In Chaim Potok's, The Chosen, he highlights the lives of a couple young men as they grow both together and individually. One of the boys is Daniel Saunders, the son of a tzaddik and Hasidic Jew. He comes from a different background than the book's main character, Reuven Malter, and goes through different obstacles in his quest for identity. Danny Saunders is a prime example of how an adolescent moves through James Marcia's stages of identity development.

Danny was raised by his strict and revered father, and a sickly mother, in an authoritarian home. Such a home leaves most children feeling as if they had lacked a close, warm relationship with their parents. Consequently, parents are not someone the child feels they can turn to for empathy and problem solving. Authoritarian parents value obedience and respect. They do not negotiate rules and believe in a family hierarchy. Danny's...