Bread Givers, by Yezierska Anzia, takes place in 1925 and depicts the life of an immigrant, Jewish girl named Sara Smolinsky and the obstacles she faces in her struggle for independence. Two of the main obstacles Sara Smolinsky faces in her strive for personal independence are family obligations and gender discrimination, which she overcame by prioritizing her education over family, and actively searching for work and love (on her own terms).
The first obstacle that Sara faces in her strive for personal independence is that of family obligation. In the novel “Bread Giver”, family duties are one of the central challenges that hold a character from achieving what they want in life. Sara faces the problem in different occasions within the novel. Her family cultures believe that women are the primary source of income and because of that, women need to always do everything for the family at the expense of their personal lives. Sara is forced to prioritize her family and forget about any particular ambitions she might have. For instance, when Sara decides to leave her family, a norm to her family background, she tells her mother that “I could see you later, but I cannot go to college later” (Yezierska, 171). It is her obligation to the family to always be there that keeps her from achieving her goals, until she finally decides to put her education first, that is. Secondly, Sara’s father disowns her. When …show more content…
The implication creates a sense of family obligation against personal
The first obstacle that Sara faces in her strive for personal independence is that of family obligation. In the novel “Bread Giver”, family duties are one of the central challenges that hold a character from achieving what they want in life. Sara faces the problem in different occasions within the novel. Her family cultures believe that women are the primary source of income and because of that, women need to always do everything for the family at the expense of their personal lives. Sara is forced to prioritize her family and forget about any particular ambitions she might have. For instance, when Sara decides to leave her family, a norm to her family background, she tells her mother that “I could see you later, but I cannot go to college later” (Yezierska, 171). It is her obligation to the family to always be there that keeps her from achieving her goals, until she finally decides to put her education first, that is. Secondly, Sara’s father disowns her. When …show more content…
The implication creates a sense of family obligation against personal