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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
type
TVTItem
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
label
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
page
ATreeGrowsInBrooklyn
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
comment
A 1943 American novel by Betty Smith about Francie Nolan, a girl growing up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the 1900s and '10s. It draws significantly on Smith's own experiences, dealing with poverty, vice, and issues of class, education, and immigrant status.The book was a huge bestseller when it was published, which is notable because of its frank and sympathetic treatment of sex (especially women's sexuality) and other then-controversial subjects.Notable adaptations include the 1945 Film of the Book directed by Elia Kazan, with Academy Award-winning performances by James Dunn as Johnny and Peggy Ann Garner as Francie; and a 1951 Broadway musical, which Betty Smith helped George Abbott adapt from her book, unsuccessful despite very good songs by Arthur Schwartz and Dorothy Fields and Shirley Booth's show-stealing portrayal of Cissy (as Sissy's name was spelled in this version).
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
fetched
2023-12-07T19:44:59Z
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
parsed
2023-12-07T19:44:59Z
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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DBTropes
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_126ce03c
type
I Was Quite a Looker
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_126ce03c
comment
I Was Quite a Looker: Sissy reminisces at one point about how nice her figure was when she was younger. Note that she apparently still is a looker, since men still seem to want her as much as ever (and that's after she's had ten children, mind).
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_126ce03c
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_126ce03c
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_126ce03c
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_129749df
type
All Men Are Perverts
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_129749df
comment
All Men Are Perverts: When Francie gets groped on the subway, Sissy claims it's just because she's getting a nice figure and men can't help themselves.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_129749df
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_129749df
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_129749df
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_12dc4d97
type
Greedy Jew
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_12dc4d97
comment
The hat saleswoman (who happens to be a Greedy Jew) complains loudly at first about Katie's reluctance to spend more than $2 on a hat. After they strike a deal, she whispers "Goyem!" and spits after them.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_12dc4d97
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_12dc4d97
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_12dc4d97
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_14e41a53
type
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_14e41a53
comment
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Lee, the army major whom Francie meets and tries to get her to commit adultery with him. Luckily, she doesn't.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_14e41a53
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_14e41a53
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_14e41a53
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_17c7c925
type
Frothy Mugs of Water
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_17c7c925
comment
Frothy Mugs of Water: In-universe — when Katie reads Francie's diary, she insists that Francie sanitize all of the (frequent) references to her father's drinking by replacing the word "drunk" with "sick."
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_17c7c925
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_17c7c925
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_17c7c925
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_19da8a03
type
Incurable Cough of Death
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_19da8a03
comment
Incurable Cough of Death: Andy Nolan dies of tuberculosis. His brothers get him a nice pillow to keep him comfortable, but he coughs up blood all over it before dying. Their mother sews a new cover onto it and gives it to Johnny and Katie as a wedding present. Henny Gaddis also dies young of consumption.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_19da8a03
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_19da8a03
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_19da8a03
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_19fe3478
type
Daddy's Girl
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_19fe3478
comment
Daddy's Girl: Francie to Johnny.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_19fe3478
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_19fe3478
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_19fe3478
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_1bd4c0bf
type
Unwinnable by Design
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_1bd4c0bf
comment
Unwinnable by Design: Cheap Charlie's prize/candy draw game. The kid pays a penny, draws a number from 1 to 50 at random, then takes either that numbered prize from the display board or a penny's worth of candy. There are a couple of decent prizes, like a doll or a pair of roller skates, but Francie starts to suspect early on that Charlie has rigged the drawing to give out only the junk items. Her suspicions are confirmed near the end of the book when she tries to pay 50 cents and take all the prizes on the board, but Charlie defends himself by saying that he always gives full value to any kid who turns down the prize they drew.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_1bd4c0bf
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_1bd4c0bf
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_22cf536c
type
Chekhov's Gun
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_22cf536c
comment
Chekhov's Gun: Johnny borrows a gun to protect his family from a sexual predator. Someone uses it a few pages later for that exact purpose.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_22cf536c
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_22cf536c
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_22cf536c
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2310dacb
type
Dead Man Writing
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2310dacb
comment
Dead Man Writing: On her graduation day, Francie is startled to find flowers from her father, who died several months earlier. Sissy explains that Johnny had given her the card and the money to purchase the flowers should he die before this special day, though she claims he told her in case he "forgot."
