Date of Award
9-2-1999
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
English
First Advisor
Martha E. Cook, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Ellery Sedgewick, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Kathleen T. Flanagan, Ph.D.
Abstract
Although there is a wide variety of writers in American literature, it can be said that immigrant writers are left out of the literary pool. In American literature, there is a common theme of defining the American dream. From the early colonies to now, each immigrant has their own definition of the “American dream”. However when it comes to Jewish writers, the American dream becomes a story of how the character will become a new citizen while still regarding their old culture. In “Yekl” by Abraham Cahan and “Bread Givers” by Anzia Yezierska, this Jewish-American dream is seen. Both works show the characters struggle to assimilate in American society and their struggle to gain independence from their roots.
Recommended Citation
Verschaeve, Andrea, "The Jewish Immigrant Perception of the American Dream In Abraham Cahan's Yekl and Anzia Yezierska's Bread Givers" (1999). Theses & Honors Papers. 201.
https://digitalcommons.longwood.edu/etd/201
