For this assignment, I chose to read the classic novel: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. While this book may not be an outright, classic story of immigration, the theme is ever-present as the main character Francie has first generation immigrant parents. Additionally the setting of Brooklyn is presented as a ‘melting pot’ of different cultures and the stereotyping and prejudice that comes along with that can be seen in the novel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It took me a little while to make it fully through this book, but I am glad that I finished it. Sure there were immense sad points in the novel, and yet there was moments of pure pride. I felt that I could relate to Francie in some sense, especially as an eldest daughter. I sympathized with her and perhaps that is why my experience while reading is hard to describe and non linear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first experience I would like to classify here is generous love (loving others for who they are, not for what we want them to be). I deeply felt this kind of shameless love and care for Francie. She could do no wrong in my eyes. But I don’t think that everyone would agree with this. While she is certainly a lovable character, she is almost too predictable in some ways, some might even say that she’s boring. But I did not feel this way, I related to her on a deep level because of her curiosity, longing and ambition. To go hand in hand with this experience I would like to present self-love. Seeing Francie be herself and put her self out there made me see myself in her. And to feel pride both for her and for myself. Which is what led to this self-love aspect of my experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One plot point that demonstrates Francie’s generous love for others, is in her relationship with her alcoholic father with a bad reputation. She says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“She had a great love for her father. She knew he wasn’t like other fathers…but she loved him more because of it,”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Francie was not an ignorant child. She knew about his drinking problem, the problem that took food away from their family. He didn’t have a steady job, and even if he did he spent that extra money on drinks. There were many a night when dinner was made up of stale bread and coffee. Nevertheless though, she loves her father more than anything in the world. The love she has for him in not conditional, she loves him despite his flaws. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While her relationship with her father remained steady and present. Francie’s relationship with her mother was much more complex and saddening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“Francie knew her mother loved her brother more… but she never stopped loving her mother”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Francie has the capacity to overlook the stronger love her mother held from her brother from birth. She allowed herself to love her mother anyways. To have unrequited love is hard enough, but especially hard when that person is your mother. I cannot even imagine being in Francie’s shoes here, but I still commend her for her strength and courage. She is continually disappointed in the novel by her mother’s lack of love for her. It never changed her opinion of her mother though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to self-love, I think both Francie and I experienced this as the novel unfolds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cShe would be something someday. Not merely to please others, not merely to survive, but because she wanted to know what she could do, what she could become. And she felt no shame in wanting it”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Francie has this naive hope, but her ambition remains strong. She does come to love herself in the novel in my opinion. But I was learning to love myself while reading as well. We are quite similar I came to know, and I am glad to have gone on this journey alongside her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cPeople always think that happiness is a faraway thing\u2026 Yet, what little things can make it up; a place of shelter when it rains, a cup of strong hot coffee when you\u2019re blue, a book to read when you\u2019re alone. Those things are enough. She learned to treasure them, and in doing so, she treasured herself”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
I really just wanted to include this quote because I found it truly striking. Maybe it isn’t explicitly a declaration of self-love but it demonstrates that she is content with her current place in the world. And that certainly says something about the type of person she is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Narrative Technologies at Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Firstly, I would like to discuss secret discloser as a narrative technology. There are many secrets kept throughout the novel and many characters who express these secrets. Firstly, Francie’s father, Johnny’s, drinking problem and how much it truly does to the family. He hides how much he drinks from both his family and the outside world, likely for fear of judgement. His drinking leaves the family in shambles, forcing his wife to work long hours and for the children to get jobs in place of attending school. Another thing that was hidden from Francie and her brother was how little the family actually has. I’m sure Francie realized the lack of luxuries in their home, barely affording to light a fire or eat a meal. But Francie’s mother, Katie treats the children occasionally to small gifts or pleasures. Which may lead the children to not understand how poor they really are. The other technology I would like to highlight is the opportunity to observe + pivot into positive emotion. Throughout the book, the Nolan family endures immense emotions. Grief, loss, shame, love, frustration and more. All of which the reader has the ability to see and process from different perspectives. In the end, we are left on as good a note as we could get. Francie graduates from school, Katie remarries a nice man with money, and births Johnny’s baby with ease. We are left hoping that the family will remain on the up and up and not slip into the poverty they had once endured. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Image<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Cover for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. First Edition Harper & Brothers. All Rights Reserved. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For this assignment, I chose to read the classic novel: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. While this book may not be an outright, classic story of immigration, the theme is ever-present as the main character Francie has first generation immigrant parents. Additionally the setting of Brooklyn is presented as a ‘melting pot’ […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":654,"featured_media":11308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[242],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-post-4","has-thumbnail"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/immigrant-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/immigrant-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/immigrant-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/immigrant-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/654"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/immigrant-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11305"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/immigrant-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11309,"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/immigrant-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11305\/revisions\/11309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/immigrant-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/immigrant-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/immigrant-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/immigrant-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}