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2310dacb
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2310dacb
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2310dacb
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_23ff95fb
type
Brutal Honesty
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_23ff95fb
comment
Brutal Honesty: Katie has this trait and so do her children.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_23ff95fb
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_23ff95fb
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_23ff95fb
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_24c685bf
type
Good Bad Girl
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_24c685bf
comment
Good Bad Girl: Sissy is described in the page quote. One of her lovers even tells her, "You got a heart of gold." One chapter also tells of a neighborhood girl named Joanna, who was always nice and friendly, but is ostracized and abused after she has a baby out of wedlock.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_24c685bf
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_24c685bf
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_25bc8511
type
Generation Xerox
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_25bc8511
comment
Generation Xerox: Francie and Neeley essentially grow up to be like the parent of their respective genders.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_25bc8511
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_25bc8511
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_25bc8511
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_25c7875f
type
Practically Different Generations
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_25c7875f
comment
Practically Different Generations: Francie and Neeley's younger sister Laurie is born shortly before Francie graduates primary school (when they are 14 and 13 respectively). Francie recognizes this near the end of the novel after Officer McShane proposes to Katie when Laurie identifies McShane as her father rather than Johnny, who she has never known as she was born after he died. Justified in that Katie was 17 when she married Johnny, who was 19, and 18 when Francie was born. The narration implies that Sissy was much older than her siblings, their mother didn't discover that school was compulsory until the rest were old enough and as Sissy was "too old to start school" she stayed home. But when giving her age in the latter half, Sissy is only about four years older than Katie, who was born when her mother was 50, though see Writers Cannot Do Math as a possible explanation.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_25c7875f
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_25c7875f
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_25c7875f
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_28cd01ca
type
Disappeared Dad
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_28cd01ca
comment
Disappeared Dad: Willie Flittman leaves his family to perform as a one-man band. After learning that Katie is pregnant for the third time, Johnny leaves and ends up dying of pneumonia after being out in the cold.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_28cd01ca
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_28cd01ca
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_28cd01ca
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_297ab1b9
type
Parental Abandonment
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_297ab1b9
comment
Parental Abandonment: Willie Flittman, Evy's husband. By the final chapter, he has abandoned his wife and three kids to travel as a one-man-band. When Katie gets $1,000 from Mr. McShane as a wedding present, she gives Evy $200, the value of Willie's life insurance.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_297ab1b9
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_297ab1b9
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2a6a8e89
type
Sadist Teacher
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2a6a8e89
comment
Sadist Teacher: Nearly all of them, including the principal who apparently likes to whip little boys. There are a few Cool Teachers though, and they have a big impact on Francie. When she transfers schools to a better neighborhood, her teachers are much better. The most notable teachers are Francie's first-grade teacher (who refused to let her use the bathroom but treated her better after Aunt Sissy got involved) and Miss Gardner, Francie's eighth grade English teacher who dismisses Francie's stories and play as "sordid" because they weren't Purple Prose and (probably unintentionally) insults Francie's background.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2a6a8e89
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2a6a8e89
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2bc77899
type
I Am Not Pretty
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2bc77899
comment
I Am Not Pretty: Francie believes this about herself, but this turns out to be untrue, based on the number of men who seem interested in her when she grows up.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2bc77899
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2bc77899
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2bc77899
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2cf282ea
type
She Is All Grown Up
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2cf282ea
comment
She Is All Grown Up: Happens to Francie a few times, including when a man gropes her on the train. Katie herself realizes this about Francie when she not only calls her "Mother" instead of "Mama", she confides that she almost slept with Lee, and as such, responds to her both as a woman and as her mother.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2cf282ea
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2cf282ea
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2cf282ea
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2d3d7ec5
type
Stealing from the Hotel
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2d3d7ec5
comment
Stealing from the Hotel: Sissy takes a Gideon Bible for her sister (and wraps it in a hotel towel). Her current lover becomes concerned.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2d3d7ec5
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2d3d7ec5
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2d3d7ec5
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2eac5753
type
Narrative Profanity Filter
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2eac5753
comment
Narrative Profanity Filter: Repeatedly.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2eac5753
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2eac5753
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2eac5753
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2f36d97
type
Older Than They Look
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2f36d97
comment
Older Than They Look: Both Francie and Neeley, which gets them jobs when they're really too young to be working, but need to for the money. Francie goes to college and has a nineteen year old boyfriend when she's only fifteen.note Truth in Television as lying about your age to get jobs was completely routine, especially after the child labor laws were established.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2f36d97
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2f36d97
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2f36d97
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2fd7200b
type
Dead Guy Junior
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2fd7200b
comment
Dead Guy Junior: Neeley, who looks exactly like Johnny and has all of his good traits without his bad ones. Though he is born soon after his parents' marriage and years before Johnny dies.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2fd7200b
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2fd7200b
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_2fd7200b
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_3039ffc7
type
Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_3039ffc7
comment
Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: Katie and Johnny are far better parents than their father and mother respectively. Though Katie does blatantly favor Neeley even in infancy.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_3039ffc7
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_3039ffc7
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_3039ffc7
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_31578d72
type
Hates Everyone Equally
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_31578d72
comment
Hates Everyone Equally: Thomas Rommely.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_31578d72
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_31578d72
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_31578d72
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_32e69b5f
type
Dastardly Whiplash
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_32e69b5f
comment
Dastardly Whiplash: The plays Francie goes to see have villains of this variety. As she grows up she finds it harder to enjoy them because of the lack of realism, and even thinks it would be smarter of the typical Damsel in Distress heroine to just marry the villain as he wants, because he's at least nearby and willing, whereas her supposed true love apparently has better things to do and only returns in time to perform the heroic rescue.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_32e69b5f
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_32e69b5f
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_32e69b5f
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_32e9d5f2
type
Immigrant Parents
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_32e9d5f2
comment
Immigrant Parents: Or grandparents, to be accurate. At her first school, Francie stands out in that she's the only student in her class whose parents were actually born in America. At her second school, there are other students whose parents were born in the US.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_32e9d5f2
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_32e9d5f2
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_32e9d5f2
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_33d5b7f2
type
Adapted Out
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_33d5b7f2
comment
Adapted Out: The 1951 musical cuts out numerous characters, including Neeley, Katie's parents (it's said that Sissy raised Katie) and two sisters, and all of Johnny's family.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_33d5b7f2
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_33d5b7f2
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_33d5b7f2
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_34f8042a
type
Gratuitous French
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_34f8042a
comment
Gratuitous French: Francie and Neeley jokingly use some around Katie, who doesn't know any.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_34f8042a
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_34f8042a
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_34f8042a
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_35e077
type
Fourth-Date Marriage
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_35e077
comment
Fourth-Date Marriage: Johnny and Katie only dated for four months before marrying. After Johnny detoxes, Sissy tells Katie she believes they married so fast was so she could sleep with him and not feel guilty. Katie doesn't wholly disagree.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_35e077
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_35e077
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_35e077
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_3c83a08
type
Three Successful Generations
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_3c83a08
comment
Three Successful Generations: Francie's extended family become this by the end.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_3c83a08
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_3c83a08
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_3c83a08
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4143f84f
type
Leg Focus
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4143f84f
comment
Leg Focus: Francie observes that her boss' mistress has very nice legs and concludes that this is the reason he finds her attractive.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4143f84f
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4143f84f
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4143f84f
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_433396da
type
Long Hair Is Feminine
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_433396da
comment
Long Hair Is Feminine: Katie certainly believes so, despite Francie wanting to cut it short so she'll look like Irene Castle (she is mentioned by name), and ultimately forbids Francie from cutting it until she is 18.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_433396da
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_433396da
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_433396da
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4548bae
type
Teen Pregnancy
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4548bae
comment
Teen Pregnancy: Katie was 18 when Francie was born. Aunt Sissy's first child was stillborn on her fifteenth birthday Joanna and Lucia appear to be in their teens when they get pregnant Evy is implied to also have married young though her exact age is uncertain.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4548bae
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4548bae
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4548bae
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_45a9f0c3
type
New Parent Nomenclature Problem
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_45a9f0c3
comment
New Parent Nomenclature Problem: When Mc Shane asks Katie to marry him, he makes it clear to Francie and Neeley that he will not be replacing Johnny as their "Papa" (though he will adopt Laurie, who never knew him), and Neeley suggests they call him "Dad."
