Reference no: EM133265182

Assignment - History Questions

Q1. The subtitle of Bread Givers is "A Struggle Between a Father of the Old World and a Daughter of the New." Describe that struggle in detail, and explain the differences author Anzia Yezierska sees between the "Old" and "New" worlds.

Q2. In the last sentence of the book Sara Smolinsky says, "It wasn't just my father, but the generations who made my father whose weight was still upon me." What does she mean?

3. Describe Sara's conception of what it means to be an American, and the steps she took to become more fully integrated into American life. In the end, did she fulfill her quest or find that her goal of being fully 'Americanized' was elusive?

Q4. How did Sara's life differ from that of her sisters? Do their specific fates each help us understand the limited social and employment opportunities available to immigrant women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century? How?

Q5. Some critics have argued that Bread Gives is really a story about autonomy, about Sara's attempt to gain control over her own life in the face of her father's attempts to control her and the reality of American society. Does she gain autonomy in the end? Do you think her struggle was worth the personal cost? And finally, is Sara's battle against her own family and society relevant in the America we live in today? How? Why?