Not following her sisters footsteps, Sara wants to make a difference for herself and decides she wants to associate with the American life. Richard F. Shepard writes “Miss Yezierska’s people, the foreign born and their upwardly mobile offspring, did not want to find themselves. They wanted to lose themselves and find America, to shed Europe and to live the American Dream” it is describing the characters of Bread Givers especially Sara Smolinsky and how she wants to get rid of her Jewish Culture and adapt an American culture. In the 1920's, an immigrant’s gender ultimately decided what experience he or she would have in America. It was much better to be a male then a female because then
My oldest sister is now 24 years old, married, and a mother of a 1-year-old boy. When she graduated from Bravo Medical Magnet High School she found herself a job at Bank of America. During that time she felt that being in work was right for her because she was receiving money and wanted to buy a car. Her reason for stopping school was not because she wanted to be “freed” from it but because she believed working was a better path for her to take. My second oldest sister was never a big fan of school.
The clock that she had bought with her own money had been destroyed along with other various school supplies. She was grading papers when we got there and didn’t notice us at first. We told her that we had tried to sell cookie dough to Mr. Walters and Mr. Voltz but they wouldn’t buy any. She felt sympathy for us and agreed to be our first customer. In conclusion, to try to raise money for senior prom, Riley and I tried to sell cookie dough to Mr. Walters, Mr. Voltz, and Mrs. Kodrich.
However, her college experience is where she first interacts solely with the predominantly American culture. In order to pay for school and get good grades, Sara must ignore everything else, including her family, to work and study. Slowly and painfully, Sara learns to talk, dress and act like her American peers. She leaves college with her teaching degree and a thousand dollars, which she won in an essay contest. Feeling successful, Sara returns home to find her mother fatally ill. After her mother's death, her father remarries only to find his new wife, Mrs. Feinstein, is a gold-digger after his late wife's lodge money.
Many believe that the American Dream is to become wealthy but the motivation behind it is for safety and freedom, consequently, the outcome may involve a sacrifice. The narrator starts off by explaining to the reader that her aunt Six and Step-uncle Six, worked hard enough to live up to the American Dream. She says that nowadays they live in “neighborhoods strewn with rose gardens, hundred-year-old trees, stone houses” and adds that “they travel first class and have to stick a sign on the back of their seat so the hostesses will stop offering them chocolates and champagne” (Ru, 74). It’s evident that her aunt and uncle have lived up to the dream and have enough money for that lavish lifestyle that everyone wants, but as the story goes on, the narrator explains how “thirty years ago, in our Malaysian refugee camp, the same Step-uncle Six crawled more slowly than his eight-month-old daughter because he was suffering from malnutrition”(74). The narrator’s opinion concerning the American Dream is that everyone has a different conception of what this dream actually is, and how to achieve it; she gives this example of her aunt and uncle who have the perfect rag-to-riches story and says that “Back then, we all had the same dream” (75).
Maggie and Dee are both put through the same exact situations but there are different outcomes for both of them. Both Maggie and Dee deal with things in a different manor. Ever since Maggie and Dee were younger, Dee is the favorite. Dee gets pretty much anything she wants. Growing up Dee was the one that got to attend school in Augusta because Mama and the community raised the money for her to go.
Cofer’s mother wanting to stay in El Building, whilst her father yearned to live somewhere else, because she never got over the yearning for la isla “The Island”. Her mother only cooked with foods she could pronounce the names of which were some of the same brands her own mother had used. Cofer’s mother shopping outside of La Bodega going to Sears, Penney’s and Lerner’s, showed a willingness unlike the other women to shop in American stores but still held onto the small comforts that reminded her of her home land. (53-55) Cofer’s cousin is fully assimilated into American life. She claims it herself, she is and American woman and will do what she pleases.
In the time of the Great Depression people relied on dreams to keep themselves going and because Candy had lost his dog, he now believes this is a new venture and now completely revives his spirit. Finally, Candy shows the view of women in that period. In the time of 1930‟s America, women were not valued in society and were only seen as housewives or easy sex. Candy‟s view on Curley‟s Wife represents exactly these views as he first says to George that „I think Curley‟s married a … tart.‟ This shows the view that Curley‟s Wife is flirtatious and is seen as easy sex. Candy views Curley‟s Wife as inferior and is shown in Crooks‟ room when he says „you let this guy alone, don‟t you do no messin‟ with him,‟ this shows his view the Curley‟s Wife is a tart because when he says „messin‟ around‟ he means flirting which justifys his view on Curley‟s Wife.
At least two generations of Jews immigrated to America at the turn of the century: parents and their children. Not surprisingly, the ease of their entry into American society varied greatly. Dora, while immensely proud when her daughter Lucy started school, was determined to not be left behind. “People will beggar themselves to send their children to college, only to be treated as fools and greenhorns by them. I call that terrible.
You’re lucky that you get to eat Momma’s delicious home-cooking everyday. I miss home very much. It is fascinating to hear about your news that the government is encouraging women to defy the traditional gender roles and be a part of the “Women’s Land Army”. I believe this’ll show society what they can do while we’re over here fighting for Britain. Furthermore, I was not surprised to hear about the internment camps, those so-called enemy aliens deserve the punishments if not more for what their home country of Germany has put us through.