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_45a9f0c3
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_45a9f0c3
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_45a9f0c3
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_46c1dc8e
type
Someone to Remember Him By
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_46c1dc8e
comment
Someone to Remember Him By: Katie is pregnant with Laurie when Johnny dies. It's implied that learning there was another baby on the way contributed to his death, since he realized he'd have to earn more to support another child, and he began taking any job available to the detriment of his limited strength. In the film, he stood in line for hours on a winter day to apply for work sandhogging a tunnel.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_46c1dc8e
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_46c1dc8e
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_46c1dc8e
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_49f6a9e4
type
Most Writers Are Writers
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_49f6a9e4
comment
Most Writers Are Writers: Francie wants to become a playwright.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_49f6a9e4
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_49f6a9e4
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_49f6a9e4
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4b316d47
type
Break the Cutie
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4b316d47
comment
Break the Cutie: Francie goes through more emotional trauma in her childhood than some do in their entire lives.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4b316d47
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4b316d47
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_4b316d47
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_507a98ba
type
"Near and Dear" Baby Naming
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_507a98ba
comment
"Near and Dear" Baby Naming: Francie, whose full name is Mary Frances, is named for her maternal grandmother and her deceased uncle Andy's then fiancee who would have been Francie Nolan had they married. Annie Laurie is named after the title character in one of Johnny's favorite songs. Sissy names her son Stephen Aaron in honor of her husband and the hospital doctor who supervised the delivery, resulting in her first live birth.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_507a98ba
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_507a98ba
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_507a98ba
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_53136954
type
Book Dumb
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_53136954
comment
Book Dumb: Nearly all the adult characters, who haven't had the benefit of much education (or any, in the case of Sissy and Mary, who Never Learned to Read).
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_53136954
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_53136954
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_53136954
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5313c266
type
Bookends
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5313c266
comment
Book Ends: By the end of the book, Francie is moving away from her old neighborhood, but many details from its introduction are mentioned, down to a girl who sits on the fire escape reading, like Francie used to.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5313c266
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5313c266
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5313c266
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5384594f
type
Reformed Rakes
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5384594f
comment
Reformed Rakes: Katie marries Johnny because he's romantic and dashing, then tries to make him a reliable husband.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5384594f
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5384594f
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hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5384594f
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_55ec42d7
type
Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_55ec42d7
comment
Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Katie's attempts to read Shakespeare to her children despite having a grade school education.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_55ec42d7
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_55ec42d7
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_55ec42d7
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_56dd38a0
type
Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_56dd38a0
comment
Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: Francie has to shoo Neeley out of the room so Katie and McShane can have a tender moment.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_56dd38a0
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_56dd38a0
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_56dd38a0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_57efd4c4
type
Growing Up Sucks
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_57efd4c4
comment
Growing Up Sucks: And how!
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_57efd4c4
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_57efd4c4
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_57efd4c4
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5a40d6a
type
Adaptation Distillation
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5a40d6a
comment
Adaptation Distillation: The 1945 movie only goes as far as Francie's graduation from eighth grade, and Katie agreeing to marry Mr. McShane and cuts some other stuff as well.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5a40d6a
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5a40d6a
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5a40d6a
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5b9cf82b
type
Education Mama
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5b9cf82b
comment
Education Mama: Mary Rommely tells Katie that if she wants her children to rise in the world, one of the things she must do is read them one page a night from The Bible and the complete works of William Shakespeare. Katie tries her best, and it does have an effect; if nothing else, Neeley has the play Julius Caesar inside and out by the time he starts high school. Francie even goes to college at the end of the book
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5b9cf82b
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5b9cf82b
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5b9cf82b
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5c71cdf5
type
Plucky Office Girl
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5c71cdf5
comment
Eventually, Francie becomes a Plucky Office Girl.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5c71cdf5
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5c71cdf5
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5c71cdf5
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5cd6010b
type
Turn Out Like His Father
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5cd6010b
comment
Turn Out Like His Father: Played half straight — Katie loves Neeley for the ways in which he's like Johnny, but hopes and prays he won't inherit the bad as well as the good, and tries to raise him to be the man Johnny should have been. By the end of the book, Francie muses that Neeley has ended up with all of Johnny's good qualities and none of his bad ones.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5cd6010b
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5cd6010b
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5cd6010b
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5ee6a992
type
Oh, and X Dies
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5ee6a992
comment
Oh, and X Dies: Johnny.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5ee6a992
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5ee6a992
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_5ee6a992
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_618dc1ea
type
Parent with New Paramour
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_618dc1ea
comment
Parent with New Paramour: Katie marries Sergeant McShane after Johnny dies, once Francie and Neeley are more or less grown-up.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_618dc1ea
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_618dc1ea
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_618dc1ea
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6205f4e5
type
Courtly Love
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6205f4e5
comment
The film version does a better job of making him important, having him be the neighborhood cop and do things such as investigating when Sissy steals a neighbor's skates for Francie, taking Johnny home when he's drunk, helping the children with the Christmas tree (and bringing by candy canes later), and standing silently behind everyone at Johnny's funeral. We also see his feelings for Katie take on a form of Courtly Love, which he doesn't do anything about until after both his wife and Johnny have died.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6205f4e5
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6205f4e5
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6205f4e5
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_62fd5552
type
Bavarian Fire Drill
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_62fd5552
comment
Bavarian Fire Drill: Sissy flashes a "Chicken Inspector" badge at the illiterate Italian family to get them to let her into the house.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_62fd5552
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_62fd5552
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_62fd5552
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_63389b0b
type
Kids Are Cruel
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_63389b0b
comment
Kids Are Cruel: Not so much to Francie and Neeley once they get to school (they're cruel to other kids) but before she gets to school, Francie was a loner because the other children ignored her.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_63389b0b
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_63389b0b
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_63389b0b
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_63a200ae
type
Smoky Gentlemen's Club
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_63a200ae
comment
Smoky Gentlemen's Club: Democratic Party headquarters, which Francie catches a glimpse of. The political corruption of the day is a recurring theme.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_63a200ae
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_63a200ae
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_63a200ae
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_64265de8
type
Multigenerational Household
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_64265de8
comment
Multigenerational Household: Mary lives with her daughter Sissy and her husband and their children. Ruthie Nolan's sons live with her until they die or marry.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_64265de8
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_64265de8
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_64265de8
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6977c45e
