Coming of Age in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn :: essays research papers

Betty metalworkers A Tree Grows in Brooklyn presents the problems of a unripe girl coming of age, a time when she is faced with new challenges and mustiness overcome obstacles. Throughout the book the protagonist, Francie Nolan discovers herself maturing as she struggles with loneliness, the loss of innocence and a life of poverty in a Brooklyn slum. This theme is evident in (1.) her love for books which she uses as fellership, (2.) her outlook on the world as she matures and finally, (3.) her actualisation that in order to succeed in life she must experience an education and work hard to do it. One of the biggest challenges Francie faces while ontogenesis up is loneliness. As a young child living in a Brooklyn slum, Francie has no friends her age. The other children either find her too cool it or shun her for being different because of her extensive vocabulary. Betty Smith describes how nearly of Francies childhood days are spent in the fond(p) pass days the lonesome ch ild sat on her stoop and faux disdain for the group of children playing on the sidewalk. Francie played with her imaginary companions and make believe they were better than real children. But all the while her join beat in rhythm to the poignant sadness of the song the children sing while walking around in a ring with manpower joined. (106). Francie is lonely, and longs to be included. As Francie matures, she begins to experience a different kind of loneliness. Betty Smith portrays her feelings as she observes her neighborhood spring came early that year and the sweet warm nights made her restless. She walked up and down the streets and through the park. And wherever she went, she saw a boy and a girl together, walking arm-in-arm, sitting on a park bench with their arms around each other, standing closely and in silence in a vestibule. Everyone in the world alone Francie had a sweetheart or a friend she seemed to be the barely lonely one in Brooklyn without a friend. (403). Lo neliness is a unvaried challenge for Francie but it is through her loneliness that she finds a new companion in her books. Francie reads as an alternative for her lack of friends and companions. It is through her love of interpreting that Francie develops her extensive, sophisticated vocabulary. Her books lead her into maturity and help her learn to be commutative and overcome her many hardships.