When I read the book “The Bread Givers” by Anzia Yezierska I was able to acquire a descriptive image of our American history in a new manner alternatively of reading a typical text book. Anzia tells a narrative of the Smolinsky household, a Judaic immigrant household that has relocated to New York from Poland in hopes that America will supply them with a better life. Alternatively the household finds themselves in poorness and famishment. The household struggles to maintain their traditions in a new land. However, the youngest girl, Sara, finds her way in life in a manner that is uniquely American and divergent from the remainder of her household.
Reb Smolinsky, the male parent and devoted holy adult male, spends every minute of his life analyzing the sanctum Torah so he provides nil for his household other than his holy wisdom and does non recognize that he has no apprehension of how the existent universe works. Therefore he does non experience he is doing the household any injury. The female parent Shena Smolinsky loves her hubby and supports his way in life but is excessively stressed out by the poorness and famishment they are in. It is the sisters that are the bread givers in the household, supplying everything to the household. Bessi the oldest, is coined the work Equus caballus because she has ever taken attention of the household ‘s demands. But she is non able to do sufficiency for the whole household and Mashah and Fania are fighting to happen work
Sara is different ; one time she becomes a difficult worker she excels as an enterpriser. One dark when the household ‘s poorness grows more important Sara is motivated by a chiding from her female parent and decides to do it up to her and leaves the house to travel do money. She is able to purchase some fish and do a small money purchase reselling them for net income. But it does non halt at that place. Sara keeps merchandising and keeps doing a net income and with the success she begins to happen herself. As she begins to star believing more for herself she begins to resent her male parent more and more
As the narrative goes on the girls portion a common life end of acquiring married but are absolutely broken when their male parent insists on tradition and makes them get married who he sees fit. Mashah falls in love with Jacob Novak and the music he makes but when Reb finds out about the relationship he disapproves and blackmails Jacob to travel off for several yearss, interrupting Mashah ‘s bosom. And when Jacobs comes place Reb defaces him for playing music on Sabbath. When Fania finds love with a male child named Morris Lipkin Reb so makes him experience unworthy of his girl and he leaves. Fania is so doomed to an unhappy matrimony her male parent arranges to Abe Schmukler, a adult male merely interested in money. Bessi finally finds love but when she does Reb will non allow her travel because if he does he will non hold anyone that can take attention of him. Rather than get marrieding for love or following through with her ideas to run off, Bessi plays it safe and ends up get marrieding Zolman, a fish pedlar her male parent has set her up with
Sara is the lone girl that finds her ain way in life and love. As she gets older she finds work in a laundry mat while traveling to school at dark. When her male parent eventually sets her up to be married to Max Goldstein she about does it but when she finds out he cares nil about anyone other than himself and money she decides he is non the 1 for her. She does the unheard of thing and denies her male parent ‘s wants for her ain desires. When Reb gets word of Sara non staying to his program he disowns her. When Sara finishes school she lands a occupation working in a New York school
But when she has accomplished what she has ever wanted she is non every bit happy as she thought she would be. As she still sort of hunts for that nothingness in her life she is impressed with the rule at her school, Hugo Seeling. In the book she describes him of holding that particular visible radiation that her male parent had but without all the bad qualities
When Hugo and Sara eventually become involved with each other Sara gets word that her female parent is deceasing. When Sara returns place to see her female parent her female parents deceasing want is that she take attention of Reb. When her female parent passes off Reb remarries rapidly and his foolish determination is a smack in the face to all of his girls. Rebs new married woman Mrs. Feinstein is a really evil lady who hopes she can acquire fiscal addition by impairing Reb and when she tries to steal money from the household the girls both disown Reb. After a short clip of being married Reb is being treated awfully by his new married woman. Sara thinks about her female parent ‘s deceasing wish and wants to assist her male parent by allowing him travel in with her but she is terrified of losing her self-constituted independency, the trait that distinguishes her so much from her sisters. Hugo encourages Sara to allow her male parent move in and has a deep regard for Reb ‘s cognition of the sanctum books. They besides portion the same upbringing from Poland. Ultimately, Hugo is non that far removed from Sara ‘s household, but he represents a different sort of immigrant experience. Hugo represents a balance for Sara between household and independency
In reading this book I thought that there are many things that have non changed and that have changed in the universe today. We still have households that insist on their old traditions and would wish their kids to get married within their race and people still marry for money thought that it is the lone manner to accomplish felicity. This book teaches you that people can larn organize their errors and that people can be stubborn plenty to deny themselves what is right and do them and everyone around them unhappy. But in the terminal all the misss except Sara were doomed to this unhappy life and even though Sara did it on her ain thing she was ne’er genuinely happy. Sara knew what she wanted to make and she accomplished her life long dream of being a instructor but in the terminal when she had what she wanted it was non the null filling experience she thought it would be.