type
Purple Prose
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6977c45e
comment
The most notable teachers are Francie's first-grade teacher (who refused to let her use the bathroom but treated her better after Aunt Sissy got involved) and Miss Gardner, Francie's eighth grade English teacher who dismisses Francie's stories and play as "sordid" because they weren't Purple Prose and (probably unintentionally) insults Francie's background.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6977c45e
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6977c45e
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6977c45e
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6b0f4552
type
Jewish Complaining
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6b0f4552
comment
Jewish Complaining: Crops up at times when the Nolans do business with Jewish merchants. The pickle seller throws a curse of "Goyem!" at Francie when she asks for a "sheeny" pickle. (The two terms are pejoratives; "goyem" is used by Jews to refer to Gentiles, "sheeny" vice versa.) The hat saleswoman (who happens to be a Greedy Jew) complains loudly at first about Katie's reluctance to spend more than $2 on a hat. After they strike a deal, she whispers "Goyem!" and spits after them. Mr. Seigler, the owner of the local dry-goods store, rails at Francie when the family comes in to buy some clothes for baby Laurie. She hasn't been in for a year to buy dickies and paper collars for Johnny; he thinks she's been going to a different store, but he relents and apologizes after Katie tells him of Johnny's death.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6b0f4552
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6b0f4552
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6b0f4552
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6b54b191
type
A Boy, a Girl, and a Baby Family
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6b54b191
comment
A Boy, a Girl, and a Baby Family: The Nolans become this after Laurie is born.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6b54b191
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6b54b191
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6b54b191
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6fa6c39b
type
Time Capsule
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6fa6c39b
comment
Time Capsule: Francie creates one for herself on the day the United States enters World War I in 1917, with instructions not to open it for 50 years.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6fa6c39b
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6fa6c39b
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_6fa6c39b
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_71fa50b5
type
New Transfer Student
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_71fa50b5
comment
New Transfer Student: Francie, after she switches schools to a better one in a different, more affluent neighborhood.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_71fa50b5
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_71fa50b5
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_71fa50b5
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7506ec90
type
Fashionable Asymmetry
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7506ec90
comment
Fashionable Asymmetry: Flossie Gaddis's costumes. She always wears one long sleeve to cover the burn scars from a childhood accident with a tub of scalding water, but everyone thinks it must symbolize something and that it looks cool.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7506ec90
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7506ec90
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7506ec90
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7a163538
type
Brooklyn Rage
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7a163538
comment
Brooklyn Rage: Subverted. When the Christmas tree vendor shouts at Francie and Neeley to get the hell out of his sight, she knows he's not actually angry at them - it's just his way of wishing them a merry Christmas.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7a163538
featureApplicability
-0.3
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7a163538
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7a163538
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7c00dd9
type
Middle Name Basis
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7c00dd9
comment
Middle Name Basis: Francie's full name is Mary Frances but everyone calls her Francie (and she doesn't find out that her first name is Mary until her teens), and Annie Laurie is known as Laurie.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7c00dd9
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7c00dd9
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7c00dd9
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7cd98af5
type
Potty Failure
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7cd98af5
comment
Potty Failure: A number of the first grade students suffer from this due to the local Sadist Teacher, Francie included.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7cd98af5
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7cd98af5
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_7cd98af5
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8071d6ed
type
Alcoholic Parent
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8071d6ed
comment
Alcoholic Parent: Johnny. Played with though: While Johnny's drinking is destructive and ultimately kills him, he's always portrayed as a quiet, introspective drunk instead of a belligerent, abusive one. On the other hand, when he's sober, he tends to act as if he's drunk, being very impulsive and uninhibited.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8071d6ed
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8071d6ed
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8071d6ed
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_80d74357
type
Lice Episode
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_80d74357
comment
Lice Episode: Because the kids at Francie's first school are so prone to catching head lice, she and all the other girls have to have their heads inspected every week. The minute Katie hears of this, she starts washing Francie's hair once a week with the same soap she uses to scrub floors, and also brushes it with kerosene every day. Francie stinks up the whole classroom and can't sit near any lit gas jets for fear of igniting her hair, but she never once gets lice. A similar campaign, involving a bag of garlic worn around the neck, keeps both Francie and Neeley from catching any colds at school.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_80d74357
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_80d74357
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_80d74357
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_80f4e386
type
Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_80f4e386
comment
Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_80f4e386
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_80f4e386
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_80f4e386
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8387bb18
type
Good Girls Avoid Abortion
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8387bb18
comment
Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Katie didn't want to get pregnant the second time, but she refuses an abortifacient and has Neeley.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8387bb18
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8387bb18
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8387bb18
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_85debad9
type
Plucky Girl
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_85debad9
comment
Plucky Girl: Francie, of course. Katie was one herself when she was younger (see Determinator). Eventually, Francie becomes a Plucky Office Girl.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_85debad9
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_85debad9
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_85debad9
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_87317385
type
The Jailbait Wait
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_87317385
comment
The Jailbait Wait: Ben is about eighteen and Francie fifteen when they meet. Shortly before she turns seventeen, he gives her a promise ring, telling her that while he knows his mind, she's too young to know hers and will give her a different kind of ring in five years.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_87317385
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_87317385
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_87317385
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8748f851
type
Brainy Brunette
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8748f851
comment
Brainy Brunette: Francie.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8748f851
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8748f851
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8748f851
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_88933ad4
type
Parental Favoritism
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_88933ad4
comment
Parental Favoritism: Katie favors Neeley while Johnny favors Francie. In an inversion of the trope, Francie prefers her father over her mother.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_88933ad4
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_88933ad4
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_88933ad4
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_89283763
type
Insatiable Newlyweds
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_89283763
comment
Insatiable Newlyweds: Katie and Johnny were this before Francie was born. Somewhat justified since they're both Catholic. Francie is born less than a year after they marry, and Neeley is born less than a year after Francie. Sissy and her first husband appear to be this, as Sissy was 14 when she married and the child was born (and died) on her fifteenth birthday.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_89283763
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_89283763
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_89283763
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8b6e8d7
type
Anachronic Order
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8b6e8d7
comment
Anachronic Order: The story is split into five "books," of which only the first is out of order (set in 1912). Book Two jumps back to 1900, and the story runs straight from there until it ends in 1918.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8b6e8d7
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8b6e8d7
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8b6e8d7
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8efbd9d2
type
Meaningful Funeral
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8efbd9d2
comment
Meaningful Funeral: Johnny's.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8efbd9d2
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8efbd9d2
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_8efbd9d2
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_94e4c8ab
type
Betty and Veronica
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_94e4c8ab
comment
Betty and Veronica: For Johnny, choosing between Katie (Veronica) and Hildy (Betty).
