A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Truth. Philosophers have struggled with the meaning of this simple word from the beginning. Today we still don't know the full meaning and we probably never will. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn helps middle-schoolers, like ourselves, to better understand the many meanings of the word by showing the story of a girl in Brooklyn going from innocence to experience. It is vital for middle-schoolers to learn about Truth because they are our future.



Francie is slowly being exposed to Truth, as she should, but it is coming to her in a different way. As Francie matures in one of the darker neighborhoods she slowly encounters Truth in more ways than one. She realizes that her dad is a drunk and that the world isn't the happy utopia she thought it was. Yet, Francie sees that there is still a lot of hope and opportunities in the world. Her parents on the other hand see only the bad things in life. Johnny uses alcohol to try to escape from the world, and while Katie only sees a dystopic world too, she fights it and tries to give her kids the best life she can.



Her parents weren't exposed to Truth gradually enough and that is why they turned out like they did. Because Francie is growing more knowledgeable her view of the world is changing. The old wonders of her world don't seem as wonderful as they did before because Truth is exposing them for what they really are. This may sound evil but Truth exposes more wonderful things than a child's imagination can procure.



Francie is struggling with Truth just as all humans have, are, and will. Humanity has been trying to decipher this complex symbol for ages so we can pass that knowledge on to our adolescence. This novel helps our struggling minds comprehend this elusive cypher. But maybe the knowledge we need is acquired in the journey and not necessarily the answer. Truth is the hardest thing for humans to understand as Francie is finding out.