The most important factor that shapes Sara Smolinsky’s decision is individual time. She is characterized as an intrapersonal individual. She is very concerned about herself and her life goals. Unlike her sisters Sara sees beyond her parent’s beliefs and the poverty surrounding her. Throughout the novel Sara endeavors a transition between her old World on Hester street and her new world as a clean idealist. In the novel Sara continuously mentions her need to become a person in society. For instance, at her mother’s funerals she refuses to rend her garment to show grief (297). This shows how extreme Sara is about completely neglecting the Torah. This also gives an insight to how self-observed she is that doesn’t wouldn’t even respect her traditions
The book Blind, written by Rachel DeWoskin, is about a highschool sophomore named Emma, who went blind after being struck in the face with a firework. When she first lost her sight, Emma was placed in a hospital for over 2 months, and once she was released, she could finally go home again. DeWoskin uses the characterization of Emma throughout the beginning of the text to help the reader understand the character’s struggle more. Especially in the first few chapters, it was difficult for Emma to adapt to a world without sight. For instance, DeWoskin writes, “And sat down, numb, on our gold couch. And tried to open my eyes, rocked, counted my legs and arms and fingers. I didn’t cry. Or talk” (DeWoskin 44). As a result of losing a very important scent, she’s started to act differently from a person with sight.
For an immigrant, entering into the United States during the early 1900s was a time in search for new beginnings, new possibilities, and a new life. Similarly, this concept was the same for Sara. In the early chapters of the novel, Sara's character is introduced as a young, courageous girl who works hard every day providing money and food for her family. Her job consisted of working in shops and going out into the streets of New York as a beggar
... her goal. Just like most first generation immigrants, the family went through dreadful poverty. Anzia Yezierska did an excellent job in describing what life was like for Sarah’s family, which was a sample of what life was like for immigrants. As an illustration, when Mashah, who was worked went out and bought herself a toothbrush and a small towel for thirty-cents so she can have her own towel. The rest of the family became horrified. It was like, how dare she spend thirty-cents on a toothbrush and towel, when the rest of the family is starving and they needed that money to buy food? The father supposes it is his absolute right to expect that the four daughters either will never leave home thereby supporting him forever or they would leave home and marry somebody rich, who will then support him forever. The women in the Smolinsky family were the breadwinners.
The language in Fires in the Mirror, by Anna Deveare Smith, is a microcosm for the way in which language creates reality in every community.
In the novel The Bread Givers, there was a Jewish family, the Smolinsky family, that had immigrated from Russia to America. The family consisted of four daughters, a father, and a mother. The family lived in a poverty-stricken ghetto. The youngest of the daughters was Sara Smolinsky, nicknamed ?Iron Head? for her stubbornness. She was the only daughter that was brave enough to leave home and go out on her own and pursue something she wanted without the permission of her father. The Smolinsky family was very poor, they were to the point of which they could not afford to throw away potato peelings, and to the point of which they had to dig through other people?s thrown out ash in order to gather the coal they needed. They could not afford to buy themselves new clothes or new furniture.
... while she still has time (257). She fails at first, thinking her father is “bereft of his senses” in his second marriage (258). She believes this despite the Torah saying, “a man must have a wife to keep him pure, otherwise his eyes are tempted by evil” (259). Gradually, Sara begins to understand her father: the only thing he has in life is his fanatical adherence to traditions; “In a world where all is changed, he alone remained unchanged” (296). Reb has a deep and true fear of God, to expect him to change beliefs that he believes have been handed down by God, beliefs that have persisted for thousands of years, is illogical. It is impossible to reconcile fully the New World with the Old, and it is the responsibility of the New to be the more flexible, unfair as it may be.
...oreover, Hugo’s eager acceptance of Sara’s father and his cultural traditions draws Sara full circle into reconciliation with both her father and the traditional Jewish culture he personifies.
