A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A girl in the tenements of Williamsburg turns books, pennies and stubborn hope into a way of seeing the world.
When it was written
- Written
- early 1940s
- Publication
- 1943, Harper & Brothers
Betty Smith drew the novel on her own childhood in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, where she grew up in a poor German-American family. She had worked for years as a playwright and took university writing courses as an adult, and she turned to fiction after writing plays.
The book appeared during the Second World War and was an immediate success. It was widely read by ordinary readers, and an edition was distributed to American servicemen. A film adaptation followed in 1945.
What it’s about
Spoiler-freeFrancie Nolan is an eleven-year-old girl growing up in the crowded tenements of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, around 1912. Every Saturday she and her younger brother Neeley collect rags, metal and paper to sell to the junk man for pennies. Francie spends hers on candy, then goes to the library, where she is working her way through every book in alphabetical order.
Her parents could hardly be more different. Katie is practical and fierce about saving, hiding every spare penny in a tin-can bank. Johnny, a charming singing waiter, adores his children but drinks and cannot be counted on to bring money home. Katie's mother, Mary Rommely, adds her own stern lessons about reading and beauty.
The book follows Francie as she learns what words can do, what honesty costs, and how a family stretches little money across hard years. A tree of heaven that grows in the poor soil of the yard serves as a quiet image of the neighborhood's will to survive. Francie must decide what kind of person that tough ground will make her.
This summary stops at roughly the end of the first act. Everything after that sits behind a spoiler gate.
Themes
Spoiler-freePoverty and dignity
The Nolans have very little, yet the book shows how they preserve pride and find small pleasures. Smith looks at what hardship takes from a family and what it demands of them.
Education as a way out
Reading, schooling and writing are Francie's route to a wider life. The novel shows how much effort and sacrifice it takes for a poor child to reach for learning.
Truth and storytelling
Francie discovers that her teachers prefer prettier stories to plain facts. She begins to ask how a writer can be honest in a world that dislikes hard truths.
Resilience
The tree of heaven that grows from cracks in the pavement stands for people who survive in bad conditions. The idea runs through the whole family and the neighborhood.
Family and unequal love
Parents with very different natures shape their children in different ways. The book explores loyalty, favoritism and the strain of tight resources inside a household.
Characters
Fates hiddenFrancie Nolan
Protagonist, a bookish girlA sharp, observant child who loves words and dreams of a bigger life. She learns about the world through the library and through her own neighborhood.
What happens to Francie NolanHideSpoilers
What happensShe leaves school early for work but keeps reading and writing, wins a place at the University of Michigan, and is ready to leave Brooklyn as the book closes.
Katie Nolan
Francie's motherA disciplined, practical woman who saves every penny and is determined that her children will have better schooling.
What happens to Katie NolanHideSpoilers
What happensWidowed and pregnant, she becomes the building's janitress, then marries Sergeant McShane and finally enjoys some comfort.
Johnny Nolan
Francie's father, a singing waiterA charming, affectionate man whom his children adore, though he drinks and cannot hold up his side of the family finances.
What happens to Johnny NolanHideSpoilers
What happensHis drinking worsens and he dies, leaving Katie pregnant with their third child.
Neeley Nolan
Francie's younger brotherFrancie's partner on the Saturday rag rounds and her companion through childhood.
What happens to Neeley NolanHideSpoilers
What happensKatie chooses him as the one child to receive further schooling, which hurts Francie.
Mary Rommely
Katie's mother, the grandmotherA stern, wise woman who insists the children read the Bible and Shakespeare daily and learn to see beauty.
What happens to Mary RommelyHideSpoilers
What happensShe helps Katie through the hard years after Johnny's death.
Sissy
Katie's sister, an auntKatie's lively sister, a warm presence in the extended family.
What happens to SissyHideSpoilers
What happensShe helps Katie after Johnny's death, together with Evy and Mary Rommely.
Sergeant McShane
Police sergeant and later stepfatherA steady, decent widower who is a figure of order in the neighborhood.
What happens to Sergeant McShaneHideSpoilers
What happensHe marries Katie and brings the family security.
Ben Blake
Francie's friendA steady friend of Francie's whose companionship contrasts with her earlier romance.
What happens to Ben BlakeHideSpoilers
What happensFrancie recalls their friendship as steadier than her disappointment with Lee Rhynor as she prepares to leave.
Lee Rhynor
Francie's first romantic interestA young man who captures Francie's attention as she grows up.
What happens to Lee RhynorHideSpoilers
What happensHe disappoints Francie, and she looks back on the episode as she moves on.
Plot summary
Contains spoilersA Tree Grows in Brooklyn in 1 part, in our own words.
This section gives away the whole storyA short summary including the ending. Open it only if you have finished the book or don’t mind knowing.
Show spoilersHide spoilers
A short summary including the ending. Open it only if you have finished the book or don’t mind knowing.
