In this novel, the Smolinsky family accurately depicted the lives of immigrants in New York in the 1920s. Just like the Smolinsky’s people were dirt poor and bargained for every penny. One major detail that this novel brings about is the male role in society. Men were considered the “bread winners” and were expected to support the family, save money and eventually pay a dowry to marry off his daughters. However, this was not the case here. The father, Reb, was an Orthodox rabbi who constantly preached the ways of the Torah and depended on the wages of his daughters. His daughters did not have any freedom especially in their intimate relationships. After rejecting the man that they were in love with, Reb arranged marriages for his three eldest daughters. Heartbroken each one of them went through with the marriage out of respect toward their father and more importantly to escape home where they were miserable. Sara, the youngest of the four daughters, had a strong desire to change her faith. Determined not to end up like her sisters, she ran away from home claiming that she was American and therefore was free to set up her own life as she wishes. This showed the cultural difference between Russia and America and how the new world was inspirational. At the same time, it demonstrates how not everyone was guaranteed to succeed and the struggle that immigrants faced upon moving. In addition, there was a lot of fraud that went unpunished. For example, the cheap grocery store that Reb thought he was buying for a bargain that turned out to be filled with empty boxes and false products instead of groceries. Overall, i found this book the most interesting out of the ones that we had read so far this semester. I was appalled at the way the daughters were treated and how each one (with the exception of sara who eventually breaks free) obeyed their father. Today, no one would stand this treatment and the role of woman and men are more or less equivalent.