Bread Givers Conflict

From the late 1890’s to the early 1920’s Anzia Yezierska’s novel Bread Givers illustrating the immigrant experience with generational conflict. During the 1890’s to the 1920’s a massive influx of new immigrants, primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe resulted in the Americanization movement. These restrictions on immigration came from the western frontier closing, fast paced industrialization, city and rural emigration, economic distress and labor conflicts. Within cities immigrants were grouped into specific neighborhoods; the Jewish Religion was placed on the Lower East Side of New York City. The primary source of conflict between emigrants and their children at the turn of the twentieth century was Americanization.
Many emigrants came to America with the expectation that everything was free, the streets would be paved with gold, that once they made it there

would be no more worries. With the large economic and cultural expansion during the 1800’s, the American Dream had been reinforced and America was viewed as the land of opportunity. The American Dream was broadly used to describe the promotion of people’s social class and the idea of becoming wealthy. Due to the growing economic distress, this dream became more difficult to achieve. Many families worked as an economic unit, children gave their wages to their parents. Yet Mr. Smolinsky, contradicts himself and his own family dependence from his traditional upbringing, as his family now resides in America, “where everybody got to look out for themselves” (Yezierska, 49). This concept was not one he could assimilate himself to, constantly depending upon his daughters, his wife, and then jumping to a new wife upon her death Mr. Smolinsky lacks the will to stand alone. When Sara bought a fish at a low price and sold it for a profit, (Yezierska, 22) her realization of what the “American Dream” began to assimilate. By the time Sara graduated from college she had fully assimilated into American culture. She worked hard for what she wanted and accomplished her goal, this embodies what her “American Dream” was at the time. However, like many before her, Sara finds her dream to grow and adapt as she does.
Children adapt more quickly to change than fully formed adults who may never become comfortable.

The children of emigrants have had little to no opportunities or exposure to learning their native heritage. Even with this input, they live in a different world Sara identifies this conflict stating, “I’m not from the old country. I’m American!” (Yezierska, 137) Imagine placing your child from your homeland and removing the food, language, values, behaviors, everything that makes it what it truly is and trying to teach your values surrounded by new ones. Mr. Smolinsky openly rejects the integration of his daughters “I don’t want another Americanerin in my house” (Yezierska, 144). In the Smolinsky family, as with other immigrant parents, there was no degree of flexibility toward changing their ways of thinking to adapt to raise their children in America. Take the Americanization of Indian children who were kidnapped from their families as a part of an attempt to “civilize” Indians. Americans in a humanitarian effort dressed and taught these children how to act white and trained them in low-class

trades.
The older generations of Jewish immigrants often immigrated as families, coming to America for money or to avoid religious persecution (Lecture). The Smolinsky family would have immigrated during the new generations of Jewish immigrants beginning in the 1880’s into the Lower East Side of New York City. Orthodox Jewish communities use a matchmaking system for marriage, this is how Mr. Smolinsky was married to his wife. Sara rejects this concept of Jewish womanhood; she wants to marry for love. At this point for a woman not to have a man to watch over her is seen as taboo. The family unit depends upon this union for the dowry given in exchange for the daughter. Society believes that a girl at this age should be seeking a husband, Sara instead pursues a life of her own. Sara has acted as a bread giver for her with her sisters and her mother, the women of the family have been forced to provide.
The generation of emigrants who brought their children is not likely to assimilate into the American way since they see nothing wrong with their way of doing things. The children of this generation live in a different world than their parents, this and every generation after becomes increasingly Americanized as their original heritage fades into the background. Demonstrating generational conflict through tension over assimilation, such as the American Dream, adaptability, and traditions. The primary cause of conflict between emigrants and their children at the turn of the twentieth century was Americanization.