Bread Givers

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 womanÐ'--Sara Smolinsky.

After leaving Poland to venture out into the New World of America, the Smolinsky family endured impoverished lifestyles and countless hardships. For example, After an incident between Reb and the landlady (which made Reb revered), boarders began to occupy the Smolinsky family's place, the three sisters Bessie, Fania, and Mashah had jobs, and they could purchase things they could have never afforded. These possessions included butter, regular towels, "toothbrushes[Ð'...] to brush [their] teeth with, instead of ashes", and "separate knives and forks instead of" eating "from the pot to the hand as [they] once did" (29). Today, these are belongings that must people have in their everyday lives. To have them marvel at these material things further emphasizes the poor life they were so used to. In addition, when Bessie (Sara's sister) dolls up the house with lace, oilcloths for the table, and cleans up all the clutter in the house for a man named Berel Bernstein, the mother suggests that they cover up the whiteness so as to prevent it from getting dirty. The mother warns the sisters not to "fly away with [themselves] in fairyland" because "[they're] poor people yetÐ'...and poor people got to save"(39). Their family had to withhold any pleasures in material things because they did not have time to impress others. All of the family members' wages went to the rent and what little food they had to eat. It was not realistic for them to be worrying about material possessions when they worry so much about where to get the money to put breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the table. Furthermore, Reb was always fixed in being the matchmaker for his children. He always made sure that the men they would marry was stable in their work, and that could support the rest of the family as well. There was a situation with Berel Bernstein in which Reb asked that if Berel was to marry Bessie, Berel would have to fork up some money to help buy "a new pair of shoes, and everything new from the head to the feet" because he didn't want to come to the "wedding feast dressed in rags, like a beggar"(48). As the story progresses, money is always an issue when it comes to the Smolinsky family. They are always worried about how to make money through various low paying jobs, keeping up with the rent, and marrying off the sisters to men that can support them. In a way, one might deem their family as dysfunctional. In my opinion, they were just doing everything they could to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. It is evident that their family had gone through many obstacles just to merely stay alive. Although they often fought over issues such as throwing away potato peels, or Masha's severe self-involvement in her looks over her family, they still "functioned" as a family nonetheless, supporting each other as they all go through the same hardships.

The outlooks on life between Sara, who was of the New World and Reb, who was of the Old World, clashed throughout the story. Reb is too engulfed in his Torah to realize the pain the women in his life were going through while he completely focused all of his time and energy into his religion while basking in his belief that men are superior to women. No one was allowed to enter Reb's room full of holy books, and the sisters knew "that if God had given Mother a son, Father would have permitted a man child to share with him his best room in the house" (9). In Reb's eyes, everything magnificent and great seems to only belong to men, and that women are not worth enough to receive such pleasures. Since Reb only had daughters, he was saddened that he had no son to honor him or study about their religion since "women had no brains for the study of God's Torah" (9). When Reb was upset with Sara after leaving their home to pursue an education to become a teacher, and finding out that she refused Max Goldstein for marriage, he would not listen to Sara and what she was feeling. Sara knew that her father was "a tyrant from the Old World where only men were people" and that "[she] was nothing but his last unmarried daughter to be bought and sold"(205). It is evident that to Reb, women are only good for serving their men hand and foot, doing whatever they want them to do. The value of a woman is based on their willingness to obey, and Reb treats Sara as if she is a pawn, trying to control her in all that she does. Reb does not believe that Sara (or any woman at that) is capable of taking care of themselves, or getting anywhere far in the world. However, one has to be impressed at Reb's invincible faith and strong representation of obsolete tradition. At the end of the novel, Sara reflects to herself that only "he alone remained unchanged", and "all that he had left of life was his fanatical adherence to his traditions" (296). After all the ups and downs of the Smolinsky family, everyone had changed except for Reb. His faith never wavered, and with all the misfortunes that plagued the family, he remained devout and evermore trusting in his religion, beliefs, and traditions of which he has grown so accustomed to.

The economic opportunities available to women in this book were very limited. When Fania tried to find a job, she came across "a shirt factory, where they had a sign, Ð''Girls Wanted,'", but "after [they] waited for hours and hours, only two girls were taken" (2). It was difficult for a woman to find a decent job. With such crucial responsibility for the sisters to come together to find jobs and support the rest of the family, it was a shame to see the limited opportunities available to them. Sara also helped out the family by "[working] in a paper-box factory" who "was the quickest Ð''hand' on the floor" (89). After an incident that involved Sara wasting potato peels by throwing them away, Sara became eager to work in order to feel like she had a role in the family. She prides herself in her hard work and enthusiasm to earn even the slightest bit of money to help. In addition, Sara also gets a job as an ironer while simulataneously going to school to become a teacher. Sara is industrious and diligent,

...