He says at the end of the book that in America Jews are not Jewish, and that too many of the laws favor women. More than that, there's no real roadmap for someone who does what he does and remain, you know, eating.
I think it must be the latter because Mashrah, Fania, and Bessie never really do get any sort of real autonomy, do they? But, they're no longer under the thumb of the religious tyrant. Even Sara, though her life turns out better than most, loses the little independence she gains in the end when she loses to herself in a battle of conscience.
1) I would have to agree with Cassandra in regards to the first question. Reb often says that all the Jews in America are Americanized, he even rubs it in his daughter's faces at the end of the book when he denounces them as their mother is dying. America is much different i guess from his home, where probably more people turned to religion, just like him. Not only do people not prioritize religion so much in America, but also the American views clash with Reb's religious views, when it comes to women and what they ought to do and what path they ought to follow.
2) I believe for most of the daughters, besides Sara, it was the former, getting out of poverty, which is why they all agreed to get married off to whomever their father chose, just so they could escape their home. As for Sara, I believe it was the latter, she wanted to gain independence and the only way to do that was to only rely on herself and not another man that her father chose. Sara did so by running away and getting the education she so long yearned for, only then was she fully free and independent.
In regards to the first question, I feel the crowded, dirty, poverty-stricken environment the Smolinky's inhabit affects everyone BUT Reb. I say this because he does not have to stress day in and day out about how he is going to make ends meet, as his daughters and wife provide for him. He also does not have to worry about space as much as the others, as he has his own room entirely dedicated to his studies. Even when the room is rented out to boarders, Reb turns the kitchen into his private study hall forcing the others to work around him. No matter the setting, Reb gets the best of the food, the best of the home, the best of the family's income, and so on.
As for the second question, I feel the four sisters want nothing more than to escape from their father's hyper-religious reign. Each of the men the three eldest sister's bring home are not very financially stable, yet they offer freedom and love-two things they certainly do not receive from Reb. When their father refuses the young women permission to marry these men, the sisters then sacrifice their happiness to settle on loveless marriages their father arranged for them. Sara also has to make a sacrifice to gain freedom from Reb, leaving her poor mother behind to go live on her own and work towards her dream of becoming a teacher. The decision to give up important relationships in exchange for the chance to leave home displays just how unhappy the Smolinsky sisters were living under their father's roof.
Surprisingly the American setting of Bread Givers doesn't really interfere with Reb Smolinsky's religious beliefs as much as they should. The way that he's able to take care of himself by taking advantage of the people, particularly the women, in his life is the only reason that he can live. If you were to take away these people he wouldn't be able to study as much as he would like to and he would need to deal with the struggle of keeping a productive occupation. I'm not quite sure why Yezierska writes Reb in this way, but I believe it's because she wants to separate this struggle for money from the struggle between the old world and the new world. There's enough opposed to his religiosity within the family that we would end up losing the discussion of religion going against Sara's view on life. Otherwise, if the novel were written differently, the setting of Bread Givers would definitely interfere with Reb's religious beliefs.
The sisters' decisions throughout the novel were definitely skewed toward trying to get away from their father's religious tyranny. By the time that any of them leave the house, they do it for the sole purpose of leaving the father. The idea of them getting out of poverty ends up being Reb's idea; mostly marrying them off to men who he thinks can provide for the whole family. The men who the women marry aren't their choice and they only get married to the men so they can be taken away.
Reb Smolinsky would collect the wages his daughters earned. This enabled him to continue not working, and earn a living in the process. This was something he felt all religious fathers should expect according to him. When Sara leaves for six years to get a degree, Reb Smolinsky comments that he lost her wages for all those years. Anything the family did, he felt was for the purpose of serving him. If someone did something for themselves, he felt was a negative influence from living in America
The daughters wanted to be out of their fathers control, and become independent people. However, when it came time to choose the men that they wanted, and leave their father's house without his approval, they could not do it. They were broken at this point. Their father's word was everything.
I feel that the setting affected everyone, especially Reb. In the beginning of the book, Reb didn't stress as much as everyone else did. He didn't work, in my opinion, he just wanted everything done for him because "women are nothing without men." Towards the end, poverty got the best of him as he struggled. When his wife died, Reb seemed eager to have found someone who cooked better and cleaned nicer. His new wife made him sell gum and that is how Sara finds him. His belief that women are the ones who should be working was cut short when he was the one put out onto the street while his wife demanded money for the jewelry she didn't have. He believed she would do everything for him and when she didn't he was outraged that a woman like that could exist.
The most important objective for Smolinsky's daughters was gaining independence from their religionist father. Although they wanted nice things, they stuck to priorities and household items. The only one who struggled with this was Fania who only worried about herself. In the end, Reb was the cause his daughters
He says at the end of the book that in America Jews are not Jewish, and that too many of the laws favor women. More than that, there's no real roadmap for someone who does what he does and remain, you know, eating.
