Bread Givers, Analysis of Sara Essay - 1599 Words

Bread Givers 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. Sara Smolinsky is the youngest of four sisters; the eldest is Bessie, whom everyone calls the â€Å"Burden-bearer† because the whole family lives on her pay check. â€Å"I knew the landlord came that morning hollering for rent. And the whole family were hanging on Bessie’s neck for her wages. Unless she got work soon, we’d be thrown in the street to shame and to laughter for the whole world.†(1) The second eldest†¦show more content†¦Less than nothing-a blotted-out existence. No life on earth and no hope of Heaven.† (205) To Reb, â€Å"women are â€Å"Bread Givers,† serving men so that they may serve God.† (Avery) If there is one thing Reb Smolinsky doesn’t believe in, is true love and true love is the only kind Sara wants. When it comes to who the girls want to marry, there is no winning with Reb Smolinsky. â€Å"The mother worries about marrying of Bessie, who is getting old. The boarders, whom the family hoped would want to marry the girls, only have eyes for Mashah, who spends all her money on herself. Fania is the first to get a young man, but he is poor and goes to night school. He writes poetry to Fania.† (Overview) A man by the name of Berel offers to marry Bessie with-out a dowry but Reb insists he must make him a business because he can’t live without Bessie’s wages. So Bessie must turn him away and stay with her father, also Mashah falls in love with a piano player from a rich family. â€Å"The man put new light in her eyes, new life in her face, and such a wonder-working joy in her heart that it changed the â€Å"empty-head† into a signing sunshine. The pretty doll became overnight a feeling person- a person with a heart.† (53) They were head over heels in love but his father didn’t like the idea of a poor Jewish girl marring his son, but that isn’t what stopped them. HisShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book The Givers 1155 Words   |  5 PagesErin Curley 10/9/14 Building American Identity: English Sara’s Success Sara Smolinsky, protagonist in the novel Breaad Givers, is one of the most successful characters in the book. Although her father, Reb, is financially dependent on his four daughters, Sara is determined to become an otherwise independent woman, contrasting with her sisters, who follow in their father’s wishes of becoming a wife and/or mother. Analysis of the book reveals that, despite Reb Smolinsky’s oppressiveness and dependenceRead MoreWhat does Sara Hunger For? Essay1637 Words   |  7 PagesIn Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska Sara is growing up as a Jewish immigrant migrated from Russia. From a young age she has only wanted to support herself and her family. As she grows older she begins to aspire to be â€Å"something†. What that something is seems unclear even to Sara. Sara is so unsure of what she hungers for that multiple points can be argued. Some may say she hungers for money because of the way her family has always had to scrape for pennies just to survive. Some may argue she quests