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_94e4c8ab
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_94e4c8ab
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_94e4c8ab
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_984cbd13
type
Absurdly Elderly Mother
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_984cbd13
comment
Absurdly Elderly Mother: Mary Rommely. Katie mentions in passing that her mother was 50 (roughly the time menopause starts) when she (the youngest of four daughters) was born.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_984cbd13
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_984cbd13
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_984cbd13
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_9d12bbc1
type
Foreshadowing
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_9d12bbc1
comment
Foreshadowing: Three months after Framcoe was born, Katie finds that she has no milk left to nurse...because she is now pregnant with Neeley. Neeley is "leeching" the nourishment that Francie needed — especially since she is a weak, sickly child. The infant Francie just has to toughen up and cope, setting up a pattern that continues as the children grow up. Neeley receives the lion's share of the limited affection and opportunity that their mother gives them, even when Francie logically deserves it more. At one point, Johnny is badly shaken by the news that Katie is pregnant with the couple's third child and goes out. She pleads, "Please don't come home...[drunk]" but trails off before the last word. He promises her he won't, and from then on he stops drinking. A few weeks later, he doesn't come home at all and ends up dying of pneumonia in the hospital.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_9d12bbc1
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_9d12bbc1
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_9d12bbc1
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a4a91366
type
It's All Junk
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a4a91366
comment
It's All Junk: Francie's school compositions, which all earned A's because she imitated the books she'd read and wrote Purple Prose about beautiful subjects, none of which she had ever experienced firsthand. After Johnny's death, she begins writing grittier, more realistic, but still compassionate things about him, which her teacher criticizes as "sordid." Rejecting this idea, Francie realizes that her old essays were shallow and meaningless, and she burns them in the stove. The film alludes to this when Katie is in labor and asks Francie to read one of her compositions; Francie claims she burned all of them, but Katie gently rebukes, "No, you didn't"; when she does read one of them, it's one of the later ones, about Johnny.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a4a91366
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a4a91366
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a4a91366
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7129d3b
type
First World Problems
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7129d3b
comment
First World Problems: When Francie's English teacher talks to her about her newer compositions about not being as lovely as they were before Johnny's death, said teacher talks about how hard her life has been as a poor minister's daughter, including being so poor her mother could only afford "untrained" country girls as maids and only being able to attend a community college instead of a state university. Naturally, Francie, having grown up in real poverty, isn't impressed and thinks of snarky remarks in her head.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7129d3b
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7129d3b
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7129d3b
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7850fbf
type
Only Known by Their Nickname
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7850fbf
comment
Only Known by Their Nickname: Almost everyone, except Mary and Thomas Rommely and Evy's children Paul Jones and Blossom. Neeley's real name is Cornelius, after a character from Julius Caesar but everyone calls him Neeley (he shares this nickname with Cornelius Vanderbilt), Francie (Mary Frances), Katie (Katherine), Johnny (John), Evy (Eva), and probably Sissy and Eliza, though we never learn what their full names are, Sissy's son Stevie (Stephen) and adopted daughter Little Sissy (Sarah) and Ruthie (Ruth) Nolan. Sissy calls all of her husbands and lovers John until her third husband Steve insists on being called by his real name.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7850fbf
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7850fbf
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7850fbf
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7f7e5f4
type
Absurdly Youthful Mother
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7f7e5f4
comment
Absurdly Youthful Mother: In contrast, Mary's daughters (sans Eliza), especially her eldest Sissy, have children very young. See Teen Pregnancy below.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7f7e5f4
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7f7e5f4
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a7f7e5f4
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a8a5e4ed
type
Christianity Is Catholic
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a8a5e4ed
comment
Christianity is Catholic: Since the Nolans' ancestors are Austrian and Irish everyone in the family is Catholic, and their religion plays a major role in the story.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a8a5e4ed
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a8a5e4ed
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_a8a5e4ed
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_aa52b7d
type
Sour Prudes
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_aa52b7d
comment
Sour Prudes: The story is pretty heavy on the "women treat each other worse than men treat women" idea, with the obvious example being the neighborhood women who harass and eventually stone a girl who has a baby out of wedlock. The narration explains how miserable these women's marriages are. Also, the baby's father initially wanted to marry her, but his female relatives talked him out of it.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_aa52b7d
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_aa52b7d
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_aa52b7d
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_adc73af3
type
Rich Language, Poor Language
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_adc73af3
comment
Rich Language, Poor Language: Francie and others in her family and neighborhood versus those who are more affluent and/or educated. Part of the reason for her attending college at Ann Arbor is because the family is encouraging her to lose her New York accent.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_adc73af3
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_adc73af3
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_adc73af3
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b11ac9f5
type
Abusive Parents
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b11ac9f5
comment
Abusive Parents: Thomas Rommely (who "never forgave" any of his children for marrying and greeted them with "Gott verdammte!" [basically the German equivalent of "God damn you!"]); Johnny's mother (possessive, yet not affectionate) and whose reaction to the birth of her grandchild is to wail "Now she's got you good. You'll never come back to me." Katie counts too for her favoritism of Neeley, which Francie picks up on, though Katie does realize how wrong it is and does her best to hide it.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b11ac9f5
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b11ac9f5
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b11ac9f5
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b1c8e04e
type
Marital Rape License
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b1c8e04e
comment
Marital Rape License: Discussed. See Sour Prudes. Also one of the Nolans' neighbours is a brutish dockworker who has a young bride who cries as she undresses for him, and nobody cares. Ew.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b1c8e04e
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b1c8e04e
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b1c8e04e
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b1e8a3b3
type
Coming of Age Story
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b1e8a3b3
comment
Coming of Age Story: The story follows Francie from her birth to her late teens.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b1e8a3b3
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b1e8a3b3
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b1e8a3b3
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b58c51d8
type
My Beloved Smother
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b58c51d8
comment
My Beloved Smother: Johnny's mother, who is incredibly possessive of her sons.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b58c51d8
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b58c51d8
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b58c51d8
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b78b8584
type
Hope Sprouts Eternal
