A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is a novel by BettySmith first published in 1943. It relates the coming-of-age story of its main character, Francie Nolan, and her Irish-American family struggling against poverty in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City. The novel is set in the first and second decades of the 20th century. The book was an immense success, a nationwide best-seller that was distributed to servicemen overseas.

It was also adapted into a popular motion picture, the first feature film directed by Elia Kazan,  starring James Dunn, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, and Peggy Ann Garner.

Much of the story can be thought of as thinly disguised autobiography. Many of the characters derive from actual inhabitants of Williamsburg with whom the author grew up.

The central metaphor of the story is the Tree of Heaven. which is a hardy species commonplace in the back lots of New York City.

In pre-World War I Brooklyn, young Francie struggles to keep her idealism alive in the face of grinding poverty, the comedies and tragedies of ordinary life. Her mother, Katie, is a realistic woman who works as a janitor in their tenement to make ends meet. Her father, Johnny, is an alcoholic singing waiter who is more of a dreamer. Along with her brother Neeley, the four of them live in a poor apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City.

The story begins with Francie and Neeley going to the pawn shop on a Saturday, after scraping through garbage and such for foil. They receive pennies for this task from the shop owner, and they split the earnings, with some of it going into the family star bank. Neeley spends his money on candy, and Francie has a nickel that she holds on to while she browses stores. The neighborhood children all follow the same weekend routine as the Nolans. Johnny has a job that night to perform at a wedding, and comes home to freshen up. He is a proud union member, and always tells his family about the wonderful benefits of being a union member. Francie loves her father but has a strained relationship with her mother. The mother admits to loving Neeley more than Francie, though only to herself. When Johnny is drunk, he is quiet, which leads people to think he’s sober, and he’s happy and singing when he’s sober, which makes people think he’s drunk. Since it’s Saturday, Francie is allowed to sleep in the front room, which is one of her favorite things about Saturdays (besides going to the library and her cup of coffee to do with as she pleases). She stays awake to wait for her father to come home from his job.

As the Nolans scrape by on pennies, the film focuses on Francie’s struggle for a better life despite all the pressures. We come to know these people well through big and little troubles: Aunt Sissy’s scandalous succession of “husbands;” Aunt Evy and her always down-on-his-luck husband, her grandmother, and various other people that come into their lives.

Francie and Neeley both attend school, with Francie going to a better school in a nicer location. She starts writing short stories to entertain herself, which is a vent for her. The family takes piano lessons from an old spinster that lives in their apartment building. Johnny gets kicked out of the union because of his drinking. Aunt Sissy adopts a baby girl, and has a surviving biological child of her own, after giving birth to ten stillborn babies. She also finally settles down with her husband Steve, and gives up her promiscuous ways. Johnny eventually dies of alcoholism after he learns that Katie is pregnant for a third time, and doesn’t live to see his new baby girl born. Meanwhile, Francie and Neeley both take on part time jobs, but then Francie has to work full time to help make ends meet with the new baby and the death of Johnny. This upsets her because it means that she will have to leave school, despite her being the more academically inclined than Neeley. World War I has started, and Francie meets a soldier that she falls in love with. Only, the soldier turns out to be engaged, and she gets a letter from his new wife explaining everything. She heals her heartache with time and another young man. Katie marries a retired police officer, who is running for a government office position, ensuring a better life for her family.

 

 

deletereply redheadgirl4 wrote on Nov 21, ’07 Oh I love this movie, and I loved the book too! The movie makes me cry, no matter how many times I see it! What a wonderful blog, thanks for this reminder of an old favourite!

 

deletereply papahere wrote on Nov 22, ’07 I lived in Brooklyn when this book came out and close to Williamsberg…It appeared everyone in the area in one way or another identified with the story…when the movie came out, everyone talked about it but I was too young to appreciate it…and when I was old enough to understand,I was tired of Brooklyn and it memories. ~ Papa

 

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Dec 25, ’07 I have always loved this movie. I wonder if my sister remembers it.

 

deletereply starfishred wrote on Dec 25, ’07 I LIKE THE BOOK MUCH BETTER-I HAVE IT AND BOUGHT IT FOR MY KIDS AND WE READ IT EVERY NIGHT TILL DONNE-BUT THE MOVIE IS NOT QUIET THE SAME-