Novel: From A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith Answers

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: This theme is not universal because writing may not be an outlet for every person. Although writing is an outlet for Francie’s natural urge to color everyday events to make them sound more entertaining, it doesn’t apply to anyone, anywhere, so it is not universal.

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn covers several topics that deal with potential themes, including: the important lessons of childhood, the importance of differentiating between imagination and reality, and the value of using writing as an outlet. The first topic leads to this theme: “Childhood is the time to learn important lessons that affect the direction of one’s life.” The second comments that in life it is important to differentiate between imagination and reality in order to get along with others. Finally, the last topic reveals that writing can be an outlet that helps salvage a young person. Of these themes, the universal theme is the first one: Childhood is a time to learn lessons about life. It is universal because childhood, while not the same throughout all the cultures, has one thing in common: it is the first few years of a person’s life and therefore full of life lessons that will impact the rest of one’s life.

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: I’ve chosen the following passage to discuss: “It was the day children went around ‘ragamuffin’ or ‘slamming gates,’ wearing costumes topped off by a penny mask.” This passage reveals the cultural traditions of the children in Brooklyn shortly before World War I. It also reveals the time in which the book takes place because one can still buy a mask for a penny.

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: The theme is not universal because not anyone, anywhere would struggle with this differentiation. There may be some cultures that value imagination and encourage children to interpret reality imaginatively. There may be cultures and individuals for whom the issue does not apply.

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: Smith wrote A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to inform others about what it was like growing up in a small neighborhood in Brooklyn in the early 1900s. In one chapter, she recalls “with a peculiar tenderness” how Brooklynites celebrated Thanksgiving (Smith 1). Smith’s use of cultural terminology, such as “ragamuffin” or “slamming gates,” helps the reader better understand the language used by children in the Williamsburg neighborhood at that point in history. Her detailed description of the children’s selection of costumes reveals the popular culture of the time and tensions between the poor and rich of the town (1). Smith dwells not only on the cultural details of early Brooklyn, but she also describes emotional experiences of growing up poor. Although the children in Francie’s classroom are hungry, they are “too proud to accept charitable food. . . . ,” even when that food is about to be thrown away (3). For these children, dignity is more important than satisfying hunger pangs. Smith’s careful attention to cultural, historical, and emotional details informs the reader of what it was like to grow up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the early 1900s.