Examples Of Escapism In A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
Option #2
Diya Thennarasu
English 1st Period
December 2, 2022
SSR Timed Writing #3
In the novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, the life of Francie Nolan is explored as she faces adversities such as poverty, rejection, education, and more. Since the beginning of her life, Francie has always prioritized her imagination over pragmatic realities. As a form of escapism, they offer a sense of comfort for her as a child, where she can envision a perfect world, and later, serve as hope in unprecedented times. All in all, this young coltish character comes to face distinct alienation from the people of Brooklyn, and Betty Smith can capture these revelations through a series of events.
As the story progresses, Francie’s visceral imagination
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Women in Williamsburg at least were taught to be ashamed of giving birth, with even Katie, Francie’s mother, ushering her, “Not to let the man in the house,” during the event (Smith 421). These girls grew up to internalize such ideas, and face blatant misogyny when they defy those expectations. In her neighborhood, Francie meets a girl named Joanna, who got pregnant at a young age, albeit never married. Nonetheless, she carried her head high and wouldn’t let the other women get to her. Francie perceives her in awe and pity, unsure of whether to act in the same hostile way toward Joanna. After watching Joanna face much assault from the women, she realizes that “Most women had one thing in common: they had great pain when [giving] birth…but it seems like their great birth pains shrank their hearts and their souls” (Smith 235). Society deemed women as disposable the moment they were impregnated, yet not married. Even people affected by sex crimes and were disregarded as “obsolete”. Francie’s understanding of this causes her to be lectured by her mother for not complying and captures her in an “indecent” light, when all she was doing was speaking the
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