"Bread Givers" by Anzia Yezierska

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that "Bread Givers" is a source of cultural and social history because, even though it is fictionalized, it gives rich details of life in the early 20th century and illustrates many social conditions. The author points out that the book is not a primary history source, but rather a secondary source, full of facts that would be of use to just about any researcher who is interested in the period. The paper relates that this book is the story of a young girl's fight to make something of herself, just as the author came to America as a young girl in 1890 with her family, who emigrated from Poland, graduated from college, and wrote six books between 1920 and 1932.

From the Paper:

"Sara's story, and the story of her sisters is not unusual for the time, and provides the historian and interested reader with rich details of how these Jewish immigrants lived and worked in the ghettos of New York. Sara recognized her father's dominance over the family, and struggled to make a life for herself, which her sisters did not have the strength to do. She said plaintively, "I don't want to sell herring for the rest of my days. I want to learn something. I want to do something" (Yezierska 66). She broke away from the family and suffered incredible hardships to educate herself, and in addition, these experiences give great insight into the personal history of the people, and of the time."

More papers on "Bread Givers" by Anzia Yezierska:

• Analytical Essay # 61809 : "The Bread Givers"
• Essay # 46073 : "Bread Givers"
• Book Review # 116723 : "Bread Givers"

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