"There Is a Tree in Brooklyn", the "Book of the Century" of the New York Public Library, along with "The Little Prince" and "Charlotte's Web", has been a huge hit since its release in 1943, and has long topped the bestseller list, and it has been adapted into various forms such as movies and musicals, and won Oscars. This is a book about growth, with no twists and turns, exaggerated narratives, but touching countless readers with its warm and strong core.
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, the author, a descendant of German immigrants who entered university through self-study to study theater, journalism, and writing, the book is arguably her autobiographical novel, depicting life in the American immigrant community in the early 20th century. The United States is a country of immigrants, and countless people have come to this land with the "American Dream", endured poverty, received education, fought hard, and improved their lives through the efforts of generations of people, perhaps it is similar experiences and dreams that have resonated with many readers.
The protagonist, the little girl, Francie, lives in Brooklyn, whose ancestors are New World immigrants and came to the United States from scratch. His father worked odd jobs as a singing waiter, but he was addicted to alcohol and unable to support his family, and his mother worked as a cleaner in exchange for housing and living expenses. Families often suffer from hunger and cold, but there is no lack of happiness in the family, and the lack of materials does not stop their love of life. As the author writes in the preface: "To live, to struggle, to love our lives, to love all the joys and sorrows that life gives, that is, a realization." The fullness of life is always there and is accessible to everyone. ”
What moved me the most was the strong female power displayed in the book, which is a book of women, which describes the bravery and tenacity of women in the face of the pressure of life, and uses the power of education to break through the shackles of poverty and finally realize themselves. Like the Ailanthus tree in Brooklyn, an extremely tenacious tree that can grow on cement floors. The strong women in the book, grasping the only bit of dirt and sunshine and rain dew in the barren life, grow into a free tree.
(1) They are as tough as thin steel
Katie, the mother, fell in love early in her youth and fell in love with her mercurial father Johnny. When she gave birth to France, she realized the reality of poverty and her unattainable husband, and she made up her mind to work hard and support the family with her hands. She went to work as a cleaner, cleaning a few houses in exchange for a place to live and a meager living expenses. She refused to get it for nothing, and she didn't want to receive the benefits in the most difficult moments. After the early death of her husband, she hugged a son and a daughter, thinking about the unborn child in her belly, and said, "From now on, I will be a father and a mother again." ”
Johnny was gentle and weak, and in his early twenties he felt hopeless and addicted to alcohol. But Katie is not willing to passively accept the oppression of life, she has a strong desire to survive, dares to face the bleak reality, the warmth of the girl is replaced by competence, she becomes a fighter, to fight poverty, to take care of her children, husbands and lives. "They seem to be made of invisible thin steel."
Life is not always smooth sailing, we can't choose where we are, but we can choose how to face life. Johnny flinched, Katie became more and more frustrated, perhaps the family inheritance made her so strong, perhaps the birth of the child gave her a firm belief, "Live the Meaning of Life" author Victor Frank once said that suffering has no meaning, when people have to endure suffering, take the ordeal as their own unique task, with action to take on and accept all challenges.
Stills from "There's a Tree in Brooklyn"
(2) Discover every bit of beauty in life
The Francie family was poor, but not sloppy. Moldy bread is made delicious in a different way, children can save a little money for snacks from selling rags; make a big pot of coffee with bitter chrysanthemums, drink it whenever they want, France doesn't want to drink it, you can pour it out, and experience the sense of abundance that something can be wasted; Mother and aunt go to see a cheap show every week; and Francie's greatest satisfaction is to take a book, a small bowl of snacks, and read in the shade of a tree on the weekend, as if in heaven.
Just like in the movie "A Beautiful Life", the male protagonist Guido, with optimism and wisdom, creates a happy world for children in the concentration camp. For them, the background of life is gray, but they dovetail flowers on it in their own way. Pleasure in suffering is not a shame, but a wisdom. Maybe the busy life makes us feel tired, but don't forget to leave some space for the good and let your tired heart rest.
Stills from "A Beautiful Life"
The poor are rich because of books, and the rich are expensive because of books. —— Wang Anshi
Grandma Mary is illiterate, but she has a firm belief and extraordinary insight, she believes that in the new country, as long as they work hard, they can live a good life, she firmly believes that poor people must read and write if they want to change their fate. She passed on this wisdom to Katie, telling her to make sure that the next generation read and be educated, so Katie brought in the Bible and Shakespeare and read them a page a day before the children could read. When the child grows up, her peers go to work after junior high school, but she still insists on letting her children go to high school.
France fell in love with reading, and every weekend she went to the dilapidated library to borrow books, determined to read all the books on the shelves. She looked forward to growing up with her own house, no luxurious furniture, just desks, notebooks, pencils, flowers, and countless books. As Borges once said: Heaven should be like a library.
When I read this paragraph, I really wanted to shake hands with the author, which was simply a reflection of my heart. Maugham said: Reading is a refuge to carry with you. Everyone has only one kind of life, but in the books you can experience a thousand different kinds of life. Books expandEd Francie's horizons, she became a part of her soul and gave her the courage to resist the torments of poverty.
Since then, as long as you open the book, you will be sitting in the world. She will never be lonely again, never again lonely because of a lack of friends. Books are her friends.
Knowledge changes destiny, and this is an immutable truth. You have to learn to read before you can really take control of your own destiny and become who you want to be, not whose vassals you want to be. Reading a good book not only broadens your horizons and increases your insights, but also integrates into your blood and makes you more calm and wise.
In an age when the poor seemed to see no future, Mary spoke the true meaning of education with her far-sighted eyes and wisdom.
"Education! Oh, and it's education that makes this difference! Education will free them from the dirty and dirty bottom.
In this book, the author Betty Smith describes France's love of books, her love for her father, her ambivalent feelings about her mother, and her thoughts on life, which often touched me a lot, and there are many unique characters such as Aunt Sissy, funny uncle, tavern owner, Francie's teachers, and so on. Reading this book benefited me a lot:
First, women's strong vitality, in the face of hard life, clench their teeth, I believe there will always be a way to get through.
The second is the power of reading and education, and to change the fate of a generation, women must be educated.
I believe that everyone can find the courage and wisdom to live in this book, just like Francie, through reading, find their own strength, believe in themselves, and believe that everything will be better.
About the author: Cai Baobao, a reader who wants to be a painter, is a kind of happiness to be able to appreciate the beauty of words and paintings.