Bread Givers Compare Contrast Essay

In both Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska and All I Asking for is My Body the authors highlight the responsibility of children to their parents. In All I Asking for is My Body the idea of filial piety is a common theme and takes over the life of two of the characters. In Bread Givers Sara is burdened by her father’s constant need for her and her sisters to be around, provide for the family and be responsible for their father and mother. As second generation Americans Sara and Kiyoshi struggle finding their place in society because they feel closely tied to their roots but also want to be seen as Americans. The two struggle with the American values of independence and the old world values of filial piety and family piety. Both characters want

to be seen as American causing them to go about their responsibility to their families in different ways than their parents expected from them. While the two’s family histories and traditions are different, both struggle with the idea of proving they are american while trying to fulfill their obligation to their parents.

However, the only difference is that Kiyoshi went about his journey for independence with the goal of fulfilling his obligation to his parents. He knew that he would earn money in the military and be able to eventually pay off his parents debt. However, Sara made the decision to pursue her dreams to become independent, go to college, and become a teacher without any real thought of her family. She pursued her quest to be an American without constantly thinking about her responsibilities to her family, while Kiyoshi also tried to be seen as American and carve his own bath but always kept his obligation to his parents at the front of his mind. The american dream was enticing for both characters, one allowed that dream to take over her life and the other was able to finally do something for himself while never forgetting his duty of filial

piety.
Filial piety is defined as the first sons obligation to his father. It isn't because they want to do this but instead because they have an obligation to their ancestors. It is a common misconception that parents just had filial piety as something to hold over their child's head in order to get something from them without having to do anything in return but that is not the case.

The end goal of this tradition is for the first born son to do just as well or better than his father did during his life if this is not achieved then it was ultimately not a success. Filial piety is looked at closely when learning about Kiyoshi and Tosh. Tosh feels crippled by the constant responsibility he has to his father as they have to deal with a 6,000 dollar debt that their grandfather has passed down to them. Tosh “was to quit high school and work in the cane fields to help support the family. It was what every number one son was expected to do” (27). This quote exemplifies the attitude of the family. Filial piety is not a choice but what is “expected”. This cloud of debt will always hang over the head of Tosh as his parent’s don’t let him forget his role as first son. His father did the same in order to help his father pay off the debt that he had created for the family. The mother says that “our minds are at peace even if he should die tomorrow. We’ve done our filial piety duty to him” (28). She further highlights the importance of filial piety and how it is the most important thing that the children need focus on, Tosh feels that he can’t live his own life

or create his own path because he constantly has to worry about paying off this debt. This is the family’s only focus and now he is faced with the struggle of what is more important, doing what makes him happy and is his passion? Or doing what his father wants him to do and what has been done traditionally for many years? His family is counting on him to provide for them but it is impossible for him to be happy while doing that. His dad is losing sight of what the ultimate goal of filial piety which is for their son to have a better more successful life than he had. It isn’t tradition to just exploit your first born son for all of their earnings because your father has burdened you with such a large amount of debt. This idea was highlighted in the scholarly article, “Bodily “Touch” and Racial Formation in Milton Murayama’s All I Asking for is My Body” by Kei Okajima, in which he discusses how Kiyoshi and Tosh are chained to the plantation as a result of their filial piety and how the father exploits them to make up for his family’s past mistake. He highlights how the family is stuck in a system of oppression due to their obligation to pay off their long lasting debt (173.) The debt clouds their mind and judgement and for years has been the only thing on their mind, especially in the case of the father. You aren’t supposed to use your children but instead the expectation is for them to give back to their family and have a better life than their father. Tosh couldn’t handle the stress any longer and left the family still promising to donate the majority of his salary for years to come. In these quotes you can see the emphasis and importance of being loyal to your family and yet Kiyoshi still decides to make a decision that isn’t all for his family. Kiyoshi was able to find a way to fulfill his dreams of being seen as an american and still give back to his family in a way that fulfills his filial piety.
Regardless of how the father treated Tosh and exploited his children Kiyoshi was still determined to complete his obligation to his parents, however it was the way that he went about it that separates him. Amidst a war with the country of his parents he was still determined to be an American. He wanted to do something that brought him a sense of accomplishment while still being able to give back to his parents. It was impossible for him to disregard his obligations because of how deeply they are ingrained into him and his culture. While he knew that paying off the debt was of the utmost importance he made a decision that he wasn’t going to let his life be consumed by that. He wanted to do something with his life and that was to enlist in the army and show his sense of nationalism while still giving back to his family. He describes it best when he says “There was a $6000 debt hanging over my head. Even if there weren’t I couldn’t spend a lifetime on the plantation. It was only a crude dream a caveman might have” (95). The language in this quote truly shows how he sees the debt as a burden because he describes as something “hanging over his head” The debt is something that haunts him and seems to never go away but he is clearly aware of the fact that he also has to make a name for himself and make a decision for himself for a change. At the end of the day to Kiyoshi his family came first, he needed to end this cycle of debt that has been haunting his family for the past two generations, but was able to do it on his terms. Kiyoshi decided to explore his Americana and show his pride in his country by enlisting in the army, Even with his family pressing him not to go his mother even saying, “Being so poor, we have to be excused, we have to think of the family first…” (97). Again the idea of family coming before anything else is highlighted by the mother. She said that “Toshio has been of little help as number one son, and we’re depending on you to help the family” (97). The family debt is once again held over his head when he tries to do something for himself. Even when his actions will still help the family, his family looks down upon it because it doesn’t completely focus on paying off the debt. However, he decides to enlist the army because he needs to be independent. He can’t be on the plantation for the rest of his life, like his brother and father. The cycle will never end unless he tries to do something on his own. He decided to take a different route that not only would create a better life for his parents but also for his future parents. It is a tradition in Japan that has been in his family for generations and he doesn’t know anything else than to fulfill his filial piety, but he knew that he needed to try something new. And while he did go against tradition in the sense that he acted for himself instead of for his family he still remained loyal to his family. His family remained number one in his heart even when doing something for himself and that is the biggest difference between Sara and Kiyoshi’s journey to establish themselves as independent Americans. Sara is in a different situation as she knows her father relies on her but her determination to be american was stronger than her devotion to her parents. Kiyoshi wanted to be seen as an American and even was a part of the military, however he never lost of his obligations but Sara ignored her responsibilities during her pursuit to establish herself as an American.