Betsy Smith creates a most realistic family, the Nolans, who, despite their poverty, class, and meager lifestyle, are decent, good, and full of kindness. Taking place in the early 1900s, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn shows how life really was back then.
             In A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, there are many key elements which in my opinion makes for a good classic. It has an unusual time period, touching and unforgettable characters, an exemplary and easy-to-follow plot, and the ever-present universal themes. This book is no doubt a true, undeniable classic.
             This book takes place in Brooklyn, New York, in a town called Williamsburg. Williamsburg is a kind of town that is present today: a town full of crime, broken-up families, and poverty. Yet, I think the Nolans are very unique for a family who lives in the slums of Brooklyn; they are good people, just a young family of four. Katie, a young, hardworking mother with several jobs; Johnny, a drunken bum with an on-and-off job as a performer; their daughter, Francie, a hardworking and smart scholar who always strives to do her best; and her brother, Neely, bouncing off the walls with energy. Even though the Nolans are like the other families in their town, they are unique. They have hope that life will get better, and that rich people or authorities won't be so harsh to them because of their class and where they live.
             The Nolans don't have a lot of money, and boy do they know it. Their house is always cold, and their stomachs always grumbling with hunger. They are always tired, because they work from dusk till dawn. But yet they are happy. They have more strength and endurance of anyone in that town. They have a will to be better, to always strive for a better life.
             " Four rooms made up the new flat. They led one into the other, and they were called railroad rooms. The high, narrow kitchen, faced on the yard which was a flagstone walk surrounding a square of c...