"There's a Tree in Brooklyn" is a growth inspirational novel. It tells the story of the protagonist, Frankie, who grows from a humble slum child to a college student with a dream. After reading this novel, I have to sigh that not being able to read it when I was a teenager was ignorant is really a loss. This is a book worth reading, especially for girls with adolescence at home, parents may wish to accompany her to read this book, perhaps there will be unexpected gains.
The novel's protagonist, Francie, was born into an abject poor family in Brooklyn. Mother Katie relies on personal cleaning work in exchange for free accommodation to support a family of four. His father, Johnny, worked as a waiter at the union, earning a very low income, and most of his income was used to buy alcohol and drink.
When she was very young, France went with her brother Nerey to pick up the rags, and sold half of the money in piggy banks and half of it as pocket money.
Their mother, Katie, was a hard-working, resilient woman who would make a variety of delicacies for her family, even if her family was destitute. Even if she lives at the lowest level of society, poor and humble to the dust, Katie will create a poetic life for children, so that children have a rich inner world.
Katie makes a large pot of coffee every morning, and although there is more water and less coffee, in order to make the coffee more bitter, she will cook for a day and then add a bitter chrysanthemum. Everyone in the family will have a cup of coffee and enjoy it slowly like a rich person.
France didn't like to drink coffee like this, she just liked to smell the coffee, feel the warm heat of the coffee, and then pour the coffee into the sink after dinner.
To her aunts, it was a waste, but her mother approved of her actions. This made Francie feel that even though she was poorer than others, in a sense she was richer than everyone else.
The mother's calmness and hard work towards life make France full of expectations for life, and the unique sense of ritual in the family also makes France's inner world rich and full.
When France was born, her grandmother, who had never been to school, warned her mother, Katie, to let her children read. Katie, who only had a primary school education, read the Bible and Shakespeare to Francis every day. Growing up, what Francie learned in the book made her out of place among her peers around her, but at the same time, she was freed from the world of poverty of her peers and distanced herself from them.
Fish that swim against the current are lonely, but also happy. Francie's favorite thing to do is to go to the library to borrow books, and then hide alone on the Taiping Ladder in the house to read books. In the dappled shadows of the trees, she looked at a book, guarded a bowl of snacks, and was alone, looking at it for an afternoon.
She reads books and she looks at people. All the words, people, and things you see eventually turn into your own reflections on life.
There's a popular saying on the Internet: "You have to quietly top it out and then amaze everyone." "And reading is undoubtedly the cheapest and easiest way to improve yourself."
Through reading and thinking, Francie has a different understanding of her own life.
She didn't like the way the school was taught, she liked another school far from home. She told her father Johnny about her ideas, and his father successfully helped her transfer schools. At the new school, France meets a teacher who is optimistic about her and falls in love with writing with her encouragement.
But the good times were short-lived, and her father died just before she was about to graduate. Her writing was also forced to stop and she developed a new way of thinking and understanding of life.
Despite Katie's insistence on getting her children to college, her tight living forced her to choose between two children, and she eventually decided to keep her brother Nyrey in school, while Francie postponed school. France was very sad about this, she had always felt that her mother was eccentric, in the past, when her father was there, she had her father to accompany and comfort her, but now she was left with herself, mingnilei did not want to go to school, and her mother ignored herself who wanted to go to school, forcing Nyrey to go to school.
My mother said, "If I don't push him, he'll never go back to school." But Francie, you will always continue to fight, or find a way to go back. ”
Faced with a lonely and helpless mother, France eventually chose to compromise, but she did not give up the idea of going to school for this reason.
Yes, there is not only one way to go to school, there is one way to continue education, and there is also a way to go to school called self-study. If a person really wants to achieve a certain goal, she will always try her best to get closer to the goal.
Through hard work, Francie went to work and studied. Not only did he pass the university entrance exam, but he also completed half of the courses of the first year of the university ahead of schedule.
There is no goal that cannot be achieved, unless you don't work hard enough or the goal is not clear enough.
The problems faced in adolescence are not only growing, learning and working, but also love.
For people who are not deeply involved in the world, love is always full of mystery and temptation, want to get closer, but afraid to get closer.
The first time Francie felt moved, it was because of Ben. She met a boy in the library who gave her help and advice, and helped her with tutoring, checking assignments, and making summer vacation plans and life plans.
Ben was a good companion and mentor and Francis was fond of Ben. But Ben was too good, too busy, and France didn't dare bother him, which made her feel lonely. When a boy confesses to France, she is moved and quickly falls in love with the boy. When love sprouts, Francie is touched by Lee's heartstrings, but she is also left hurt by him.
Adolescent love throbbing is normal, but it is also necessary to be clear about your boundaries and what you want. Don't easily promise your life without knowing a person. Love is a very beautiful thing, and when you love others, you must also love yourself. When encountering injury, you must know how to stop the loss in time, do not let yourself indulge in it, and cannot extricate yourself.
In the love between Francie and Lee, even without Lee's betrayal, presumably France and Lee may not be able to live happily and for a long time. Two people whose pursuits of life are completely different, and love that begins with loneliness and deception, is ultimately not strong, just like her mother Katie and father Johnny.
This failed love also made Francie understand a truth, "I don't need to need anyone, but to make others need me." 」 "Every ordeal I have experienced is a grind of the heart.
Everyone living in the world cannot choose and determine their origins, but they can control the direction of their future lives. Like the women of the Romley family, always have hope in life and do their best to change it. Reading, educating, learning and thinking are undoubtedly the best ways to change your life.
Only when your horizons are broadened can you see the wider world and achieve a better life. May every girl be able to recognize her own life direction and goals, and move towards the life she yearns for.