Free Essays on Jewish Family

This novel is about a young girl in a Jewish family who struggled to free herself from her father’s obsolete teachings and beliefs. Coming to America at around the early 1900’s, the family found out the cruelty of the land of capitalism and faced the financial difficulties experienced by most immigrants. Everyone but the father adapted to the hardships and went out to earn a few cents. The father, Reb Smolinsky, was a rabbi and devoted himself totally to religion. As a matter of fact, he did not want to have his holiness contaminated by earthly worries; he expected his wife and four frail daughters to put food on the table. Somehow, he was completely blind to the poverty and, getting the largest share of meals, thought everyone had enough to eat. Thinking he was the head of the family, Smolinsky controlled the future of his daughters. Wanting quick money so that he could pray all day, the father did not agree to let a young man marry his oldest daughter Bessie, who assumed the financial burden and gave all her wage to Smolinsky. The young man promised to support Bessie and asked for no dowry. However, the rabbi saw no gain in this affair and drove away Bessie’s lover. Always finding faults in people, Smolinsky prevented his three older daughters from uniting with the ones they loved. In fact, he became a matchmaker and married his daughters to three frauds. At the end, he profited only five hundred dollars. Thinking he was smart and competent, the rabbi bought a general store with no stock for four hundred dollars. Because he was the most holy man in the world, Smolinsky did not acknowledge he was swindled. He even applied his tyrannical preachings to the few customers who came into the store. Being the youngest and most daring, the remaining daughter Sara could not stand the ideas of the Old World any more. She ran away with a few dollars given by her mother and rented a small din... Free Essays on Jewish Family Free Essays on Jewish Family This novel is about a young girl in a Jewish family who struggled to free herself from her father’s obsolete teachings and beliefs. Coming to America at around the early 1900’s, the family found out the cruelty of the land of capitalism and faced the financial difficulties experienced by most immigrants. Everyone but the father adapted to the hardships and went out to earn a few cents. The father, Reb Smolinsky, was a rabbi and devoted himself totally to religion. As a matter of fact, he did not want to have his holiness contaminated by earthly worries; he expected his wife and four frail daughters to put food on the table. Somehow, he was completely blind to the poverty and, getting the largest share of meals, thought everyone had enough to eat. Thinking he was the head of the family, Smolinsky controlled the future of his daughters. Wanting quick money so that he could pray all day, the father did not agree to let a young man marry his oldest daughter Bessie, who assumed the financial burden and gave all her wage to Smolinsky. The young man promised to support Bessie and asked for no dowry. However, the rabbi saw no gain in this affair and drove away Bessie’s lover. Always finding faults in people, Smolinsky prevented his three older daughters from uniting with the ones they loved. In fact, he became a matchmaker and married his daughters to three frauds. At the end, he profited only five hundred dollars. Thinking he was smart and competent, the rabbi bought a general store with no stock for four hundred dollars. Because he was the most holy man in the world, Smolinsky did not acknowledge he was swindled. He even applied his tyrannical preachings to the few customers who came into the store. Being the youngest and most daring, the remaining daughter Sara could not stand the ideas of the Old World any more. She ran away with a few dollars given by her mother and rented a small din...