The novel Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska revolves around the motif of the American Dream and how Sara, her father, and her sisters perceive it. To Sara, the American Dream primarily consists of making herself into a person, meaning that she wants to be successful by herself rather than relying on a man. Throughout the novel, Sara constantly tries to prove her worth to herself. She starts off by selling herring to help the family, moving away from her family, and taking night classes. To her, the American Dream is building herself up from the poverty she grew up in to attain stability. Also, through the process of attaining the American Dream, Sara wants to maintain her spirit and not let anyone sway her.
For Sara’s sisters, the American Dream revolves around escaping their father and their home. In the novel, all three girls fall for men who are almost opposites of their father. These men are less devout and try to make a living off of themselves rather than relying on someone else to carry their burden. The American Dream for the girls also consists actually falling in love and being loved rather than having someone picked out for them. The girls all fall for men who admire them but are looked down upon by their father.
For Sara’s father, the American Dream relies on being successful, maintaining his religion, and marrying off his daughters. For Sara’s father, he predominantly spends his days reading the Torah and relies solely on his wife and daughters to provide for him. Without his wife and daughters, Sara’s father would not service since he has never worked and refuses to carry his own burden. To an extent, Sara’s father’s American Dream revolves around the customs of the Old World, while allowing himself to become famous in his community. Sara’s father wants to be successful by marrying off his daughters and helping them become religiously sound. While he acts so stubborn towards his family, he does want his family to prosper and tries to do that by buying the store, while also trying to marry his daughters off to devout men with jobs.
To all of the characters in Bread Givers, the concept of the American Dream does not solely reflect a material object. Instead, all of the characters want to achieve the American Dream in a more emotional way. They all want to better themselves as people whether it be to get an education, fall in love, or strengthen religious beliefs. This spiritual form of the American Dream is as a result more difficult to obtain, since one can either stay with one’s beliefs and achieve it slightly, or focus on it head-on while losing a part of one’s identity.
