The book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, written by Betty Smith is the story of a young girl that grew up in a poor family in Brooklyn. Along with the young girl, Francie, lived her alcoholic father, Johnny, her hardworking mother, Katie, and her lovable, younger brother, Neeley. In the book, an observation was made of a "tree that grows in Brooklyn". The book described it like this: "No matter where its seed fell, it …showed first 75 words of 793 total…

…showed last 75 words of 793 total…food. Also, almost all of Francie's peers neglected her, leaving her lonely and hurt. She survived, though, and was strengthened because of the hardships that she had endured. Francie's misfortunes made her stronger and she lived just as the "tree that grows in Brooklyn" grew out of cement and survived without sun and water. The reader is shown how blessed they are after reading about what Francie and her family lived without and still survived.