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b78b8584
comment
Hope Sprouts Eternal: The tree of the title (the Tree of Heaven), which is a metaphor for the hardiness and potential for growth of the people of Brooklyn.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b78b8584
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b78b8584
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b78b8584
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b82ca416
type
Rage Against the Heavens
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b82ca416
comment
Rage Against the Heavens: When her father dies, Francie breaks down in tears and blames God.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b82ca416
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b82ca416
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b82ca416
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b8e38fc5
type
Metaphorically True
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b8e38fc5
comment
Metaphorically True: Inverted. Francie claims her name is Mary to get a doll being donated to a "poor little girl" of that name, after all the actual Marys refuse to come forward. When she wants to take it for her confirmation name, she discovers that she was christened Mary Frances.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b8e38fc5
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b8e38fc5
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b8e38fc5
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b9fc31d3
type
Victoria's Secret Compartment
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b9fc31d3
comment
Victoria's Secret Compartment: Sissy hides a bottle of whiskey in her bustier and gives it to Johnny, who's trying to detox.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b9fc31d3
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b9fc31d3
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_b9fc31d3
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_ba5bbda5
type
Mirror Character
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_ba5bbda5
comment
Mirror Character: Katie and Johnny are both the youngest of four single-gender siblings from Catholic families. Johnny and his brothers all remain impoverished and die young from various causes. On the other hand, Katie and her sisters survive, and three of the four raise families of their own and improve their lives in different ways.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_ba5bbda5
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_ba5bbda5
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_ba5bbda5
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bb53d08
type
Tear Jerker
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bb53d08
comment
Also one of the Nolans' neighbours is a brutish dockworker who has a young bride who cries as she undresses for him, and nobody cares. Ew.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bb53d08
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bb53d08
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bb53d08
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bd563c53
type
Not Actually His Child
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bd563c53
comment
Not Actually His Child: Sissy tries to pass off her adopted daughter Sarah "Little Sissy" off as her husband's, by faking a pregnancy. She reveals the truth to Katie. But she also reveals that Sissy might be Steve's child, as he was the one who told her about Lucia.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bd563c53
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bd563c53
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bd563c53
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bddb820f
type
Must Have Caffeine
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bddb820f
comment
Must Have Caffeine: All the Nolans drink very strong coffee almost constantly. Though it did take Francie a few years to learn to like it, and Katie let Francie dump the coffee out.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bddb820f
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bddb820f
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bddb820f
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_be6f7ae7
type
Brief Accent Imitation
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_be6f7ae7
comment
Brief Accent Imitation: Francie imitates Mr. Siegler when comparing Laurie's height to that of their small Christmas tree.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_be6f7ae7
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_be6f7ae7
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_be6f7ae7
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_beb932ca
type
Big Applesauce
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_beb932ca
comment
Big Applesauce
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_beb932ca
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_beb932ca
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_beb932ca
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bfdbf829
type
Significant Name Shift
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bfdbf829
comment
Significant Name Shift: Francie calls Katie "Mother" instead of "Mama" after she discovers that her love interest has been lying to her (he's already engaged). Hearing this, Katie recalls the moment that she did this with her own mother and realizes that Francie isn't a little girl anymore.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bfdbf829
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bfdbf829
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_bfdbf829
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c413cc5f
type
Jacob and Esau
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c413cc5f
comment
Jacob and Esau: Katie favors Neeley and Johnny favors Francie who prefers him to Katie, who she realizes likes Neeley better.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c413cc5f
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c413cc5f
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c413cc5f
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c4f3a09a
type
Share the Male Pain
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c4f3a09a
comment
Share the Male Pain: Female, rather. As Katie gives birth to Annie, every woman in the apartment building cringes as she screams, knowing what she's enduring. Even two old women who never married—one of them outright tells the other that that's why she didn't marry the man she loved, because she was so terrified of experiencing that.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c4f3a09a
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c4f3a09a
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c4f3a09a
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c5249b29
type
Nice Guy
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c5249b29
comment
Francie has to lie about her age to get her first job, and also when she starts dating Ben and has to confess about it (he's 19 when she's 15). However, being a Nice Guy, he doesn't mind and lets her know he's willing to wait until she grows a little older.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c5249b29
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c5249b29
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c5249b29
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c5fe6c81
type
Strong Family Resemblance
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c5fe6c81
comment
Strong Family Resemblance: Francie and Neeley look almost identical to Katie and Johnny.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c5fe6c81
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c5fe6c81
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c5fe6c81
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c6edf1c
type
Tragic Dropout
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c6edf1c
comment
Tragic Dropout: Francie is forced to drop out and get a job to help support the family. She is furious at her mother for making her do it instead of her brother Neeley, as he doesn't even like school. Her mother explains that it is exactly why she made the choice she did - if Francie drops out, she'll find a way to go back for her education when she can. If Neeley did, he would never go back. Eventually, she chooses not to go to high school, finding work instead, and by the end goes to college. Katie and her sisters (sans Sissy, who never even went to school), and Johnny and his brothers only finished school through 6th grade. They all dropped out to help support the family.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c6edf1c
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c6edf1c
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c6edf1c
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c83a589c
type
Luke, I Am Your Father
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c83a589c
comment
Luke, I Am Your Father: Sissy tells Katie that the illegitimate baby she adopted (see above) actually looks remarkably like her husband. Katie insists that's just her imagination, but she then asks her if she ever did find out who the baby's father was. Sissy admits that she didn't, but she recalls that her husband was the one who told her about the pregnant girl in the first place. Then she muses that her husband always did say he'd never be willing to adopt another man's child....
