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Get everything you need to know about Katie Nolan in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Analysis, related quotes, timeline.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a coming-of-age novel by Betty Smith that was published in 1943 and is considered to be a classic of children’s literature and American literature. The novel centers on a working-class girl named Francie Nolan growing up in Brooklyn, New York, in the early 20th century.
The main character from whose perspective the novel is based. Mary Frances Katherine “Francie” Nolan is the eldest child in the Nolan clan and, predictably, is given the most responsibility while growing up. When the… read analysis of Francie Nolan.
The children spend almost a year on Cherry Tree farm and are able to observe the countryside in every season — spring, summer, autumn and winter (they arrive at the farm in early spring and leave just after Christmas.) The reader learns about nature along with them.
The daughter of Austrian immigrants, Katie is hardworking and proud. A life filled with poverty and children has made her hard and detached, and has catalyzed her survivor instinct. While Johnny succumbs to hardship, Katie perseveres, and this is a defining characterization for each of them.
The best study guide to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes. Get the summaries, analysis, and quotes you need.
Katie's ability to read and write, unlike her mother, foreshadows that Francie will gain a higher level of education than Katie. The scene at the Mattie Mahoney picnic foreshadows the marriage of Katie and McShane. Tone Mostly sympathetic toward the characters, sometimes childlike or contemplative.
