46 pages • 1 hour read
Anzia YezierskaBread Givers
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1925A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Torah
Throughout the narrative, the Torah is a motif that represents Reb Smolinsky’s patriarchal control over Shenah and his daughters. Any time his daughters contradict him, Reb Smolinsky uses the Torah to win his argument. Rather than engaging with his daughters about their criticism of his parenting, Reb Smolinsky chooses to use the Torah as a weapon against them to bolster his sexist views. Reb Smolinsky tries to use the Torah to make his daughters listen to him out of fear of what will happen if they disobey him. However, Sara breaks away from this pattern of behavior because she does not agree with her father’s decisions. Even though Sara loves the stories in the Torah that teach about God’s faithfulness and love, she turns away from the patriarchal teachings, even if it means leaving her religion. However, Reb Smolinsky’s misuse of the Torah haunts Sara, and she always hears her father’s words: “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble” (296).
Morris Lipkin’s Love Letters
Morris Lipkin’s love letters are a motif that represents Sara’s desire to escape Reb Smolinsky. Fania keeps Morris Lipkin’s letters under her mattress, but she leaves them behind when she moves to Los Angeles. When Sara finds the letters under the mattress, she develops a crush on Morris Lipkin and imagines that he wrote the letters for her. Sara’s daydreaming about Morris reveals her determination to get what she wants. The letters also reveal how desperate Sara is to get out of Reb Smolinsky’s oppressive house: She dreams of anything that will take her away from home. Morris Lipkin’s rejection of her breaks Sara’s heart but also foreshadows a similar scenario with Mr. Edman later in the novel. When Sara experiences rejection from Mr. Edman, she experiences heartbreak, but she has developed her own identity to the point where she does not need a man to individuate herself. When she comes across Morris’s love letters, however, Sara has not had time to develop her identity; therefore, she devotes herself to the first man she feels romantically attracted to, hoping that he will save her from her father.
Hester Street
Hester Street is a motif that represents the Jewish immigrant community. Although Sara remembers many difficulties when living on Hester Street, she notices when they move to New Jersey that the people who live there are not as welcoming to her. Sara associates Hester Street with vitality and survival because of the people peddling their wares, hoping to make a living. Sara’s first experience with working and contributing to her family is on Hester Street, and she takes the same motivation with her when she leaves her family. Even though Sara chooses to leave the traditions of her religion, she still finds comfort in the Jewish community and the bustling nature of Hester Street. For Sara, Hester Street reminds her of the strength of her Jewish community and their commitment to continue even in the face of poverty and oppression.
The Old World and The New World
The Old World and the New World is a motif that illustrates the theme of Traditional Values Versus Modern Aspirations. Yezierska uses this motif to highlight the differences in Sara and Reb Smolinsky’s belief systems. Once Sara leaves the home, she thinks of Reb Smolinsky only as a representation of the “Old World.” Although Sara develops a more nuanced understanding of Reb Smolinsky’s beliefs after Shenah dies, she initially can only define her beliefs in opposition to her father’s beliefs. Reb Smolinsky also participates in this black-and-white thinking when he disowns Sara for rejecting Max Goldstein. Sara feels so far removed from her father’s religion that she cannot see a way to reconcile with him. She does not know how to tell him that her experience with education and feminism has opened her up towards a “New World,” and she can never go back to an oppressive belief system. Although Sara continues to feel estranged from Reb Smolinsky at the end of the narrative, she tries to reconcile the Old World and the New World by extending tolerance towards her father.