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c83a589c
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c83a589c
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_c83a589c
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_cf231d54
type
Cool Teacher
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_cf231d54
comment
Cool Teacher: Francie has a few to make up for the Stern Teachers she has otherwise.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_cf231d54
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_cf231d54
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_cf231d54
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d0347bf0
type
Four-Girl Ensemble
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d0347bf0
comment
Four-Girl Ensemble: "The Rommely women": Katie is practical and hard-working, Evy is a bit of a Deadpan Snarker and aspires to a "refined" lifestyle, and Sissy is a tender Good Bad Girl. Their sister Eliza is described as having been rather dull, having joined a convent, and is barely mentioned, so the fourth corner is really filled by first Mary, their saintlike mother, and later Francie herself.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d0347bf0
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d0347bf0
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d0347bf0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d0bf8a6d
type
No Periods, Period
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d0bf8a6d
comment
No Periods, Period: Averted (albeit euphemistically) — Francie gets her period for the first time in the middle of a Heroic BSoD triggered by seeing the women stone Joanna, and she thinks her heart has literally broken and she's bleeding to death.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d0bf8a6d
featureApplicability
-1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d0bf8a6d
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d0bf8a6d
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d45c0b86
type
Refuge in Audacity
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d45c0b86
comment
Refuge in Audacity: Ben suggests that Francie take this approach to pass her summer French course, in which she's been struggling badly. He has her memorize an excerpt from Tartuffe by Moliere, along with its English translation, then warns her that one of the questions on the final will completely stump her. She should say at the outset that she doesn't know the answer, but is ready to write and translate the excerpt she's been primed with instead. It works, and she just barely passes the course.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d45c0b86
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d45c0b86
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d45c0b86
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d4e9de59
type
Dreadful Musician
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d4e9de59
comment
Dreadful Musician: Willie until he gets better and the boy whose mother got him an instrument because she believed it would keep him off the front lines.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d4e9de59
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d4e9de59
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d4e9de59
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d5b7a6e3
type
Denied Food as Punishment
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d5b7a6e3
comment
Denied Food as Punishment: After he discovers her pregnancy, Lucia's abusive father locks her up and tries to slowly starve her on a bread and water diet, hoping she'll suffer Death by Childbirth as a result. Later subverted by Sissy, who starts sneaking in plenty of good food after she learns of Lucia's situation. Lucia's father never learns of Sissy's intervention and is flabbergasted to see that his daughter has given birth to a healthy son.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d5b7a6e3
featureApplicability
-0.3
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d5b7a6e3
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d5b7a6e3
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d83dca72
type
Fake Period Excuse
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d83dca72
comment
Fake Period Excuse: Katie uses this to leave work early and talk to Johnny which cements their relationship.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d83dca72
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d83dca72
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_d83dca72
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_da1c8191
type
Writers Cannot Do Math
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_da1c8191
comment
The narration implies that Sissy was much older than her siblings, their mother didn't discover that school was compulsory until the rest were old enough and as Sissy was "too old to start school" she stayed home. But when giving her age in the latter half, Sissy is only about four years older than Katie, who was born when her mother was 50, though see Writers Cannot Do Math as a possible explanation.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_da1c8191
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_da1c8191
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_da1c8191
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_db15f008
type
ReallySeventeenYearsOld
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_db15f008
comment
Really 17 Years Old: Francie has to lie about her age to get her first job, and also when she starts dating Ben and has to confess about it (he's 19 when she's 15). However, being a Nice Guy, he doesn't mind and lets her know he's willing to wait until she grows a little older. Sissy lies about her age to marry her first husband at fourteen.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_db15f008
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_db15f008
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_db15f008
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_dc115332
type
Scrubbing Off the Trauma
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_dc115332
comment
Scrubbing Off the Trauma: After Francie's attack, she begs her parents to help her because she can still feel where it touched her thigh. Her father pours acid over the spot, leaving a permanent scar but Francie is happy to have it rather than the feelings or dirtiness left by her ordeal.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_dc115332
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_dc115332
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_dc115332
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_dcbe8a6e
type
Chekhov's Gunman
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_dcbe8a6e
comment
Chekhov's Gunman: Sgt. Michael McShane, a policeman who is first introduced about halfway through the book. He starts being important near the end, when he proposes marriage to Katie and she accepts as a way to finally secure a decent life for herself and her children. The film version does a better job of making him important, having him be the neighborhood cop and do things such as investigating when Sissy steals a neighbor's skates for Francie, taking Johnny home when he's drunk, helping the children with the Christmas tree (and bringing by candy canes later), and standing silently behind everyone at Johnny's funeral. We also see his feelings for Katie take on a form of Courtly Love, which he doesn't do anything about until after both his wife and Johnny have died.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_dcbe8a6e
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_dcbe8a6e
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_dcbe8a6e
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e13156e1
type
Mama Bear
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e13156e1
comment
Mama Bear: Katie when the pedophile comes after Francie. Getting the gun in the first place was a Papa Wolf move on Johnny's part.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e13156e1
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e13156e1
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e13156e1
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e13cafe
type
Office Romance
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e13cafe
comment
Office Romance: The boss of the press clipping office Francie works for marries the Head Reader which is how Francie gets the job.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e13cafe
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e13cafe
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e13cafe
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e1471b66
type
MamasBoy
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e1471b66
comment
Mama's Boy: Neeley and most of his uncles, though that is more a case of My Beloved Smother
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e1471b66
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e1471b66
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e1471b66
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e263ae1
type
Inscrutable Oriental
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e263ae1
comment
Inscrutable Oriental: Subverted. Francie thinks this of the "Chinaman" who does her father's laundry, but it turns out he never says anything simply because he barely speaks English.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e263ae1
featureApplicability
-0.3
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e263ae1
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e263ae1
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e567510d
type
Determinator
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e567510d
comment
Determinator: Katie, who passes this trait on to Francie.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e567510d
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e567510d
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e567510d
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e621b159
type
A-Cup Angst
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e621b159
comment
A-Cup Angst: Francie angsts over how skinny and underdeveloped her body is when she's going through puberty. Later on, she notices something's changed about her body while she's in the bathtub.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e621b159
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e621b159
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e621b159
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e9fb38
type
The Talk
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e9fb38
comment
