Discussion & Reflection

The Zealous Rabbi and His Daughter

Despite the obvious and stark differences between Sara and her father, the quality of life Sara seeks after running away from home parallels that of her father’s. The light and spiritual elevation Rabbi Smolinsky finds in learning Torah, Sara finds in studying to become a teacher. Both Sara and her father’s determination in seeking salvation, economically and socially for Sarah and religiously for her father, lead them to isolate themselves from their neighbors and peers. Isolation is essential for learning, but equally selfish.

When Rabbi Smolinsky isolated himself in his lone room on Hester Street, he selfishly proclaimed a room for his books despite the fact that his family was bordering starvation. Sara similarly isolates herself in filthy, darkness to independently work on her studies which keeps her from her mother, who is burdened with the man Sara ran away from.

Sara and her father’s behavior is, perhaps, better described as zealous rather than selfish because what each is trying to do in essence is better the world. Rabbi Smolinsky believes he is “living for…[the] people” and is a small representation of God’s Light shining on Hester Street (90). Sara’s studies, on the other hand, are toward a degree in education which would allow her to help the girls she once resembled.

Bible in the Water

Gangs of New York starts off with a battle scene between the Natives and the Dead Rabbits. In this scene, Priest Vallon, the leader of the Dead Rabbits, is killed and leaves behind his son Amsterdam as his legacy. Shortly after this scene, the film jumps sixteen years forward and shows a grown Amsterdam in what seems to be a church. In this scene, a priest gives Amsterdam a Bible, which he soon throws over the bridge and into the water.

The scene is shot to look like a conversation, however, instead of using a two-shot point of view, the shot is focused on Amsterdam and only the hand of the priest is shown as he gives Amsterdam the Bible. Also, this camera angle focuses on the cross hanging on the damaged wall in the back of the church. Using this camera angle allows the viewer to see how important religion was to the Catholic Irish immigrants while also causing them to see how their religion prevented the Irish from being treated equally. Focusing the camera on a single character rather than going back and forth establishes Amsterdam as the main character of the story. This shot serves to show how religion is not Amsterdam’s primary concern.

After the church scene, the camera focuses on a sign which says, “THE WAY OF THE TRANSGRESSOR IS HARD”. The camera then moves downward and shifts to Amsterdam hugging the reverend and departing. This camera transition works as an arrow to foreshadow how Amsterdam will become the transgressor, or sinner, to avenge his father’s death. After the hug, Amsterdam leaves the church to later walk over a bridge. This scene is a walking shot that zooms in on Amsterdam while a voiceover is playing. Soon the shot switches to a sign saying “HELLGATE HOUSE OF REFORM,” which establishes Amsterdam’s setting. In this instance, the viewer realizes that Amsterdam has not been inside a church, but rather he finished his sentence at a house of reforms, which seems to be an old version of a jail.

The next shot consists of Amsterdam walking over a bridge where he throws his new Bible into the water. The camera angle, in this instance, is upward which shows how Amsterdam thinks that his religion is beneath him. Once Amsterdam throws the Bible into the water, the image focuses on the Bible sinking. The sinking of the Bible shows how his time at the house of reforms has ended and that his forgiveness was only superficial. The colors of the scene are also brighter showing how Amsterdam’s departure is the start of his new life and freedom. However, throughout the entire shot, the brown undertones are present reminding the viewer that though Amsterdam is an adult now, he is still living in his past. In short, the inclusion of the scene was to show how Amsterdam has never really forgiven Bill Cutting for his father’s death. Instead, Amsterdam must trick the people, like he tricked the priest, in order to avenge his father.

Bread Givers – Sara and her Father

Sara and her father are very similar in one respect; they are both very determined and often stubborn. Sara’s father is determined to be fully dedicated to his religion no matter how much it makes him or his family suffer. He refuses to work and makes his family support him so that he can continue his studies of religion. His books take up much of the space in their tiny home.

