A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
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Plot Overview II
The young Johnny and Katie support themselves by working as janitors in a public school, but their lives become more stressful when Katie becomes pregnant. A year after Francie is born, Katie gives birth to a boy, Neeley, who will be her favorite. The stress of living in poverty and having children causes Johnny to become weaker and undependable, while Katie’s fighting instinct kicks in. Johnny’s drinking problem gets worse and the Nolans move after a binge on his twenty-first birthday brings shame to their family. They love their new apartment on Lorimer Street, and stay until Katie’s sister, Sissy, makes some mistakes that shame the family. The house on Grand Street is the third and last of the Nolans’s homes in Brooklyn.
Neeley and Francie start school the same year. Francie has anticipated school with great delight, but finds the neighborhood school cruel and mean. Her love for learning is juxtaposed with the cruelties of the teachers and other children. One day, Francie happens upon a beautiful school that she wishes she could attend. Johnny figures out a way for Francie to transfer to this kinder school, where rich children are not favored over poor children like Francie. Although she never makes many friends, school becomes a more positive place for Francie.
Growing up, Francie and Neeley enjoy all the holidays throughout the year. At this point in the book, the flashback ends, and we return to the point at which the book begins. Through many experiences, Francie loses the innocence that marks her character when the book begins. One of these experiences is the tree-throwing ritual. One Christmas, Francie and Neeley participate in an old Brooklyn tree-catching tradition. They remain standing while the biggest tree in the lot is thrown straight at them. Although they are thrilled with the thought of a Christmas tree, the reader understands the cruelty of this ritual, especially when Katie begins to worry that her children do not even know the hardship they live in.
Read entire extract at Sparknotes.
The audio book version of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is filed under Fiction Audio Books.
