A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
By Betty Smith
Plot Summary
 The book is a long story of Francie growing up after the turn of the 20th century in Williamsburg,
Brooklyn. It is nearly 500 pages long. She tells the story of her family and neighbors around her
and how she fits into the world. She writes of her dreams for a better present and future. She
writes of real life hunger and poverty. She writes lightly of how she carries junk to get pennies
and candy, of how they caught a heavy tree for Christmas, and how her Aunt Sissy lied to her
teacher to get her a better seat in class and later lied about having a baby herself. She writes of
her mother’s preference of Neely, her brother. She writes of her father’s singing of piano
lessons, and her Uncle’s created one man band. She writes of how a horse treated and
mistreated an uncle and how Any Evy won over the horse. She wrote of a neighbor who died of
consumption (Tuberculosis), of a sexual assault, and how her mother killed the man. She writes
of love and of disappointment and of critical acclaim and failure to win over an English teacher.
She writes about the death of her father and their grief, and the birth of their baby sister. She
continues are writes about the strained relationship between her and her mother. The plot is
very, very long and through it shows the emotional and moral development of Francie, the teller
and protagonist of the story.
Important Characters (To many to list in two page)
 Mary Frances Nolan (Francie) – Protagonist of the book is a girl growing up as a 2nd Generation
immigrant in Brooklyn, NY. She is bright, loves to read, but is friendless outside her family. She
imagines stories and learns to write them down.
 Mary Nolan – The mother figure in the story; Francie’s mother is proud, strong, hardworking,
loving (although favor’s the son), supporter of the family who wants an education and better life
for her children
 Johnny Nolan – A charming, handsome singing man who is also a drunk. He is a dreamer and
dreams of a better life.
 Cornelius Nolan – Francie’s brother Neelie. Close friend growing up with Francie who shares his
father’s looks and musical talent, but not his weakness for drinking.
 Aunt Sissy – Adored by Francie, she is a great lover and mother to all until she final “gets” a child
near the end of the book and settles down with her John really named Steve.
 Aunt Evy – Francie’s other Aunt; hardworking and practical.
 Mary Rommely – Francie’s Grandmother who is uneducated, but advises Mary to use
Shakespeare and the Bible to see that her kids are better educated.
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Sarah Stoloff
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
By Betty Smith
 Mr. McGarrity – The saloon owner who supplies and befriends Johnny and gives his children
work in their time of need after his death.
 Annie Laurie – The baby born to Mary and Johnny 5 months after his death.
 Sergeant Mc Shane – The man who marries Mary near the end of the book which enables them
to move on and for Frances to attend University of Michigan
 Lee Rynor and Ben Blake – Francie’s love interests. Ben assists her at summer college and Lee
breaks her heart.
Themes
 Poverty
 Perseverance through hardship
 Self improvement through education
 Classes: Rich verses poor.
 Ethnic and religious belief and identity
 Sex and morality
Important Symbols
 The tree in concrete perseveres no matter how challenging the climate or how many times it is
cut down. It also appears where there are tenements and only where there are tenements.

The book was turned into a movie in 1945 and there are too many quotes to list. However the
tree is very prominent symbol and lines quoted on many websites are about it.
Quotes

“The one tree in Francie's yard was neither a pine nor a hemlock. It had pointed leaves which
grew along green switches which radiated from the bough and made a tree which looked like a
lot of opened green umbrellas. Some people called it the Tree of Heaven. No matter where its
seed fell, it made a tree which struggled to reach the sky. It grew in boarded-up lots and out of
neglected rubbish heaps and it was the only tree that grew out of cement. It grew lushly, but
only in the tenement districts.”

"Francie is entitled to one cup each meal like the rest. If it makes her feel better to throw it way
rather than to drink it, all right. I think it's good that people like us can waste something once in
a while and get the feeling of how it would be have lots of money and not have to worry about
scrounging."
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Sarah Stoloff
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
By Betty Smith
 “He had sung many a song about ships and going down to the sea in them with a heave ho and a
heave to. He wondered why it hadn't turned out the way it said in the songs. The children
should have returned exhilarated and with a deep and abiding love for the sea and he should
have returned with a fine mess of fish. Why, oh why didn't it turn out the way it did in the
song?”
Author Information
 The book is a retelling of people in Betty’s life. She grew up as a German immigrant in
Williamsburg Brooklyn and attended The University of Michigan as the narrator, Francie, was to
do at the end of the book. She trained as a playwright at Yale and in 1943 moved to Chapel Hill,
North Carolina where she wrote this novel.
Key Facts
 Bildungsroman; Coming of age novel of main character’s (Fancie’s) moral development
 Protagonist is Fancie
 Set between 1900- and 1919 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
Sources
 http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/brooklyn/
 The book itself- Copyright 2001 HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
 http://web.njit.edu/~cjohnson/tree/bio/bio.htm
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Sarah Stoloff