In Anzia Yezierska’s novel entitled Bread Givers, there is an apparent conflict between Reb Smolinsky, a devout Orthodox rabbi of the Old World, and his daughter Sara who yearns to associate and belong to the New World. Throughout the story, one learns about the hardships of living in poverty, the unjust treatment of women, and the growth of a very strong willed and determined young woman—Sara Smolinsky. After leaving Poland to venture out into the New World of America, the Smolinsky family endured
The Struggle in Bread Givers Several changes have occurred since the 1920s in traditional family values and the family life. Research revealed several different findings among family values, the way things were done and are now done, and the different kinds of old and new world struggles. In Anzia Yezierska's Bread Givers, Sara and her father have different opinions of what the daughters' role should be. Sara believed that she should be able to choose what her life will be, because it is
Freedom is Not Free in Bread Givers Anzia Yezierska in Bread Givers and "Children of Loneliness" explores the theme of reconciling assimilation to American culture and retaining her cultural heritage. "Richard F. Shepard asserted in the New York Times that Yezierska’s people…did not want to find themselves. They wanted to lose themselves and find America" (Gale Database 8). Rachel and Sara, the main characters, move ahead by employing the America motto of hard work will pay off. The problem
Symbols and Characters of "Bread Givers". One of the significant features of Jewish history throughout many centuries was migration. From the ancient pre-Roman times to medieval Spain to the present days the Jews were expelled from the countries they populated, were forced out by political, cultural and religious persecution, and sometimes were motivated to leave simply to escape economic hardship and to find better life for themselves and for their children. One of the interesting pages of
Anzia Yezierska's Bread Givers Anzia Yezierska's Bread Givers attacks several social norms of both her traditional Polish homeland and the American life her protagonist has come to know. Clearly autobiographical, Bread Givers boldly questions why certain social and religious traditions continue throughout the centuries without the slightest consideration for an individual's interests or desires. Sara's traditional Jewish upbringing exposed her to a life dominated by patriarchal control;
The autobiographical novel, Bread Givers, is the story of a young girl Sara Smolinsky growing up in an immigrant Jewish household with her sisters Bessie, Fania and Mashah along with her parents Reb and Shena. Sara’s father, Reb, refuses to work to support his family and instead spends most of his days reading holy books. In turn, the neglect for his family has left his daughters to find means to provide for themselves. Throughout the novel there can be seen a common theme of oppression from Reb
In the great story of a young girls triumph over poverty, rejection and innumerable failures as a child, she will unfortunately never truly prosper as an adult in the world in which she lives. Our protagonist, Sara Smolinsky who is the youngest of the four Smolinsky girls, has the most motivation in life to be independent, and fend for herself. However to achieve this goal she would need to break loose of the family chain and peruse a life elsewhere. It appears she has done so as she runs away from
Immigrant Reality Exposed in Bread Givers For thousands of years people have left their home country in search of a land of milk and honey. Immigrants today still equate the country they are immigrating to with the Promised Land or the land of milk and honey. While many times this Promised Land dream comes true, other times the reality is much different than the dream. Immigration is not always a perfect journey. There are many reasons why families immigrate and there are perception differences
Anzia Yezierska's Bread Givers and Soap and Water In Anzia Yezierska's works Bread Givers and "Soap and Water", she uses similar aspects of the characters that portray her own life. Both of the stories resemble similarities of Yezierska's life and appear to be autobiographical to her personal experiences. The author portrays, in both the stories, a belief that the majority culture is "clean" while the minority culture is dirty. Sarah in Bread Givers and the narrator in "Soap and Water"
perspective with God and the idea of progress on their side. Every immigrant story is a progression in every realm of thought. Works Cited 1.William Bradford. Of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647 1981. New York: Random House. 2.Anzia Yezierska. Bread Givers 1925. New York: Doubleday 3. Chaim Potok. Wanderings: History of the Jews 1978 New York: Fawcett Crest 4. Charlotte Erickson Emmigration From Europe 1815-1914 1976. London: A&C Black
