A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

This is an interesting question, as, I too, wondered it when I first read the book. When it first comes up in chapter 34 we know the father was a "married man" and when the baby is born she looks...

As far as the working world is concerned, Francie learns about seniority, fairness, and the importance of reputation. Francie becomes disillusioned with the world of work after she has to cross...

As Francie Nolan grows up she becomes more objectively aware of the deprivation and the generally unfair conditions of working-class life. From the start she sees the defeated, fatalistic attitude...

The tree is described in the novel as a continual symbol of growth: There's a tree that grows in Brooklyn, Some people call it the Tree of Heaven. No matter where its seed falls, it makes a tree...

Francie's father is a singing waiter. Francie's father, Johnny Nolan, never is able to secure steady work; he only works "at one-night places here and there". He would undoubtedly be able to...

After their father has lost his job as a janitor at a school because of his drinking, he obtains a job as a singing waiter; however, his wages are not sufficient to support his family....

On pickle days, Francie goes to the Hebrew man in the neighborhood store to buy a Jewish pickle.When she goes to the store, the old Jewish man gets insulted when she asks for a "penny sheeny...

The tree featured in Betty Smith's inspiring novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn does not exactly play a role in Francie's growth and development over the course of the text, although this is what the...

A quote in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which speaks to how women hate each other, is "“I hate all those flirty-birty games that women make up. " While not a direct statement of hate towards women,...

The central image of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is the "Tree of Heaven," which will grow anywhere its seeds fall but is only found in Brooklyn's poor neighborhoods. Francie is compared to the Tree of...

In Chapter 6, Francie's mother Katie tells Francie to never buy ground meat off the plate at the butcher's shop for two reasons. First, the butcher leaves scraps of meat on the plate, so it gets...

When you are writing a response,you need to prove your point.The quotes you chose are good.Now,whenever you use quotes in an essay,you need to introduce them.Do not just place quotes and think they...

Certainly the most important character in this story is Francie, so casting a talented child actress would be key. Francie is sensitive and intelligent, likable but also socially awkward at times....

Bread was a staple for the Nolan family in Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The family made the most of the the bread in the household. Not only did the family treasure fresh bread, Katie...

Sissy doesn't value marriage very much. It is a societal requirement, something that comes as a consequence of her free-spirited, highly-sexed nature, and it is also something which she can...

In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith portrays Francie as a mixture of both her mother and her father. Like her father, she has an appreciation for beauty. Like her mother, she speaks up for...

In the first 14 pages of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the tree is introduced as a symbolic element in the story. The tree sprouts switches and pointed leaves, and whenever it drops seeds, other trees...

A central issue in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is Johnny Nolan's alcoholism. At the time the novel takes place, over a hundred years ago, substance abuse was considered shameful and was not generally...

On the opening page of the novel, the narrator introduces the reader to the tree that grows in Francie's yard. The tree is symbolic of the hard, yet hopeful life that Francie lives. So you could...

Throughout the course of the novel, Francie Nolan, the protagonist, has to make several important decisions. Two of them relate to her commitment to her family and to her education. Francie was a...

The main conflict in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is the main character’s struggle with her own poverty. The Nolan family’s poverty is the root of all other conflicts in the novel: for example, the...

A great deal has changed in the last one hundred years. The nuclear family has disintegrated with the advent of two working parents and/or divorce. Young people spend a great deal more time...