Bread Givers Theme Essay

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The novel “Bread Givers” was first published in 1925 and since then has become Anzia Yezierska’s most recognizable book. More than anything else, the theme of the Old World and the New World made this novel compelling to read all around the world. The main character, the youngest of four sister, Sara, is struggling throughout the book to find a balance between the Old World and the New World which is one of the central themes of the book. First of all, the religion struggle besieges her throughout the novel. Her father, on one side, is extremely religious and considers reading Torah his only job. On the other side, she sees Americans around her that don’t care about religion most of the time. Thus, she tries to decide to what extent should…show more content…
She knows that she can’t be as religious as her father, but at the same time she can’t just forget about her religion which was taught to her from birth. As a result, she keeps believing and following her religion but not at the same extent as her father; therefore, finding the religious balance. Moreover, Sara struggle to prove herself as someone worth dealing with. In the Old World, women are considered to be men’s servants, their only role is to take care of the men. For example, after Sara refused to marry Max, father angrily told her that “a woman’s highest happiness is to be man’s wife, the mother of a man’s children. You’re not a person at all”(p. 206, Yeziesrska). On the other hand, she sees American women who are free to get educated, get a decent job and work for themselves. That is what she wants, she wants independence from her father and family obligations that come from the Old World. At the end, she decides to choose the New World way of treating women and family structure in general. Her marriage is very different from her father’s since she relies on her man but does not depend on him. Lastly, Sara tries to find a balance between religious and scientific

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