Francie In Betty Smith's A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, Francie and Neeley Nolan are children growing up during the early 1900’s. The brother and sister have to learn how to survive on bread crumbs (literally), and make the most of what they do own. Francie is the main character of the novel, and from the very beginning, the readers can grasp the independence that inhibits Francie from a young age, unlike Neeley who is very dependent on his parents (especially Katie, his mother) to help him get along. When Neeley and Francie are together, Neeley’s dependence brings out Francies individualistic way of thinking, ultimately providing evidence for the end of Francie’s coming-of-age tale.
From the beginning of the novel, it is explicitly stated that Francie …show more content…
When Neeley was born, he instantly reminded Katie of Johnny, but Johnny being an alcoholic, she wanted to raise Neeley as a mini-Johnny, but one that only contained the good qualities of Johnny, so Neeley was put into music lessons so that he could be considered an “artist”, not an entertainer like Johnny. Katie already had a plan for him from the moment she laid her eyes on him, so Neeley never really had to make decisions for what he wanted to do. Francie, on the other hand, had nothing in place for her, so she was able to grow and learn that she loved to write. Her passion for writing gave her a future, getting her young self through school in hopes that she would become a playwright. By discovering something she was truly passionate about, she could grow with that passion and pour her experiences out, something Neeley could never do.
In conclusion, by being handed nothing, unlike Neeley, Francie forced herself to make her own future. In contrast to Neeley’s dependence on what Katie says, Francie finds herself by being forced to work hard, leaving her poverty behind, and growing into a tall tree, just as the tree that grew outside of her flat in Brooklyn, ultimately teaching that with enough independence and will to fight, anyone can do what they want to
From the beginning of the novel, it is explicitly stated that Francie …show more content…
When Neeley was born, he instantly reminded Katie of Johnny, but Johnny being an alcoholic, she wanted to raise Neeley as a mini-Johnny, but one that only contained the good qualities of Johnny, so Neeley was put into music lessons so that he could be considered an “artist”, not an entertainer like Johnny. Katie already had a plan for him from the moment she laid her eyes on him, so Neeley never really had to make decisions for what he wanted to do. Francie, on the other hand, had nothing in place for her, so she was able to grow and learn that she loved to write. Her passion for writing gave her a future, getting her young self through school in hopes that she would become a playwright. By discovering something she was truly passionate about, she could grow with that passion and pour her experiences out, something Neeley could never do.
In conclusion, by being handed nothing, unlike Neeley, Francie forced herself to make her own future. In contrast to Neeley’s dependence on what Katie says, Francie finds herself by being forced to work hard, leaving her poverty behind, and growing into a tall tree, just as the tree that grew outside of her flat in Brooklyn, ultimately teaching that with enough independence and will to fight, anyone can do what they want to