Draft

Phillip Wiseman American Studies 72 TA- Meghan Drury

Immigrants’ Strive to Leave Poverty

While many native-born whites blamed urban poverty and squalor on immigrants, immigrants were essentially forced into poverty when they arrived. Living in poverty was not a choice, but because many of them did not have the skills necessary or know the language spoken immigrants were forced into low paying jobs--assuming they were able to get jobs in the first place. Once immigrants were in America they strived to become successful by working their way up through industry.
Anzia Yezierska uses Sara and her family in her novel Bread Givers to show native-born Americans how immigrants strived against adversity to succeed in America. In Bread Givers, Sara--the youngest daughter of a Russian immigrant--strives to get herself out of the poverty and squalor of Hester Street on the Lower East Side of New York City and become educated. Sara is unhappy with her life in poverty and sees an education as her way out. Sara recalled a story she read in the Sunday paper about a girl who was working hard in a shop and was “turning gray” until she began going to night school, then college and eventually a school teacher.# This little story set Sara on a path that would eventually lead her toward attending college and then onto her career as a teacher. The story of the girl in the paper as well as Sara’s story of how she became a teacher mirror the typical American success stories of immigrants coming out of poverty and “pulling themselves up by their bootstraps” to achieve success through education.
Sara not only has ambitions of getting an education, but she also works in a laundry while attending night school. This shows that not only does she have aspirations of a better life, but that she is working hard in the mean time so she can survive on her own. While the native-born white image of immigrants may be those who lived in filthy poverty, Sara worked hard in a laundry to save money for a new life of college and classes. Sara was trying to work her way out of poverty to a better life.
Early in the novel there is a scene in which Sara buys a fish for 25 cents and sells it later that day for 50 cents. This shows that Sara is intelligent enough to learn how to make a profit. She said that she no longer wanted to go through trash to find old coals for fire or to sit on a street corner and beg, rather she had the ingenuity to know that she could make a profit from fish peddling. This is an example of how Yezierska shows the immigrants’ drive to improve their quality of life.
Because Sara went to night classes and eventually to college she was able to pull herself out of poverty. She transformed from a poor girl living in squalor to an educated woman who could take care of herself and better her community. This is in direct opposition to how many native-born whites saw immigrants. Now, Sara is able to enjoy finer stores and a better living and proves that immigrants can work hard to become a part of American society.
Sara’s father, Reb Smolinsky, also has dreams of becoming wealthier; however, he is sent back to poverty after being taken advantage of. Reb shows that he wants a better life after he purchases the grocery store in Elizabeth. This is another example of entrepreneurialism among immigrants or of how the father was trying to “pull himself up by his bootstraps.” The reason why Reb is unsuccessful is not because of a lack of trying due to laziness, like many native-born whites may believe about immigrants’ work ethic, but it is because he is taken advantage of that he is unsuccessful. Therefore, if he lost all his money and is in even greater poverty now then before, it is not fair to blame that poverty on himself. He was trying to be a productive member in society, but was cheated out of his goal. When native-born whites then blame the poverty and squalor in their urban cities on immigrants it is not a fair judgment.
Bessie, the sister of Sara, worked hard at her job as well. Bessie was so committed to getting herself and her family out of poverty that she worked long hours and gave all of her paycheck to the family for their survival. While Mashah spent her pay on goods like clothing, and her own towel and hanger, Bessie wanted her family to take her money to better themselves. Her character is one way of showing how immigrants wanted success and were willing to work hard for it no matter what the consequences may be-- in Bessie’s case it was working hard with little reward for herself.
Lewis Hine’s photograph “Chile Labor Documentation Project” is another example of immigrants trying to get themselves out of poverty. In the photograph a family and their neighbors gather together to make garters. Young children are even involved in the sewing. This family will work all day and late into the night working on these garters and will likely make little profit of off them; however, they continue to work hard because they know that this is the only way to get some form of income. This photograph shows that immigrants were working extremely hard to make it in America and did not want to remain in the squalor in which they lived.