A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Betty Smith published A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in 1943, but it still holds great significance for many readers. What about the novel still rings true today, 80 years later? What topics or themes have changed or evolved over time?

Teaching Suggestion: Consider introducing students to the text’s main themes of Class, Feminism, and Antisemitism. You might consider helping the class brainstorm a list of contemporary events, people, or literature that grapples with similar topics.

• This article from the Hudson Review by Joyce Zonana reflects on the strong and lasting impact Betty Smith’s novel has had on readers, specifically women.
• This 1999 retrospective from The New York Times, “The Tree Still Grows in Brooklyn,” reflects on how the novel remains present and contemporary, even a century removed from Francie Nolan’s Brooklyn.

2. A major part of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn centers around life in the tenements in the borough of Brooklyn, which itself is almost a character in the novel. What is our working understanding of the city and the lived experiences of those within it? How does this working understanding help us anticipate aspects of the novel?

Teaching Suggestion: Consider splitting students up into small groups to explore the resources below, using guiding questions to structure their browsing. You may also consider assigning each resource to a particular group and doing a jigsaw-style activity.

• “Vintage: historic B&W Streets of New York City” is a collection of photographs on Monovisions magazine's website showing various New York City street scenes during the 1910s.
• This article gives a concise history of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and provides valuable context for life there during the turn of the century.
• This page from the International Center for Photography highlights New York photographer Jacob Riis and his images of New York City tenements in the early 1900s. (Note: Jacob Riis is mentioned in the NYT retrospective linked above)

Short Activity

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn grapples with the idea of the American Dream. Consider the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, which is engraved on the base of The Statue of Liberty. What does this poem suggest about the American Dream? In what ways has the spirit of the American Dream, as conveyed through the poem, been realized? In what ways has it failed? Analyze the poem and reflect on your own before engaging in a class discussion.

Teaching Suggestion: Consider asking students what they know about Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty before asking students to read the poem. It may be helpful for everyone to have the same baseline of knowledge.

• Emma Lazarus’s poem “The New Colossus” was written in 1883 and is engraved at the base of The Statue of Liberty.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who need support with organization, consider providing a graphic organizer with guiding questions while analyzing the poem. Students who struggle with poetry may benefit from the SuperSummary Study Guide on the poem.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

This novel deals with the concept of the American Dream. What does the American Dream mean to you? What is your personal dream? How does that intersect with or inform a more collective dream for your community or society?

Teaching Suggestion: Consider bringing the class together for a discussion after allowing for individual free-writing time. You might remind students of the themes of the novel and encourage students to recognize how their own thoughts might intersect with the themes.