Hasids looked down upon art because it is "frivolous and even rebellious towards God"(1). His teachers and family were completely against him learning how to paint. Asher also faces this when his teachers and father discourage his artistic ability. Potok also read books that outside of school such as, James Joyce's //Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man// which discussed a person that was willing to go against social norms. Potok writes about such characters in both //The Chosen// and //My Name is Asher Lev//. Asher is an outcast because he paints things that show that the world is not pretty, which goes against his family's beliefs and religion. Chaim Potok's past and upbringing are portrayed in his writing by using the main characters to show the challenges that he went through. By overcoming those challenges, he became an extremely successful author and proved that he could still remain true to his beliefs and still show off his artistic gifts.

__Chaim Potok__. EXPLORING Novels. Online Detroit: Gale, 2003. From //Discovering Collection//. 2 May 2007. [|www.galenet.com]

1. Why does Asher have such a strong resistance about moving to Vienna? Is it just that he wont be able to talk to Yudel Krinsky anymore or is there more to it than that? 2. What makes Asher's father question the motives behind Asher's paintings and say that they are from Satan? 3. Asher makes negative comments about the Rebbe and has bad dreams about him. Does Asher see something bad in the Rebbe that his parents can't? 4. So far in the novel, Asher's mother seems to get closer to Asher, while his father seems to fade away. What could this show about Asher's relationship with his parents? 5. What does Asher's subconcious drawing on his Chumash show about his thoughts and views? Does Asher really know what he's drawing before he's finished? 6. After all of the help that Yudel Krinsky gives to Asher, why does Asher feel the need to steel the paints from Krinsky's store?
 * Discussion Questions:**

Kaity M.