In 1925, American author Anzia Yezierska wrote the book Bread Givers. The story follows a poor immigrant family living in the Lower East Side of New York in the 1920s. Throughout the novel, the family's four daughters are treated as mere wage earners by a father (Reb Smolinsky) who refuses to work, spends his days studying the Holy Torah and chases away his daughters' lovers. He is commonly seen as the antagonist of the novel, and yet without his tyrannical influence, Sara, the youngest daughter and protagonist of the story, could not have succeeded and found happiness in America as she did. Reb's undeniable love of books greatly influenced Sara when she discovered her own interest in reading, which led to her becoming a teacher later in life. Sara reflects Reb's best characteristic, his unwavering dedication to his passion: religion; Sara follows in his footsteps, also becoming connected to her own passion: education. Reb also surrounded Sara with so much conflict at home that she became accustomed to it, and standing up for herself in the midst of conflict became one of her greatest skills as an adult. Ultimately, Reb single-handedly created a home environment so toxic that he drove Sara away from home. A less oppressive father than Reb might not have caused Sara to flee, leaving her trapped in poverty and unhappiness. Although he may not have helped as he hoped, Reb's actions propelled Sara to success that she could not have achieved without him. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Throughout Sara's childhood, Reb spent the vast majority of his time studying the Holy Torah and its vast collection of other pious texts. He refused to get a job and stayed home reading day after day. Although she resented her father's lack of income, Sara was undoubtedly influenced by his love of reading when she became passionate about getting an education. As her sister Fania once said of Sara: "Come Bessie, let's leave her to her crazy upbringing." She is worse than my father with his holy Torah. (Yezierska, 178) When she was a child, an entire room in Sara's house was devoted exclusively to Reb's huge book collection. Even when the family faced serious financial problems, Reb had to abandon his reading room so he could rent it to boarders. He was willing to forgo food and basic necessities in order to keep his books. Later, when Sara is in college, her job is barely enough to cover the rent on her apartment, let alone eat enough. However, she continues to study, like Reb in her unwavering dedication to her passion. Reb's love of books was something Sara emulated growing up. Regardless, Reb's absolute dedication to his reading was a major source of friction between him and the rest of the Smolinsky family - his refusal to work resulting in a near-constant relationship. a series of fights between Reb and his wife. Sara grew up in a home where Reb's character created an environment of hostility and confrontation; Sara has faced conflict all around her for over a decade. Even when Reb saw a worried look on his wife's face, he became angry. "'Woman! When will you stop darkening the house with your worries?' » (10) Reb often became angry in this way, but probably because of his divisions, Sara became a person who was never afraid of conflict later in her life...