Anzia uses the narrator Sarah, to tell the story of family who newly moved to America and is living in New York City. From Sarah’s narration, we can see the idea that some first-generation immigrants had a resistance to assimilating to American culture, whereas their children quickly became Americanized. Sarah describes her father Reb Smolinsky as the patriarch of the family, who is often accused of keeping his children only for their wages. By her father relying on his daughters to bring in money for the family, he can continue to practice Torah like he did in the old country. We can further see this resistance to assimilate by Sarah’s father when he says “Sell my religion for money? Become a false prophet to the Americanized Jews! No. My religion is not for sale” (111,cite). By Sarah’s father refusing to get a job and contributing to his families American Dream, it shows that he has no desire to assimilate to new American ideals. Reb Smolinsky becomes a representation of a generation that is so deeply rooted in the past and has no intention to move forward. Sarah and her sisters are the newer generation and their view of assimilation is clearly different. Sarah recognizes that her father is stubborn and his difference in ideas of how life is supposed to be when she states that “he was the old world. I was the New” (cite). Unlike her father, her sisters work to further themselves and fulfill the American Dream. Sarah engages in hard work and doesn’t want to beg on the street for food, instead she has the desire “to go into business like a person” and proves this when she buys herring to resell on the street and despite her little knowledge of business she ends up earning an unexpected twenty-five cents profit (21
The letter is an illustration of her journey and challenges as the woman who broke social standards and expectations. Instead having the reputation as the “woman with the scarlet letter” the community describes her with “no selfish need, nor lived in any measure for her own profit and enjoyment, people brought all their sorrows and perplexities, and besought her counsel… Hester comforted and counseled them, as best she might”(pg.64). He once shameful badge of guilt and torture now reveals the ultimate meaningless of puritans community’s system of judgment and punishment. Her goodness and caring nature changes the town people’s attitude towards her and the letter, as now the story of the Scarlet letter is a “legend.” As to those who don’t know her, such as the Native Americans, they see the letter as if, “ the wearer of brilliantly embroidered badge must needs to be a personage of high dignity among her people”(pg.58). Even though, the vision of the A is seen as a new image in the eyes of her peers, to her, it still is a symbol of her past decisions. It is and will always be apart of self-identity and body, for when she comes back to town after many years of shame-free and independence, she puts the letter back
Deborah Tolman author of “Dilemmas of Desire” dwells on uncovering a wealth of feelings about sexuality from teenage girls who are faced with a lot of struggles in developing sexual identity and detached from their sexuality. One of her main argument is centered on the juxtaposition of media representations of girls as highly sexualized objects. For instance, “the urban girl is viewed as the overly sexual young jezebel. Latinas are often eroticized as exotic, sexually alluring and available.” (Tolman, pg.170). I agree with this statement due to simple fact that we are living in a highly sexualized cultural milieu and evidence of sexualization is seen through mainstream culture. Images such as Sarah Bartman depict African American/ urban portrayal of sexual imagery formed socio-historical
Out of the three wonderful narratives given, the best one is “Stepping Into the Light” by Tanya Savory. While “Shame” by Dick Gregory is an interesting read, it is the weakest out of the bunch. The story had no clear setting, to many extra details, and a lengthy exposition. “I Became Her Target” by Roger Wilkins was a better executed story, even though it still had some flaws. This piece lacks any figurative language, but it was to the point and had clear organization. Thus, Tanya Savory’s piece was the best. It was easy to follow, used a constant symbol, and used some stories from others to make her point. So using narrative styles and elements in the best way, Tanya Savory wrote the better story.
The story unfolds when, “Lengel, the store’s manager” (2191) confronts the girls because they are dressed inappropriately. To Sammy, it is a moment of embarrassment and in defiance he quits his job. The student suggests that in quitting, “Sammy challenges social inequality and is a person who is trying to
As time went on pieces from Emily started to drift away and also the home that she confined herself to. The town grew a great deal of sympathy towards Emily, although she never hears it. She was slightly aware of the faint whispers that began when her presence was near. Gossip and whispers may have been the cause of her hideous behavior. The town couldn’t wait to pity Ms. Emily because of the way she looked down on people because she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and she never thought she would be alone the way her father left her.
Until the last chapter of Ulysses, Molly Bloom was primarily seen through the eyes of the other viewpoint characters in the story. They are only small glimpses into her personality, and other than the few lines she does say, we see little of her own thoughts. In episode eighteen, we finally get her world view, even though her thoughts contradict themselves at times. In that episode, James Joyce is attempting to explore the mind of a 'universal woman', and their mindset, filtered through the eyes of one man. Himself.
In August 1948, at the age of 38, Mother Teresa decided to adventure into the poorest neighborhoods of Calcutta, India, in order to live out her utopian dream by providing food, care, education, and shelter for the poor. Feeding people the Word of God; clothing them with dignity; educating them with knowledge, peace, truth, justice and love; nursing the mind and spirit; and sheltering them with a heart that understands. ("servants") I believe that a utopian vision is any vision that follows natural law, creates happiness in the community, and is feasible. Mother Teresa's visions are, in fact, effective utopian visions. Mother Teresa's visions included living a simple life, serving the poorest of the poor, treating everyone as equals, suffering cheerfully, and loving all until it hurts. In this paper, the ideas and visions that Mother Teresa cherished will be evaluated and questioned based on my three defined criteria of a utopian vision.