Dear Class:
Next week we will be reading a novel written by Anzia Yezierska.  Yezierska was an immigrant born in Plotsk, a town around the Russian-Polish border.  She was one of many poor Jewish immigrants to settle in New York City.  She arrived at age 16.  She first worked as a servant for a wealthier Jewish family that had lived in the United States for a few generations.  She then worked in a sweatshop sewing clothes.  Then she got a better factory job, which gave her evenings free, and she used the free time to finally learn English.  After learning English, she managed to graduate from college in 1904 with a degree in "domestic science."  In 1920 she wrote a novel (Hungry Hearts) that became a Hollywood movie and earned her $10,000.  She then took on the nickname the "Sweatshop Cinderella."  She wrote our novel, Arrogant Beggar, a few years later.  Many parts of this novel are autobiographical, even if the characters are fictional.

As you read the novel's first half for Tuesday, keep your focus on the "good life" question.  That is, how do the main characters try to obtain the good life in different ways?  For the first half of the book, there are at least four main characters worth particular attention:
Adele
Shlomoh
Mrs. Hellman
Arthur Hellman

In class on Tuesday, we will discuss how these characters symbolize different features of the immigrant experience in the age of industrialization.  As you read this weekend, also think about how each character, even if fictional, can shed light on the reality of life in the new industrial age.

Best wishes,
Chris Endy