ReplyDeleteI think it must be the latter because Mashrah, Fania, and Bessie never really do get any sort of real autonomy, do they? But, they're no longer under the thumb of the religious tyrant. Even Sara, though her life turns out better than most, loses the little independence she gains in the end when she loses to herself in a battle of conscience.
(also this blog is set to Pacific Standard Time.)
ReplyDelete1) I would have to agree with Cassandra in regards to the first question. Reb often says that all the Jews in America are Americanized, he even rubs it in his daughter's faces at the end of the book when he denounces them as their mother is dying. America is much different i guess from his home, where probably more people turned to religion, just like him. Not only do people not prioritize religion so much in America, but also the American views clash with Reb's religious views, when it comes to women and what they ought to do and what path they ought to follow.
ReplyDelete2) I believe for most of the daughters, besides Sara, it was the former, getting out of poverty, which is why they all agreed to get married off to whomever their father chose, just so they could escape their home. As for Sara, I believe it was the latter, she wanted to gain independence and the only way to do that was to only rely on herself and not another man that her father chose. Sara did so by running away and getting the education she so long yearned for, only then was she fully free and independent.
In regards to the first question, I feel the crowded, dirty, poverty-stricken environment the Smolinky's inhabit affects everyone BUT Reb. I say this because he does not have to stress day in and day out about how he is going to make ends meet, as his daughters and wife provide for him. He also does not have to worry about space as much as the others, as he has his own room entirely dedicated to his studies. Even when the room is rented out to boarders, Reb turns the kitchen into his private study hall forcing the others to work around him. No matter the setting, Reb gets the best of the food, the best of the home, the best of the family's income, and so on.
ReplyDeleteAs for the second question, I feel the four sisters want nothing more than to escape from their father's hyper-religious reign. Each of the men the three eldest sister's bring home are not very financially stable, yet they offer freedom and love-two things they certainly do not receive from Reb. When their father refuses the young women permission to marry these men, the sisters then sacrifice their happiness to settle on loveless marriages their father arranged for them. Sara also has to make a sacrifice to gain freedom from Reb, leaving her poor mother behind to go live on her own and work towards her dream of becoming a teacher. The decision to give up important relationships in exchange for the chance to leave home displays just how unhappy the Smolinsky sisters were living under their father's roof.
Surprisingly the American setting of Bread Givers doesn't really interfere with Reb Smolinsky's religious beliefs as much as they should. The way that he's able to take care of himself by taking advantage of the people, particularly the women, in his life is the only reason that he can live. If you were to take away these people he wouldn't be able to study as much as he would like to and he would need to deal with the struggle of keeping a productive occupation. I'm not quite sure why Yezierska writes Reb in this way, but I believe it's because she wants to separate this struggle for money from the struggle between the old world and the new world. There's enough opposed to his religiosity within the family that we would end up losing the discussion of religion going against Sara's view on life. Otherwise, if the novel were written differently, the setting of Bread Givers would definitely interfere with Reb's religious beliefs.
ReplyDeleteThe sisters' decisions throughout the novel were definitely skewed toward trying to get away from their father's religious tyranny. By the time that any of them leave the house, they do it for the sole purpose of leaving the father. The idea of them getting out of poverty ends up being Reb's idea; mostly marrying them off to men who he thinks can provide for the whole family. The men who the women marry aren't their choice and they only get married to the men so they can be taken away.
Reb Smolinsky would collect the wages his daughters earned. This enabled him to continue not working, and earn a living in the process. This was something he felt all religious fathers should expect according to him. When Sara leaves for six years to get a degree, Reb Smolinsky comments that he lost her wages for all those years. Anything the family did, he felt was for the purpose of serving him. If someone did something for themselves, he felt was a negative influence from living in America
ReplyDeleteThe daughters wanted to be out of their fathers control, and become independent people. However, when it came time to choose the men that they wanted, and leave their father's house without his approval, they could not do it. They were broken at this point. Their father's word was everything.
I feel that the setting affected everyone, especially Reb. In the beginning of the book, Reb didn't stress as much as everyone else did. He didn't work, in my opinion, he just wanted everything done for him because "women are nothing without men." Towards the end, poverty got the best of him as he struggled. When his wife died, Reb seemed eager to have found someone who cooked better and cleaned nicer. His new wife made him sell gum and that is how Sara finds him. His belief that women are the ones who should be working was cut short when he was the one put out onto the street while his wife demanded money for the jewelry she didn't have. He believed she would do everything for him and when she didn't he was outraged that a woman like that could exist.
ReplyDeleteThe most important objective for Smolinsky's daughters was gaining independence from their religionist father. Although they wanted nice things, they stuck to priorities and household items. The only one who struggled with this was Fania who only worried about herself. In the end, Reb was the cause his daughters