Difference between revisions of "328 2010--Week 4 Questions/Comments"
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(→Judy Yung, "The Social Awakening of Chinese American Women as Reported in ''Chung Sai Yat Po'', 1900-1911") |
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Immigrant women like Anzia and her fictional heroine Sara faced unique challenges at the turn of the century. They were caught between the growing American emphasis on education and more independence for women and their tradition bound fathers and husbands. Men like Sara's father in the reading probably saw their daughters' rebellious streaks as not only a threat to their patriarchal authority but also to the culture and customs they brought from their countries of origin. When immigrant daughters went to school or moved out on their own they joined an 'American' movement that their parents may not have understood or feared for its ability to remove their daughters from an acceptably ethnic upbringing. -Mary Ann | Immigrant women like Anzia and her fictional heroine Sara faced unique challenges at the turn of the century. They were caught between the growing American emphasis on education and more independence for women and their tradition bound fathers and husbands. Men like Sara's father in the reading probably saw their daughters' rebellious streaks as not only a threat to their patriarchal authority but also to the culture and customs they brought from their countries of origin. When immigrant daughters went to school or moved out on their own they joined an 'American' movement that their parents may not have understood or feared for its ability to remove their daughters from an acceptably ethnic upbringing. -Mary Ann | ||
| − | I strongly agree with Mary Ann, I think fathers especially immigrant fathers wanted the "American Dream" and felt that when they arrived it was hard to achieve so held onto the one stable condition they always knew as being heads of the household. Men, like Sara's father used a different tactic to establish authority through the use of religion,"It says in the Torah, only through a man has a woman an existence." (22) contradicting the idea in America where women were normally seen as morally superior. This made me wonder if the influence of new religions and cultures in America helped bring about the women's movement? Did statements such as the one Sara's father made cause women to rebel more and prove they did not need a man nor his religion to survive. -Megan W. | + | I strongly agree with Mary Ann, I think fathers especially immigrant fathers wanted the "American Dream" and felt that when they arrived it was hard to achieve so held onto the one stable condition they always knew as being heads of the household. Men, like Sara's father used a different tactic to establish authority through the use of religion,"It says in the Torah, only through a man has a woman an existence." (22) contradicting the idea in America where women were normally seen as morally superior. This made me wonder if the influence of new religions and cultures in America helped bring about the women's movement? Did statements such as the one Sara's father made cause women to rebel more and prove they did not need a man nor his religion to survive. -Megan W. |
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| + | The story of the Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska is an example of traditional values and norms crashing headfirst into a changing society. As a man of God in their old country, Sara’s father would have been required to provide spiritual leadership to his community in exchange for food and shelter; but in America that is not the case. Instead, he forces his family to sacrifice so that he can continue to focus completely on his religion. Sara’s ability to break away from her father’s overbearing dominance also forces her to turn her back on her sisters and mother. This conflict between generations was a prominent narrative at the turn of the century. – E Fritz | ||
'''Edith Eudora Ammons''' – A Woman Homesteader | '''Edith Eudora Ammons''' – A Woman Homesteader | ||
