"Bread Givers"

Paper Summary:

While Anzia Yezierska's "Bread Givers" is a work of fiction, the story of the Smolinsky family is quite typical of the reality faced by many Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Yezierska writes, not only of economic and monetary struggles tackled by countless immigrants, but of a familial dynamic emblematic of Eastern European Jewish culture. This paper explains how, through her account of Sara Smolinsky and family, Yezierska tells a history that recounts past struggles in the Jewish shtetl of Russian Poland, continuing all the way through the Americanization of the second-generation Jewish immigrant. It shows that this powerful tale of Sara Smolinsky helps create a context to further study the rich history of the Eastern European Jews in America.

From the Paper:

"The story of Sara Smolinsky begins well before the first chapter of Bread Givers. One cannot fully understand the direction Sara's life takes in America without first understanding the heritage and culture from which she came. While Bread Givers is centered around Sara and her family's experiences in America, the life of Sara's parents before immigrating to the United States is an integral part of Sara's story."

More papers on "Bread Givers":

• Book Review # 50041 : "Bread Givers"
• Analytical Essay # 48713 : "Bread Givers" by Anzia Yezierska"
• Analytical Essay # 42675 : "Bread Givers"

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