BookRags.com Literature Guides Literature
Guides
Criticism & Essays Criticism &
Essays
Questions & Answers Questions &
Answers
Lesson Plans Lesson
Plans
My Bibliography Periodic Table U.S. Presidents Shakespeare Sonnet Shake-Up
Research Anything:        
History | Encyclopedias | Films | News | Create a Bibliography | More... Login | Register | Help

Not What You Meant?  There are 3 definitions for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Book Notes Summary

Print-Friendly  Order the PDF version  Order the RTF version
by Betty Smith
About 54 pages (16,173 words)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (novel) Summary

Bookmark and Share

Chapter 10 and 11

People look at the baby, Francie, with pity because she looks unhealthy and skinny. As soon as Katie forces herself to make sure that her baby will have a better life than she does, she discovers that she is pregnant again. Johnny accepts this news as defeat and gets drunk. The baby's name is Cornelius, after a noble stage actor, and soon becomes known as Neeley. Katie's love is not shared equally.

"I must watch myself very carefully...I am going to love this boy more than the girl but I mustn't ever let her know. It is wrong to love one child more than the other but this is something that I cannot help." Chapter 10, pg. 94

Topic Tracking: Love 3

Katie starts to become independent and stoic, while Johnny drinks more and goes downhill. She is only eighteen and he is only twenty.

Chapter 11

Johnny celebrates his 21st birthday by drinking too much. Katie locks him in the bedroom to sober him up, but he only screams and throws a massive tantrum that gets the family thrown out of the apartment and neighborhood. Sissy comes over with whiskey between her breasts. She knows tenderness and more alcohol will soothe him. He falls asleep on her naked breast, like a baby with his mother. He is the child that she never had. Katie argues with Sissy about how she treats him like both a lover and a child. However, Sissy can never appear wrong in an argument, so Katie lets her continue to help Johnny.

Topic Tracking: Growing Up 5

View More Summaries on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (novel)
More Information
  • View A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Study Pack
  • 3 Alternative Definitions
  • Search Results for "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"
  • Add This to Your Bibliography
  • More Products on This Subject
    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
    The book a tree grows in Brooklyn captures a certain dark part about New York City in the way it sho... more

    Francie
    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and deeply understanding story of childhood and family relat... more


     
    Copyrights
    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn from BookRags Book Notes. ©2000-2009 by BookRags, Inc. All rights reserved.

    Join BookRagslearn moreJoin BookRags




    About BookRags | Customer Service | Report an Error | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy