Betty Smith was born on December 15, 1896 as Elisabeth Wehner. She grew up poor in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the same place her first novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, takes place.
After marrying George H. E. Smith, she gave birth to two daughters, Nancy and Mary. Smith
waited until her daughters were in school before finishing her higher education.
Smith divorced her first husband in 1938, and married Joe Jones in 1943. That same year, she
published A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Although most remembered for the success of her first book,
Smith wrote other novels, including Tomorrow Will Be Better, Maggie-Now, and Joy in the
Morning. She also had a long career as a dramatist, receiving both the Rockefeller Fellowship and
the Dramatists Guild Fellowship. She died in 1972.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith follows a young girl, Francie Nolan, as she grows up in
the Williamsburg slums. The story shows a deep understanding of relationships and how
influential family members can be.
Although each main character has a clear background, the plot is often interrupted by long
descriptions. However, there are many moments that shape the characters. This book engages in
many meaningful digressions, and every little conversation off the main plot serves useful later in
the book.
The story shows what life was really like for the poor and what they had to endure to get through
each day. The book was very realistic, honest, and thought-provoking. Although it was set in the
early 1900s, issues Francie has to deal with are very similar to those teenage girls wrestle with
today, including poverty and a troubled family life.
"I must watch myself very carefully,” she thought. “I am going to love this boy more than the girl
but I mustn't ever let her know. It is wrong to love one child more than the other but this is
something that I cannot help." (95)
This quote shows that parents are capable of favoring one child over another, but are unwilling to
admit it. The mother, Kate, understands that what she feels is wrong,
“It was one of the links between the ground-down poor and the wasteful rich. The girl felt that
even if she had less than anybody in Williamsburg, somehow she had more. She was richer
because she had something to waste.” (15)
Francie’s mother Kate always gave her a cup of coffee with every meal, and she never drank it.
Although they have little money, Kate felt that her children should be allowed to waste food to
know how it feels to be rich.
“The cloth smelled of Johnny, warm and cigarish. But it was a comforting thing to the child. It
smelled of protection and love.” (149)
When Francie’s father Johnny wrapped his shirt around her injured arm, the smell comforted
her. This quote shows how familiarity and small shows of affection can make someone feel safe.
“She went out and took a last long look at the shabby library. She knew she would never see it
again. Eyes changed after they looked at new things. If in the years to be she were to come back,
her new eyes might make everything seem different from the way she saw it now. The way it was
now was the way she wanted to remember it. No, she’d never want to come back to the old
neighborhood.” ( 487)
When Francie visits the library that she once loved for the last time, she finds it different. Here
she realizes that, after time, everything changes. This quote shows how Francie’s views change as
she grows older.