84 pages • 2 hours read
Betty SmithA Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1943A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
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BetaEssay Topics
Sissy insists on calling all her lovers “John.” Why might this be the case?
Based on the context clues in the novel, what might Aunt Sissy have been keeping in her box that caused such a ruckus when Francie and Neeley hung the contents from the Nolans’ window?
Why does Francie cry when her father plays the piano?
Why does Johnny lie to Francie by telling her he used to find arrowheads near her new school?
Why does Katie start smiling like the Mona Lisa after she has an altercation with Johnny about women’s voting rights?
Why does Katie refuse McGarrity’s request to “come up here once in a while to talk” (311) after he has just helped the Nolan family financially?
Why does McGarrity’s wife, Mae, tell him that “it won’t work out” (314) in regard to Francie and Neeley’s employment?
How does this novel frame organized religion? What commentary about organized religion can be pulled from this novel?
In what ways does Brooklyn help and hinder Francie’s upbringing
In what ways does World War I shift Francie’s perspective of the world?