Sara is very different from her father in most respects except for her similar sense of determination to follow her dreams. Her sister and mother work themselves endlessly to help support the family. Her sister Bessie works especially hard and gives all her earnings to her father without any hesitation. Sara on the other hand feels a sense of entitlement to the money she earns. She does not understand why her father can just sit around all day while her and her sister work tirelessly just to keep food on the table. Her father is very unappreciative because he just simply expects all of this from his family. Being stubborn like her father Sara is more reluctant to jump at her father’s every command.

Sara has her own idea of the American Dream. Being the youngest she is able to witness the choices her sisters make and the fates they meet. Sara does not just want to be married off to a man of her father’s choosing. She is determined to make a life for herself on her own terms. This sense of determination is something her and her father share strongly.

Y Boodhan – Blog 4: Bread Givers

In the novel Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska, the main character Sara, expresses her dislike of her father. Sara is frustrated by her father’s tyrannical rule over her life and the lives of her sisters. As a result, Sara runs away in order to pursue a life of her own — filled with her hopes, dreams and ideas of love. Although Sara and her father are very different in their ideals and dreams, they are very much alike in character and actions.

Sara’s father comes to America with old-fashioned ideas like, women live to only serve the men in their lives, and women have no place in higher education. He thinks that his ideas are the only right ideas and that he is better and more enlightened than others. This is shown when he attempts to find husbands for his daughters and when he strikes the landlord.

Sara’s father is well versed in the Torah. He prides himself in being a very religious man. Despite his poor financial situation, he always has his eyes on money and that motivates many of his actions. Sara’s father does not earn any money but finds ways to spend it. Most of the money that he receives from his children goes to serve his desires. He takes away from the mouths of his family in order to fulfill his goals of helping others, buying books and contributing to different organizations.

Sara’s actions, and the motivations behind them, do not contrast those her father’s as much as one would initially believe. Sara, headstrong and focused on her beliefs and ideas, like her father, is willing to ignore the feelings of her parents and siblings and isolate herself in an effort to become a teacher. She does not force her beliefs on others but ignores their input and does what she believes is right in her mind. Because it was of no benefit to her, Sara didn’t go to see her mother until her final days, and even after the death of mother, refused to cut a piece of her clothing. Like her father, Sara is willing to sacrifice at all costs to reach her goals.

Although it may seem like Sara and her father are selfish, they are actually altruistic. Sara’s father donated near all of his money to the poor. In the end of the novel, Sara gives money to her father’s new wife to help him and even offers him the opportunity to live with her. Although they are both motivated to seek money and wealth, they also have hearts of gold when it comes to helping others. This is partly because they share appreciation of the ideas from the Torah. Later on in her life, Sara finds herself understanding and appreciating the religious teachings of her father.

Sara’s father has come to America refusing to give up the past, and Sara faces a similar situation after she runs away and becomes a teacher. Both of them feel a sort of gravitation to the past and their old roots in a new world. This gravitation is what brings Sara and her father back together but will always set them apart.

A Smolinsky’s American Dream

When did it all go down the drain? Life for the Smolinsky’s wasn’t bad before the young couple moved to New York from Russia. In fact, they were pretty well-off. But business went bad, and forced the two to make their way to the land of opportunity. What was waiting for them past Ellis Island can only be depicted as the saddest poverty story told, one that can cause any reader to become frustrated beyond words.

For Reb, the patriarch of the family, nothing was more important than the studying of the Torah. He titled himself the light between his people and God, and disregarded any shame that was cast among him. His own family muttered some nights in disgust about how hard they worked as women and how lazy and conceited he was on his hollow quest to be with God. Although he’s said so many times that riches meant nothing on Earth if it meant they were not awaiting in Heaven, he still carried on about finding his daughters rich entrepreneurs to marry. This was Reb’s American dream, coming to a land where he didn’t have to work, and marry off his daughters so he didn’t have to worry – the money they’d provide would give him his new business. The only sad part of his dream is it ruined the dream of his own children.

