In 1925, American author Anzia Yezierska wrote the book Bread Givers. The story follows a poor immigrant family living on the Lower East Side of 1920s New York. Throughout the novel, the family's four daughters are treated simply as hired hands by a father (Reb Smolinsky) who refuses to work, spending his days studying the Holy Torah and alienating his daughters' lovers. He is commonly seen as the novel's antagonist, yet without his tyrannical influence, Sara, the youngest daughter and protagonist of the story, would not have been able to succeed and find happiness in America as she did. Reb's unquestionable love of books greatly influenced Sara as she discovered her own interest in reading, which allowed her to become a successful teacher later in life. Sara reflects Reb's best characteristic, his unwavering devotion to his passion: religion; Sara follows in his footsteps, equally bonding with his passion: education. Reb also surrounded Sara with so much conflict at home, she got used to it, and standing up for herself in the midst of conflict became one of her greatest skills throughout adulthood. Ultimately, Reb single-handedly created a family environment so toxic that it drove Sara away from home. A less oppressive father than Reb may not have caused Sarah to run away, leaving her trapped in poverty and unhappiness. While he may not have helped in the way he intended, Reb's actions pushed Sara towards success she couldn't have achieved without him. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Throughout Sarah's entire childhood, Reb spent most of her time studying the Holy Torah and its enormous collection of other pious texts. He refused to get a job and stayed at home reading day after day. Although she did not appreciate her father's lack of income, Sara was undoubtedly influenced by his love of reading as she became passionate about the idea of ​​studying. As her sister Fania once said about Sara: “Come Bessie, let's leave her to her crazy upbringing. He is worse than his father with his holy Torah." (Yezierska, 178) As a child, an entire room in Sarah's house was entirely dedicated to Reb's enormous book collection. Even when the family was struggling with serious problems financial, Reb was forced to give up his reading room in order to rent it to boarders. He was willing to give up food and basic necessities in order to keep his books. Later, when Sara is in college, his work succeeds barely covering the rent on her apartment, much less food. However, she continues to study, mirroring Reb in her unwavering dedication to her passion , Reb's absolute dedication to reading was a major source of friction between him and the rest of the Smolinsky family: his refusal to work resulted in a near-constant stream of arguments between Reb and his wife Sara as he grew up a house in which Reb's character created an environment of hostility and confrontation; Sara has had conflicts 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 her divisions Sara became a person who never shied away from conflict later in life Many times, Sara benefited greatly from not giving up after people got in her way when she left home.