What I think about Bread Givers so far...

     

      I really must say that I do not like this book.  I know that it is showing a different way of life, but it is too different.  In the past families were always portrayed like this: the father went to work and provided for the family, while the mother took care of the children.  In the world today, men and women both share the role of taking care of the children and providing for the family.  In the Bread Givers, Sara Smolinsky shows an entirely different way of life.  Her father does not have a job and does not provide for the family.  All that he does is read religious texts and tells the women in his life what to do.  This really makes me angry.  He has no life of his own, but feels the needs to feed off of those around him.  He would not let Bessie get married because he felt that he needed her to take care of him.  She felt compelled to say no as well, when that man asked her to go away with him because of her father.  I am outraged by this and cannot understand how someone could be that selfish.  Personally, I think it has to do with the fact that he is uneducated, or at least that is how it seems.  He relies on his religion too much and that is ruining the family.  What makes me even more upset, is that his wife is okay with the way he acts.  If I had a husband like that, I would have left him a long time ago.  Again, I really am not enjoying this book at all.