A Tree Grows In Brooklyn Essay

In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the author, Betty Smith, establishes a form of bildungsroman in which the story centers on a protagonist who matures and learns from various experiences. Throughout the novel, the audience is able to witness the hardships of the Nolan family, consisting of Francie, Neeley, Katie, and Johnny. A pivotal moment in the maturation of Francie occurs in Book Three, when Johnny Nolan dies from alcoholism. This event is significant in both the psychological and moral development of the young girl. It causes changes in Francie because she begins to see the world in a different way. She can no longer rely on Katie as a parent-figure, as her mother is pregnant and unable to support her. Francie must learn to care for herself, and it is now necessary for her to be involved in the working world, even though she longs to remain a student.

Johnny Nolan’s eventual demise contributed to this fall from innocence for Francie. Prior to the death of Johnny, Francie was a very imaginative young girl who wrote creative and beautiful compositions, which her teacher greatly enjoyed. Since she had never before considered her father might die, Johnny’s death breaks Francie’s heart, so she begins to focus more on the dismal side of reality and write stories based on the truth. Francie had missed Johnny so much, “she had taken to writing little stories about him. She tried to show that, in spite of his shortcomings, he had been a good father and a kindly man.” She believed it was important for her stories to exhibit the truth, unlike her teacher who argued that “drunkenness is neither truth nor beauty” and there was no place for any discussion of this or poverty in Francie’s stories. In summary, this change in Francie is due to the fact that she believed her father would always be there to care for her, but his death destroys her