Through the eyes of Sara, we witness her three sisters all fall eagerly in love with men they couldn’t have. A poet, a businessman, and a pianist – all ready to take his girls for brides and all shunned by the bitterness of a stubborn, nonsensical father. They each dreamed of running away and chasing opportunity for all it’s worth. They dreamed of hard work for not only their husbands, but for their own independence.

As for Sara, her dream was similar to that of her sisters. The only thing that separated her from them was she had the will to escape. While all three of her sisters stuck true to their loyalty to their father, she cracked. It was no longer her priority to slave for him. It was her turn to make her dream into reality.

American Dreams in Bread Givers

The concept of the American Dream is different for each person, but the hope associated with it is a commonality amongst every immigrant. However, the reality of American life is often filled with poverty and sacrifices that get in the way of dreams, as the Smolinsky family learns in Bread Givers. Sara, her father, and her older sister Mashah all have different definitions of the American Dream, which affect their family greatly.

Sara’s version of the American Dream involves finding her passion and being successful. Success, in Sara’s eyes, is being able to find something she loves as much as her father is dedicated to studying the Torah, while still maintaining her independence and financial stability. Sara is extremely independent even from an early age, and is deeply affected by the way her father’s influence has created hardships for her older sisters. After seeing what her sisters went through, Sara is determined to make a better life for herself. She continues to pursue her education despite the many sacrifices it entails, and becomes conflicted between her own goals and those of her family and culture.

Sara’s father, Reb Smolinsky, has a different take on the concept of the American Dream. In his version, the American Dream means being able to study and express his religion freely, with the complete support of his family. Reb Smolinsky’s dedication to his learning of the Torah often leads to the negligence of his daughters’ happiness and ability to become independent. The steps he takes in achieving his American Dream have taken a strain on his family both financially and emotionally.

Mashah, Sara’s older sister, is established as being self-centered from the very beginning of the novel. She often spends the money she makes on herself before helping out her family, and is blissfully unaware of the magnitude of their financial hardships. Mashah is caught up in the superficiality of the American Dream – her prioritization of beauty and music over familial obligations creates distress amongst her family members, and later, in her marriage.

Bread Givers and Bread Eaters

  1. Reflect on the meaning of the title in light of your reading.

When it comes to the novel: Bread Givers author Anzia Yezierska chooses an apt title. Bread giver, similar to the common term breadwinner, incites ideals of the person in a family who earns enough to provide for the needs of the family. In traditional ideals, this person is usually the father/ husband/ male head of the family. Interestingly enough, in Sara’s family this is not the case. Instead of the father being the provider for the wife and children, in her case it’s the children (and wife) being the provider for the father. By titling the book Bread Givers, Yezierska is essentially defining the Smolinsky daughters.

The majority of the novel focuses on bread giving: the act of earning wages, providing for the family, working, looking for jobs, marrying wealthy, etc. Every crisis in the book occurs when one of the ‘bread givers’ roles is challenged; when Bessie’s hand is being requested, when no one can find jobs, when Sara’s mother (Shena) asks Reb to become a bread giver…

According to their father, Rabbi Reb Smolinsky, the best bread giver in the family is Sara’s oldest sister Bessie. Bessie, as the Ideal bread giver, always gives up all of her wages to ‘the family’ and never spends anything on herself. She also works tirelessly to be everything the family needs. On the other hand, the laxest of the Smolinsky bread givers is arguably Masha who, while she does help the family in some ways, spends the majority of her time and wages on herself.

While all of the Smolinsky daughters could be coined ‘bread givers,’ the few times the phrase is actually mentioned in the book is when possible suitors are being discussed. This is because in a usual situation the bread giver the male of the household. This draws even more attention to how in the Smolinsky situation the girls are the providers and the only person that cannot be considered a bread giver has total control.

After watching this abusive, unbalanced situation for years, Sara decides to break the cycle. Sara does not want anything to do with the term bread giver. Her actions break her off from the role her father has shoved her in. She does not want to be depended upon and abused by her father. Sara moves out, gets her own room and job, and no longer ‘gives bread’. Symbolically, she is the bread maker, breadwinner, and the bread eater. She refuses to give her bread.