The Women of House on Mango Street and Bread Givers Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago and grew up in Illinois. She was the only girl in a family of seven. Cisneros is noted for her collection of poems and books that concentrate on the Chicano experience in the United States. In her writings, Cisneros explores and transcends borders of location, ethnicity, gender and language. Cisneros writes in lyrical yet deceptively simple language. She makes the invisible visible by centering on the lives
experiences of immigrants who flooded to America. The Bread Givers is a historical piece about immigrant life in the 1920’s written from the perspective of Sara Smolinsky, a teenage daughter of Jewish immigrants. This novel is a necessary addition to Juniors required reading because of its authentic portrayal of the immigrant experience and generational divide with feminist themes that are still relevant to students’ experiences today. The Bread Givers gives first-hand insight into immigrants’ living
From the late 1890’s to the early 1920’s Anzia Yezierska’s novel Bread Givers illustrating the immigrant experience with generational conflict. During the 1890’s to the 1920’s a massive influx of new immigrants, primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe resulted in the Americanization movement. These restrictions on immigration came from the western frontier closing, fast paced industrialization, city and rural emigration, economic distress and labor conflicts. Within cities immigrants were grouped
Bread givers is a novel that focuses on the life of how difficult life can be to be raised in a household where cultural aspects affect the living conditions. This novel explores this conflict in the perspective of a woman growing up in a household where males are considered to be more paramount than women. Degraded while growing up by her father, Sarah, the protagonist, battles to rid of the standards that her father has placed in her life. This included the ridicule of not finding a man to support
Anzia Yezierska’s Bread Givers is a historical fiction novel about the lives of a Jewish family of immigrants, the Smolinsky’s, living in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the 1920’s. The Smolinsky’s are a destitute family from Poland, that struggles to make ends meet, and to maintain their cultural identity after immigrating to the United States. The novel is told through the perspective of the family’s youngest daughter, Sara Smolinsky. Anzia Yezierska, an immigrant herself, is able to use
Philippos Padouvas USSO 101 Prof. Forsythe Bread Givers Paper Anzia Yezierska’s novel and semi-autobiographical book, Bread Givers is a fantastic look into the lives of the Smolinsky’s, a family of Polish-Jewish immigrants living in New York. The story follows Reb Smolinsky, the father of four daughters and a man who does not work but instead studies and preaches the word of the Torah, Shennah, the mother of four daughters named Bessie, Mashah, Fania, and Sara. The book is narrated by the youngest
Bread Givers Bread Givers tells the story of Sara Smolinsky, whose life is almost the same as Anzia Yezierska, who is the author. Through Sara we see the collapse of a family because of religion and old world ways. Sara tries so hard to get away from her past but in the end it shows that your family will always be there, for good or bad. Sara Smolinsky is the youngest of four sisters; the eldest is Bessie, whom everyone calls the “Burden-bearer” because the whole family lives on her pay check. “I
A Person Or A Place The impacts of home extend far beyond a physical dwelling, and are endlessly important in determining the nature of a person’s actions and accomplishments, both positively and negatively. The novel The Bread Givers, by Sonsyrea Tate, shows through the character Sara how impactful the ideals of home can be, specifically in ways detrimental to the character. These ideals manifest in Sara’s actions and thoughts throughout the novel, as, despite being independent, she is internally
This idea of struggling to assimilate in America can first be seen in Bread Givers, by Anzia Yezierska. 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
Bread Givers The 1920s was a hard and painstaking era in American history. Many family's throughout New York lived in absolute poverty and saved week to week just to make enough to eat and pay the rent. Many Immigrants flooded the streets desperate for work while living conditions were harsh and many starved. This is just the case of the novel Bread Givers, written by Anzia Yezierska. In this story we follow Sarah Smolinsky, an ambiguous independent Jewish girl "trapped" by her religious traditions