The Tenement Saga

by Sternlicht, Sanford V.

• ISBN13: 9780299204846
• ISBN10: 0299204847
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-15
• Publisher: Univ of Wisconsin Pr

Summary

Nearly two million Jewish men, women, and children emigrated from Eastern Europe between 1882 and 1924 and settled in, or passed through, the Lower East Side of New York City. Sanford Sternlicht tells the story of his own childhood in this vibrant neighborhood and puts it within the context of fourteen early twentieth-century East Side writers. Anzia Yezierska, Abraham Cahan, Michael Gold, and Henry Roth, and others defined this new "Jewish homeland" and paved the way for the later great Jewish American novelists. Sternlicht discusses the role of women, the Yiddish Theater, secular values, the struggle between generations, street crime, politics, labor unions, and the importance of newspapers and periodicals. He documents the decline of Yiddish culture as these immigrants blended into what they called "The Golden Land."

Author Biography

Sanford Sternlicht, author of many books, including Student Companion to Elie Wiesel and Chaim Potok: A Critical Companion, is professor of English at Syracuse University. This book draws upon Sternlicht’s popular talks and lessons to students on field trips to the Lower East Side, where they experience its sights, sounds, history, and monuments (such as the famous Katz’s Deli).

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xv
Part One. The Lower East Side
Cultural History and Topography	3	(59)
Where Did They Come From?	3	(7)
Immigrant Life	10	(4)
The Immigrant Woman and the Family	14	(3)
Education	17	(4)
Work	21	(7)
The Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire and the Rise of Labor Laws	28	(2)
The Public Forum: Jewish Newspapers and Periodicals	30	(2)
Reading	32	(2)
Religion and Secularism	34	(1)
Prostitution	35	(2)
Other Types of Crime	37	(2)
The Impact of Historical Events	39	(5)
The Yiddish Theater	44	(4)
Other Forms of Recreation and Entertainment	48	(2)
Food	50	(5)
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum on Orchard Street	55	(1)
Moving On	56	(6)
Part Two. Early Jewish American Writers
The Writers 6i
Antecedents in American Literature	62	(1)
Themes	62	(2)
City Fiction	64	(2)
Abraham Cahan	66	(16)
Anzia Yezierska	82	(9)
Rose Cohen	91	(4)
Marcus Eli Ravage	95	(3)
Samuel Ornitz	98	(5)
Marie Ganz	103	(4)
Ben Hecht	107	(4)
Michael Gold	111	(7)
Samson Raphaelson	118	(4)
Marya Zaturenska	122	(2)
Louis Zukofsky	124	(3)
Sydney Taylor	127	(3)
Henry Roth	130	(20)
Harry Roskolenko	150	(5)
Conclusion: A Group Picture from the Williamsburg Bridge	155	(8)
Selected Bibliography	163	(2)
Index	165