The American Dream in Bread Givers

The definition of the American Dream has changed over the years and morphs slightly according to one’s perspective. Sara, her father, and Mashah all have three different views on what the American Dream is. Sara is the youngest of the four Smolinsky sisters and witnesses firsthand the traditions of the Old World. Sara believes that the American Dream is having the opportunity to become a “real person,” meaning someone who is independent, educated, and fends for oneself. Sara sees that she can become anything that she chooses to be like a teacher as long as she puts in the hard work and dedication. Her American Dream is the idea of a land that provides opportunities for education and success.

Sara’s father, Reb has a somewhat similar view of the American Dream minus some things. He believes that the American Dream is the glorified idea that people can get whatever they want but without hard work. He thinks that in America there is no struggle to live and everyone is happy and successful. He believes that anyone could get rich if they tried like Rockefeller or Morgan. These names are an illusion to him because he is convinced that they became millionaires overnight. He also believes in the religious freedom aspect of the American Dream. He seeks the safe haven of American and practices his religion every moment he can, living off the wages and hard work of his wife and daughters.

Mashah, one of the middle sisters, believes in the American Dream that America is a land where nothing could go wrong. Mashah is caught up in the fast-paced, lavish lifestyle of the rich that she does not care for her own poverty. Mashah does not worry herself with the struggles of putting food on the table and lives through the dreams of others. She believes that she can make even the darkest, dingiest of places warm and bright. She’s an optimist and grateful for the opportunities America has given her.

Meaning of Bread Givers

The title of Anza Yezierska’s novel captures the starvation and subjugation forced on the female characters by the culturally sexist influences in their family. Bread symbolized money in the 20th Century. As Reb Smolinsky remained at home studying Torah, the daughters of the house worked to provide money for the family, all of which was given to Reb Smolinsky. Reb focuses his efforts solely on the objective of going to heaven and often gives alms to others, neglecting his own family. His overzealousness blinds him to his family’s needs, and thus he forces his daughters to be bread givers, rather than breadwinners.

Furthermore, the title highlights Sara’s struggle between her personal search for independence and her cultural and familial duties to her family. As a bread giver in her home, Sara cannot pursue her quest for knowledge. While attending college, she rarely visits her family unless there is a threat to her continuing her education. After Sara’s mother passes away, however, she comes full circle and brings her father back into her home. Her father’s return symbolizes the reconciling of her conflict; she learns to remain independent while still fulfilling her cultural duty as a bread giver.

Breadgivers

Henry Burby

The title of Breadgivers implies many themes in the lives of immigrants, and specifically Jewish immigrants. By separating the compound word, two especially stand out.

The word bread serves as a reminder of a factor that defines the lives of many immigrants: hunger. The book begins with Sara pealing potatoes for dinner, and most of the early part of the book is taken up with food and the work which is needed to acquire it. It is something that everyone has to contend with from time to time, but for many people around the world, including immigrants, it is part of their core identity. Life is not easy without food. There is no time to relax when you face starvation. You need to work to live, a fact that is much easier to see for immigrants without a social or governmental safety net.

The term breadgiver is similar to the term breadwinner. However, their second words show the difference between them. Where a breadwinner brings home the food, a breadgiver gives it without expecting anything in return, even love. Giver points out the one-sidedness of the relationship between Bessie and her father. In Jewish culture, as seen in this book, the father contributes nothing to the family, and is given his bread for free. His service to the family is strictly relegated to their afterlives, and their acceptance of this situation makes sense at first. After all, an eternity in paradise is worth the fat from the soup. The first breadgiver in the family is Bessie. She carries the family almost single-handed. She works constantly, and gives everything she earns back to her family. She does this because, in her culture, she only exists within and for her father, and by extension, her family. She carries them at least until she marries, when she takes on the burden of her new family, and she may well need to support her previous family as well. This relationship contrasts with that of the modern American family, where the family is taken care of for love. In Sara’s family, there is a much stronger element of obligation.