Tuesday, 4^th April: Jewish-American: Chosen People in the New World: Bread Givers

Web Highlight: Michael Asbury

Introduction: The assignment was to review prior undergraduate final exam samples and comment on how the development of the extracts came about in relation to course objectives. Then add a conclusion.

Although Sara’s father believes that his daughters should strictly adhere to the old traditions, Sara, like many second-generation immigrants, finds assimilation into the dominant culture more appealing than living one’s life by adhering to those old—and sometimes oppressive—traditions that represent the old country, especially if tradition dictates something contrary to the new values and ideals of the dominant culture. Sara departs from traditional roles and decides to get an education—something that this culture has come to expect as a right to which all are entitled and encouraged to pursue. (James 2003)

            Objective 5: Family, Gender, Community and Laws, and Religion is a defining factor of the above extract from “Bread Givers”.

In her own achievement, she identified her success by her ability to obtain the clean, empty room.  She loved having the cleaning materials and said, “the routine with which I kept clean my precious privacy, my beautiful aloneness, was all sacred to me … a place for everything and everything in its place” (241). (DR 2002)

            Objective 7: To observe competing economic ideals or states exposed by immigrant literature. (Sara’s Assimilation)

“I felt the shadow still there, over me. It wasn’t just my father, but the generations who made my father whose weight was still on upon me.” (297). These are the last words that Sara Smolinsky speaks in Anzia Yezierska’s novel The Bread Givers. She speaks for all of America’s immigrants, for they all must live in the shadow of the previous generations – the shadow of the Old World. Both the narratives of America’s dominant culture and the narratives of Jewish Americans reflect how strongly the culture of previous generations has influenced them. History has shown that these two cultures have felt the “shadow” of their ancestors over them. For America’s dominant culture immigrants, the Pilgrims, and Jewish Americans, their “shadow” was the “Book”. For the Pilgrims, the “book” was the Bible, especially the book of Exodus. For Jewish Americans, it was the teachings contained in the Torah and the Old World teachings handing down for many generations. (Jeanette  2003)

            Objective 2a. Stage 1-5 (A Jew and a Christian under the same roof)

Conclusion: I have studied religion and the diverse cultures from which it comes for almost half of my life. I found “Bread Givers” to be of such a value that its words transcend time. I have a large collection of books; so many that there is a room I call “The Library” of which the book “Bread Givers” is a beautiful addition to. The comments above were extracted for aim of what I saw as value to the books wholeness and this class.