Anzia Yezierska’s Novel, Bread Givers Essay

Maryusha Antonovksy was no more. In her place stood Mary Antin, the same immigrant Jewish girl but with a new “American” name. Mary had also bought “real American machine-made garments” to replace her “hateful” homemade European-style clothes. “I long to forget,” she said. “It is painful to be conscious of two worlds.”

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.

From “The Lost ‘Beautifulness’” by Anzia Yezierska, the quote “Something must be done,” reflects Mrs. Preston’s understanding of the circumstances she faces that are dire to the situation. By breaking her usual demeanor she is composed throughout the text being described as a resilient, hardworking woman who puts pride into anything. Her job as a janitress, however, is condemned when the building that she lives in faces a rude reality. She ends up losing her job, which makes her feel like she lost her sense of purpose in life. This quotation contrasts with other depictions of Mrs. Preston’s resilience and stoicism.

The first stage that is introduced by Allen and Turner, is cultural assimilation as they explain, “Both English language skills and formal education represent important aspects of cultural assimilation. At the same time, the learning of English and other cultural skills on the part of immigrants and their progeny leads to better jobs, resulting in higher income.” (141) These skills are pressured upon Sara’s transition into American culture. She’s instilled in her mind to archive a college degree as American standards required a higher education for a more successful lifestyle. Sara portrays this cultural assimilation when she’s found adhering to the culture of wealth and appearance to express her education through the image. Yezierska emphasizes the outcome of the achievement of the “American Dream” being an empowering moment for Sara. She asserts, “A triumphant sense of power filled me. Life was before me because my work was before me. I, Sara Smolinsky, had done what I set out to do. I was now a teacher in the public schools. And this was but my first step in the ladder of my new life. I was only at the beginning of things. The world outside was so big and vast. Now I’ll have my leisure and the quiet to go on and on, higher and higher.” (Yezierska

In “The Lesson,” the author shows how one can alter their circumstances. The story is being told by a young girl name Sylvia; through her observation of living in Harlem, readers are able to get a glance of what kind of environment she and the other children lived in. Sylvia was known to be outspoken and unruly but by Miss Moore taking her and her peers under her wing she made a change for the better. Miss Moore took the children on a trip to an expensive store in Manhattan called F.A.O Swartz where the children saw a variety of toys with expensive price tags. Miss Moore wanted the children to see how wealthy people lived and that the other opportunities out there. This short story shows how the environment contributes to ones determination of achieving the American Dream. Although, Miss Moore was well adjusted to this environment, the

Toni Cade Bambara’s "The Lesson" revolves around a young black girl’s struggle to come to terms with the role that economic injustice, and the larger social injustice that it constitutes, plays in her life. Sylvia, the story’s protagonist, initially is reluctant to acknowledge that she is a victim of poverty. Far from being oblivious of the disparity between the rich and the poor, however, one might say that on some subconscious level, she is in fact aware of the inequity that permeates society and which contributes to her inexorably disadvantaged economic situation. That she relates poverty to shame—"But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be

In The Bread Givers the main women characters I focused on are Sara Smolinsky, Shena Smolinsky, Bessie Smolinsky, Mashah Smolinsky, and Fania Smolinsky. Sara narrates the story. She is very strong willed, and determined to make a life for herself. An example of her strong wills is when everyone was out of work she took twenty five cents to buy herring at a penny each and doubled her money selling them to others on the street. She took her earnings home to her mother to provide food for her family. Her mother called her crazy head when she offered to help, so she had to go peddle the herring to prove her wrong. I feel like she feels bitter about her father not allowing the girls to take certain opportunities when given the chance. You can tell

As a result, she lacked confidence in her education. She stated, “My early education did not partake of the abundant opportunities which the present day affords and which even our common schools now afford. I was never sent to any school; I was always sick.” Even though she did not attend a formal school it did not put her out of reach of a proper education (Peterson, 9).

     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.

In Anzia Yezierska's short story "The lost beautifulness," the protagonist Hanneh Hayyeh scrimps and saves to be able to paint her apartment white to make it look respectable for her son Ady when he comes home from fighting World War I. Hayyeh wants some kind of hope to cling to in her desperate immigrant's life. Although the dialect of the characters is Russian-Jewish and the setting is in an early 20th century urban environment, the idea of immigrant aspirations and the conflict between rich and poor is a common theme in American literature.

The Bread Giver is about an internal struggle that went on within a recently immigrated Jewish family. Not only were they coping with the changes of coming to America, but gender roles within the larger community were also shifting. The turn of the century was ripe to explore areas of tradition that many racial groups considered revered, and traditionally held beliefs would be called into question when likened to issues of practicality and basic survival needs. The evolutionary process from “old” to “new” had begun and there was no way to stop its forward movement. Sara was soon to become a pioneer in her own right.

There is a double standard of academics that take place at St. Paul’s. While the school promotes the idea of economic success through personal achievements and merit for all their students, the girls at the institution work hard and tend to do better than the boys. This is done without ease. For example, Mary is a student who continually works hard to achieve academic success but does so in a frantic and uncomfortable manner. An essential part at the elite school is being able to exhibit a certain mark of belonging (Khan 115). Khan states, “Lots of students spend as much time as Mary working in the library and their rooms. This is particularly true of girls” (121). The elite institutions strive for equality between the genders, but tend to have stronger female candidates. The girls inevitably have to work harder than the boys in order to achieve higher grades and perform better in school. The girls at St. Paul’s must work harder than boys in order

After reading the professor's comments regarding Paper 1, I concur that I investigated the bourgeois state in a capitalist society but did not fully develop my argument on work, labor, and free time. In order to address this I should have incorporated The Conquest of Bread by Peter Kropotkin. Two chapters in particular that would connect anarchism communism to work, labor, and free time are Chapters fifteen and fourteen.

She never quite knew what was expected of her, nor did she care. After high school, she did not even attempt college, it seemed too pretentious and cliché, paying to “learn” more about the world instead of actually living it. She longed for other ways to expand her mind. As the windowpane rattled under the soft torrents of rain through the streets of the Manhattan village, Veazey sat, knees bent to her chest, wondering what was to become of her. “Waitressing, is such bullshit” she thought. It could hardly pay her rent, not to mention provide a meager meal once a week. She could not even afford a taxi to take her home from each shift; so today she walked home through the forty-degree pouring rain. Sometimes she felt like one of those

Money can pave the way for better life if we use them intelligently. This essay talks about Martha, the girl who lives in medium size city and middle class family. She has a dream which is to be a businesswoman, so she wants to study at the state university, but her job at fast food restaurant for three years didn't earn her a lot of money for school. Also her family can’t cover the costs. But before the end of her high school she got an inheritance from her aunt who was living in Texas which let her make different plans to spend the money, but her mother and father were thinking how she will spend the money without given her any advice until she asks for it. However the best way for her is to save the money or invest it somewhere rather