A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Pgs 98-194)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Blogpost #2

            When Johnny became of voting age, he drank a lot. Katie tried to prevent him from doing so and locked him in their room but he cried and wailed, causing a disturbance in the neighborhood. When Sissy, Katie’s sister came, she said that she would fix Johnny up. She held Johnny close to her like a mother would to her child (though she didn’t see it that way) and gave him the alcohol he needed until he calmed down. When Sissy was comforting Katie, she used a harsher method because she knows that Katie is strong while Johnny isn’t. After that, Katie was ashamed to stay in that neighborhood since the neighbors know too much of their family. They moved and Katie became a janitress to pay for the rent. The proceed to move was simple since they didn’t have a lot to move and Mrs. Rommely, Katie’s mother, sprinkled holy water in the rooms to welcome God to come in if He chooses.

The Nolans were content with their new home and as time went by, the children grew, Katie worked more, and Johnny worked less and drank more. Francie wanted to make friends and was unable to because the other girls thought that she was different. Even though this happened to Francie, the Nolans were satisfied with where they lived, but that changed when Sissy came. In an incident involving Sissy, the neighbors started talk about the Nolans. Then another incident with Sissy which involved the children and a cigarette box made Katie and her other sister, Evy, to ban Sissy from going into their houses. In book three, the Nolans moved again into their new flat and in their new flat was a piano. It was left by the previous owners since they couldn’t remove it from the room. The piano became the Nolans most valuable item in their home and they hired a piano teacher to teach Katie. She taught Francie and Neely and in no time they could use it.

            Since Francie was lonely at home, she looked forward to school, a place where she could make friends and learn. Before she could go to school, her and Neely had to be vaccinated; they didn’t listen to Katie’s orders of washing themselves before going and Francie heard the cruel comments from the doctor and nurse. Her arm became infected later but Johnny cleaned it real good and it healed. Since the vaccination taught her something, she looked forward to school. Her image of school was destroyed when she went because the pampered and rich students were favored over filthy and poor children like her. Sissy, who was accepted back into the family, came to the school and threaten the teacher by lying to her and saying Francie had kidney problems; Francie was allowed to go to the bathroom from then on. The school was overcrowded with students and Katie, fearing that her children might catch a disease, scrubbed her children with smelly chemicals and garlic. Everybody stayed away from the Nolan children but Francie, already used to the loneliness, didn’t suffer as much. While walking around the neighborhood, Francie found a much better school far away from her home. They sent a letter to the principal with a false address and Francie was treated equally with all the students.  

“He removed it gently and edged as far away from her as he could” (Smith 150).

            I choose this quote because it struck me as odd. Johnny had come home and found Francie still awake. She had explained about her arm and the vaccination and he revealed the bandage to find himself seeing a swollen infested arm. He lied to Francie that when he was vaccinated, his arm was twice as worse and he cleaned it real good before wrapping it up in a clean shirt. The arm healed a few days later. When Francie went to bed, Johnny smoked a cigar and went to bed himself. Katie was already sleeping and in a rare act of affection, she threw her arms around his chest. Johnny removed her arm and shifted away from her. He then faced the wall, clasped his hands together under his chin and laid staring into the dark all night. How Johnny’s action struck me as odd is that he married Katie because they were in love and now he pushes her away. Also, when he clasped his hands and stayed awake in the dark, it made me wonder with he was praying for Francie to get better and for her arm to heal. Also, he lied to Francie about him being vaccinated, which he never was and it made my inference about him praying more stronger.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Pgs 3-97)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Blogpost #1

            A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is about a girl named Francie Nolan, who is part Austria and part Irish, and her poor life living in the slums of Brooklyn, New York. The time is during the early 1900s and Francie is the eldest child of her parents, a pretty woman named Katie Rommelys and a singer named Johnny Nolan. She has a brother nicknamed Neely, who’s real name is Cornelius, and a year younger than Francie. She talks about her Saturday and what the routine is for the members of her household. Every Saturday morning Francie and Neely collect metal they found in dumps and trade it in for a few cents, half in which they save for themselves and the other half stored in a saving can.

Francie is a unique girl and no one wanted to be friends with her because she speaks differently. Every night, she and Neely would read a page from the Bible and a page from one of Shakespeare’s works in a small book, thus increasing their diction even though they don’t know what the meaning is. She also reads a book once a day and is very observant for a child her age. She notices objects such as a vase and she would say that once she grows up, she would have this and that in her house. She would read until dinnertime, the time when she had to buy groceries for dinner; stale bread, condensed milk, coffee, onions, and potatoes were the foods they mostly lived off of. Book One would end with the end of that Saturday and Book Two starts the history of how Francie’s parents met.

            Katie Rommelys came from a family of strong women with personality while Johnny Nolan came from a family of weak and talented men. While her family married the wrong men, his family died out quickly; since none of them had child, their bloodline never continued, except for Johnny. Katie was seventeen and Johnny was nineteen when they met. Katie’s friend Hildy had Johnny as a dance date but Johnny soon left her for Katie; within 4 months, they married. A year later, Katie was pregnant and during the labor, Johnny drank since he didn’t know what to do and forgot about his occupation, losing it in the same night. The couple was still young and life had just started for them, only for it to be ended at the beginning. Francie was a baby that was born skinny and had a blue look, making people believe that she wouldn’t make it; her mother compared her to the strong tree that survives in harsh conditions, which some people called The Tree of Heaven. Neely was born a year after Francie and was healthier than her, making Katie feel closer to him and she swore to herself that she would love him more than Francie but not let her know. As the years went by, Katie lost her tenderness for them and became hard and capable. Johnny became hopeless and jobless, making him a drunk since he knows that he has to keep a family alive. Though they had loved each other at first, the major difference between them was that she faced the harsh reality they were living in while he stayed stuck in his dreams.

“Johnny looked like a handsome, devil-may-care Irish boy instead of the husband of a scrub-woman and the father of two children who were always hungry” (Smith 38).

            I chose this quote because this describes Johnny, who was a young careless man instead of a father. Johnny did come from a family full of good- looking men but most of his brothers died before having children. Johnny was an acceptation but having children when he himself was just a childish and foolish adult drove him to drink. This led to him becoming a hopeless man that can’t even provide for his family of four and led to him drink even more because he knows of this. He knows that he has a wife that’s mostly providing the income since he can’t find work and two children who are undernourished. While other people may see him as a handsome young man, they don’t know about his life, his family, and most importantly, his emotions.