Social Norms in ‘Bread Givers’ by Anzia Yezierska

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Story of Smolinsky
Conclusion
Reference

Introduction

Social and traditional norms and restrictions are often ingrained in society to such an extent that they restrain an individual’s interests and desires. This is experienced by Sara Smolinsky, the protagonist in Anzia Yezierska’s novel Bread Givers. Published in 1925, the novel attained instant success as it related a family’s sub-human treatment by the father and ultimate success in the life of Sara by dint of hard work and unwavering determination under trying conditions wherein any ordinary young woman might have turned into prostitution.

Story of Smolinsky

Reb Smolinsky settles down in a two-room house with his wife Shenah and four daughters, Bessie, Fania, Masha, and Sara. Youngest in the house, Sara is witness to harsh treatment by their father. Autocratic by nature and traditional to the extreme, he expects his family to serve his every whim. Bessie, the eldest daughter works in an airless factory and is called ‘burden bearer’ by Reb. The family solely depends on her earnings. Reb repels a potential suitor to Bessie on the same ground. Fania and Masha are fashionable and they select their life partners. Moris Lipsky is a struggling poet, loved by Fania and Masha is attracted to Jacob a concert pianist from an Americanized,

wealthy Jewish family. Their father rejects the proposals and gets his three daughters married according to his wish. Sara is shocked at the turn of events and their mother is a mute spectator to her daughters’ miserable lives. She too bears the brunt of her husband’s cruelty.

Under these circumstances, Sara is determined to carve a niche for herself. To escape from this ghetto, she realizes she has to attain economic independence. Her only outlet is to get herself educated and take up the teaching profession. Her ultimate aim is to not allow herself to buckle under chauvinistic oppression. Her early lessons towards her new life began when she buys herrings for a penny each and peddles them for two cents per piece.

Later, she takes on her father’s inept work only to land in a paper box factory and take on a second shift as a student in night school. Despite her father’s disapproval of her life, she strikes out on her own with perseverance. Her only consolation is her mother’s unstinted support. “The scene between mother and daughter in the cramped, cold room that Sara rents are one of the most poignant in the book. It’s a moment of pure female love and empathy, a moment that transcends generational and cultural obstacles”.

Slowly and painfully she finds her way into college and gradually learns to talk, dress and act like her American peers. Through persistent efforts, she comes out of college rather proudly with her teaching degree and $1000 which she wins in an essay contest. Unfortunately, she loses her mother but decides not to give up. Meanwhile, Reb gets married and this further strengthens the daughters’ hatred for their father. She then joins the school as a teacher in New York and falls in love with the Principal, Hugo Selig, a Jewish American immigrant himself. Sara’s mind is tranquil as she has left her old life completely behind.

Through sheer confidence and boldness, she has attained triumph over her circumstances. She understands that her choices are not limited to an arranged marriage or a life of sweatshop servitude. The harsh realities of life have made her a mature woman, a Jewish woman of valor who embodies one of the Torah’s highest ideals by forgiving her father and promising to take care of him when she finds that his life is in the gutter.

Conclusion

Sara, in the true sense, is more than a survivor of the traditional Jewish culture. Her fortitude transforms Bread Givers into an American classic. Yezierska’s work will remain in the hearts of every reader who yearns for freedom from unjustified oppression.

Reference

Yezierska, Anzia. Bread Givers. New York: Persea Books, 1925.

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Introduction

Story of Smolinsky

Conclusion

Reference

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