- Book One
Growing Up in Williamsburg
Francie Nolan grows up in the immigrant tenements of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, around 1912. Each Saturday she and her brother Neeley collect rags, metal and paper and sell them to Carney the junk man, who shortchanges them. Francie spends her pennies on candy, choosing with great care, and then goes to the library, where she is reading every book in alphabetical order. A tree of heaven grows in the poor soil of the yard, and it stands for the survival of the neighborhood's poor.
Her parents are opposites. Katie is disciplined and practical, keeping spare pennies in a tin-can bank nailed to the closet floor. Johnny is a charming singing waiter who loves his children but drinks and cannot be relied on for money. Katie's mother, Mary Rommely, insists that the children read from the Bible and Shakespeare every day and learn to see beauty. Katie, set on a better schooling for them, gives a false address so Francie and Neeley can attend a nicer school.
At school Francie loves words, but her teacher discourages her honest compositions about drunkenness and poverty. When Francie wraps the same grim subjects in pretty language, the teacher praises them. She learns that people dislike plain truth more than hardship itself. At Christmas she and Neeley stand firm when a vendor hurls a tree at them, and they win it. Katie is moved by their grit.
Johnny's drinking worsens until he dies, leaving Katie pregnant with a third child. She becomes the building's janitress, helped by her sisters Sissy and Evy and by Mary Rommely. Francie leaves school for a flower-making factory and later a press clipping bureau, while still reading and writing on her own. Katie can afford to send only one child on to further schooling and chooses Neeley, which wounds Francie. She is accepted at the University of Michigan but cannot go at once.
Katie marries the police sergeant McShane, a steady and decent widower, and the family finally knows some comfort. Francie grieves for her father but moves toward accepting the change. She also looks back on her disappointment in Lee Rhynor and her steadier friendship with Ben Blake. Before leaving Brooklyn she revisits the old streets and sees a young girl reading on a fire escape, as she once did. The tree, cut down, has sprouted again, and Francie stands ready to leave.
Who it’s for
- Readers who love coming-of-age stories
- Fans of historical fiction set in New York
- Anyone who enjoys bookish heroines
- Readers interested in immigrant family life
Content notes
- Alcoholism and its effect on a family
- Poverty and hunger
- Death of a parent
- Some mild romantic and sexual references
Suggested age: 13+
Download Summary of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Get the A Tree Grows in Brooklyn summary as a free PDF or EPUB. Print it or read offline anytime.
The full version contains spoilers, including the ending.
FAQ
What is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn about?
It follows Francie Nolan, a poor, bookish girl growing up in the Williamsburg tenements of Brooklyn around 1912. Her mother is practical and her father is charming but unreliable. The novel traces her childhood and youth as she reaches for education and a life of her own.
Is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn based on a true story?
It is a novel, but it draws heavily on Betty Smith's own childhood in Williamsburg. Francie's love of books and her family's circumstances echo the author's experience. It is usually described as semi-autobiographical.
What does the tree symbolize?
The tree of heaven grows in poor soil in the yard and survives where little else does. It stands for the endurance of the neighborhood's poor and for Francie herself. The image returns at the end of the book.
When and where is the book set?
It is set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the early twentieth century, beginning around 1912. The story follows the Nolans through the following years in immigrant tenement life.
Is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn suitable for teenagers?
Yes, it is widely read by teenagers and is often taught in schools. It deals with poverty, alcoholism and death, but in a restrained way. Younger readers may need some guidance on the heavier themes.
Is the book sad?
There are painful moments, including family hardship and loss. Yet the tone is warm and often funny, and the book is more hopeful than grim overall.
What happens to Johnny Nolan? Spoilers
This answer explains how the book ends.Show spoilersHide spoilers
His drinking gets worse until he dies. Katie is left pregnant with their third child and must find a way to support the family.
How does Katie support the family after Johnny dies? Spoilers
This answer explains how the book ends.Show spoilersHide spoilers
She becomes the building's janitress, with help from her sisters Sissy and Evy and from Mary Rommely. Francie also leaves school to work, first in a flower-making factory and later at a press clipping bureau.
Why does Francie's schooling cause family tension? Spoilers
This answer explains how the book ends.Show spoilersHide spoilers
Katie can afford to send only one child on to further education and chooses Neeley. This wounds Francie, who loves learning. She is later accepted at the University of Michigan but cannot go at once.
How does A Tree Grows in Brooklyn end? Spoilers
This answer explains how the book ends.Show spoilersHide spoilers
Katie marries Sergeant McShane and the family finally knows some comfort. Francie, still grieving for her father, moves toward accepting the change. She revisits the old streets, sees a young girl reading on a fire escape as she once did, and finds that the cut-down tree has sprouted again, as she stands ready to leave Brooklyn.
Listen your way
SUN can turn this book into whatever fits your day. Every format says up front whether it has spoilers.