A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is typical of many first time books written by authors. It is typical because it chronicles her deprived childhood, including the requisite poverty and dysfunctional family. However, it is also typical because like many authors Smith in telling her story is trying to demonstrate how despite hereditary and environment an individual can transcend both, at least where their own self-actualization is concerned. The title of the novel is symbolic because urban cities like Brooklyn are not known for being conducive to growth, particularly the flora of nature. In other words, a tree, an object that needs nurturing (nutritious soil, water, sunlight) in order to develop has difficult time maturing properly in a land of concrete, steel and pollution. Nonetheless, trees do grow in Brooklyn, albeit perhaps through a thwarted or slower developmental process. In other words, inherent in nature is a survival mechanism, one that is difficult to quash. Likewise, in A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Francie experiences an environment that is less than optimal for well-rounded personality development, i.e., one that allows the individual to fulfill their ultimate potential. Francie and her family are extremely poor. Her mother is determined and perseveres while her father is often unemployed and even more often drunk. She must also suffer through the typical adolescent humiliations of the teasings of other child
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as surely as if she were one of the trees trying to grow in Brooklyn cement. We see that her childhood poverty, her father’s drunkenness and her perceived preferential treatment by her mother of her brother combine to have the effect of lowering her self-esteem. To the author’s credit, for a story written in this era, it is interesting to note that options other than marriage are available to women trying to self-actualize and fulfill their potential. One of the biggest themes running through the novel is the fact of how education is one of the greatest tools for self-actualization, a tool that can help the individual overcome such a dire hereditary and environmental influences. However, human development is a process. Francie does not self-actualize as if she were some ready-made mix bought off the counter that just needs a dash of water. Instead, her education helps her become developed, but this development is in accordance with the experiences she undergoes and her reactions to them. We see this process occur in the story, in particular the lessons Francie learns after being jilted by her first love. We also see that becoming is a process with many obstacles and hurdles. This is evident at two points in the story par
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1307
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
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