The Talk: Francie gets one from Katie around the time she starts her periods. The narration describes Katie as being frank and occasionally having to use vulgar words due to not knowing the proper words, and also that Francie was the only one in her neighborhood that even got that much. Neeley was listening in on this conversation and teases Francie about her naïveté later.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e9fb38
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e9fb38
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_e9fb38
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eaf5a1ac
type
Groin Attack
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eaf5a1ac
comment
Groin Attack: Katie shoots a pedophile in his exposed groin when he tries to go after Francie.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eaf5a1ac
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eaf5a1ac
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eaf5a1ac
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eb002293
type
Shrinking Violet
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eb002293
comment
Shrinking Violet: Francie, though she has Hidden Depths and begins to come out of her shell as she grows up.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eb002293
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eb002293
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eb002293
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eb5b71fe
type
Clingy Jealous Girl
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eb5b71fe
comment
Clingy Jealous Girl: Hildy O'Dair, Katie's ex-best-friend who she stole Johnny from.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eb5b71fe
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eb5b71fe
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_eb5b71fe
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_ec40626
type
Love Martyr
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_ec40626
comment
Love Martyr: Katie to Johnny. The narration notes that if she'd married a man who felt this way about her, the family would have been a lot better off.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_ec40626
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_ec40626
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_ec40626
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f19ff224
type
TheUNFavourite
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f19ff224
comment
The Un-Favourite: As soon as Neeley is born, Katie realizes that she loves him more than Francie, mostly because she can transfer all her dying dreams for Johnny to him. However, she does her best to hide it, and we only feel the occasional twinge from Francie's point of view. Though she points out Katie's favoritism and while they do make up, the narration notes that their relationship will never be the same again.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f19ff224
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f19ff224
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f19ff224
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f21d434a
type
New Job as the Plot Demands
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f21d434a
comment
New Job as the Plot Demands: Francie holds a variety of jobs at different times, including: Bed-maker and dishwasher at a local saloon Artificial flower assembler File clerk and reader at a press clipping office Teletype operator
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f21d434a
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f21d434a
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f21d434a
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f3d7f7e8
type
Chinese Launderer
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f3d7f7e8
comment
Chinese Launderer: Where Francie takes her father's shirts. See Inscrutable Oriental.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f3d7f7e8
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f3d7f7e8
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f3d7f7e8
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f3fd818b
type
Dark Reprise
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f3fd818b
comment
Dark Reprise: The last verse of "Molly Malone." Johnny sings the song when he comes home late at night, and someone always tries to get the apartment door open before he can reach the end of the verse. One night, he sings the last verse for the first time. It's the last time Francie ever hears him sing before he dies.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f3fd818b
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f3fd818b
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f3fd818b
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f4f3252e
type
Law of Inverse Fertility
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f4f3252e
comment
Law of Inverse Fertility: Sissy wants nothing more than to be a mother, but she has ten stillbirths. Finally, she gives up and adopts the illegitimate baby of an Italian girl, [[who may be her husband's child, who told her about the girl]] insisting to everyone that she was pregnant and gave birth naturally. Soon afterward, she has a healthy child of her own. Her healthy birth is justified after all her stillbirths though, as it's the first child she gave birth to in a hospital and the modern medical techniques used save the child who would have otherwise succumbed to the same fate as his brothers and sisters.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f4f3252e
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f4f3252e
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f4f3252e
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f64a9cf7
type
Earn Your Happy Ending
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f64a9cf7
comment
Earn Your Happy Ending: The Nolan family finally gets a break at the end after suffering in poverty most of their lives.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f64a9cf7
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f64a9cf7
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1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f64a9cf7
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f85354eb
type
Attempted Rape
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f85354eb
comment
Attempted Rape: Just before Francie turns 14, a child molester who has already raped and killed several little girls in the neighborhood grabs Francie. Katie rescues her by shooting the attacker.
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f85354eb
featureApplicability
1.0
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f85354eb
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 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_f85354eb
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_name
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ItemName
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / int_name
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Absurdly Youthful Mother / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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Accidental Truth / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Alcoholic Parent / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
American Literature (T to Z) / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Asian Speekee Engrish / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Badge Gag / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Bookworm / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Chinese Launderer / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Confessional / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Dark Reprise / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Dream Ballet / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Education Mama / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Father, I Want to Marry My Brother / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Food Porn / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Given Name Reveal / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Good People Have Good Sex / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Hope Sprouts Eternal / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Hot for Preacher / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Informed Poverty / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Inscrutable Oriental / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
It's All Junk / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Letting Her Hair Down / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Narrative Profanity Filter / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Never Learned to Read / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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Officer O'Hara / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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Oh, and X Dies / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Oops! I Forgot I Was Married / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Panicky Expectant Father / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Parental Favoritism / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Periphery Demographic / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Potty Failure / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Pre-Climax Climax / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Saloon Owner / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Scrubbing Off the Trauma / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Shotgun Wedding / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Significant Name Shift / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Sitting on the Roof / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Someone to Remember Him By / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Sour Prudes / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Stigmatic Pregnancy Euphemism / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Testosterone Brigade / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
The Chikan / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
The Jailbait Wait / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
The Talk / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Sandwich / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Too Much Alike / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Tragic Dropout / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Unconfessed Unemployment / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Victorian Novel Disease / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Widow's Weeds / int_3af6f979
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
hasFeature
Young Adult Literature / int_3af6f979