A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ and the Colossus of New York
Comparisons and Contrasts of the Themes
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ is an archetypal novel that was written by Betty Smith in 1943. The Colossus of New York, on the other hand, captures the outer and the inner landscapes of New York City in a series of meditations, personal memories, and vignettes. Whitehead presents the thoughts and the feelings of newcomers and longtime residents who dream of making New York their home. Smith begins her novel by introducing the 11-year-old Mary Francis, who lives with her family in Brooklyn in the early1900s. The story of Smith ends when Mary is almost 17, straddling many of her formative years.
The first theme that is evident from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ is the theme of poverty and class. Nearly every chapter, anecdote and character in the work of Smith addresses and represents the issue of poverty in the early 20th century America. Being poor entails that the characters are expected to think about how they will survive continually. The novelist shows that poverty does not only involve the absence of comfort, food, and heat but other things also. Poverty implicates the death and worthlessness of Johnny. It also means that Francie will not be able to attend high school, and also makes Uncle Flittman run away. Smith shows the entire poor Brooklyn community, together with the close relationship between exploitation and poverty. Store owners are taking advantage of small children and lure money out of them, while the Piano teachers plead for tea from their leaners. Just like the tree man, individuals are required to think of their children and their families first. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Just like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’, The Colossus of New York is a remarkable picture of life in the great New York City. There is this great feeling that people get when they visit the City for the first time. The mood feels like tapping into the heartbeat of the individuals who receive it in the City. Whitehead views the heartbeat as the City itself, the bloodline that flows through the human mass. Whitehead starts with the description of the bus ride into Port Authority, where there are heavy pieces of baggage, washrooms that are braved by only the brave and seating plans of bus riders who are experienced.
Whitehead shows the theme of life in the City. He cuts to the feelings of the City, where there are truck noises and the problem of the rain as people try to cope with the rush hour. He shows the audience how, in New York, the train might leave the subway without, which creates a series of questions in the minds of the audience. Whitehead states that “it is difficult to escape the truth that the train just left…and if you had behaved, things diversely would be better” (“Subway” p. 49). The anonymity of the City that Whitehead presents inspires a better self-vision only to smash the fantasies to bits.
While Smith tries to show the life chronicles among the immigrants of Williamsburg in the early 1900s, Whitehead presents the terrifying picture of the City of New York as a machine that is fueled by human suffering and labor in his thirteen chapters. The author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ juxtaposes the lower class with the rich to further develop the theme of poverty in New York City. She shows that even though having money in New York City can make life manageable, in the book, the most lovable people are the impoverished ones and those who come from poor backgrounds. For instance, in the book, the wealthy doctor is seen as the antagonist, while the charity event is presented as hurtful and self-righteous. As the story ends, Francie and Neely pity Laurie as she grew up with no experience of any hardships, as to them, the difficulties made their lives more fun. The author tries to show that she likes the poor, just like the tree.
Whitehead shows the ambitious gemlike scope of the City in detail, as it does exist today in New York. The City of New York is unique for other people. Compared to other cities like Washington, DC, and Philadelphia, New York City stands alone. The ideas that Whitehead had regarding building one’s private New York are perceived in the manner in which people are living their lives. “You begin to develop your confidential NY the instance you see it” (“City Limits” p.4). People live their own lives and are unconcerned by how other people are going about their daily lives. Everyone can experience so much of NY, and the City will go on without a particular individual.
Neurotic New York is not in any way a new theme even though The Colossus of New York strives to show the rigid planning of the City and the structures that determine how people are doing recreation and how they move. Every personal calamity that Whitehead describes shows that just like today, the movement of an individual around the City is mostly followed by misfortunes. This is seen where it is hard to hail a cab during a torrential downpour or several drops of expresso on the skirt worn to work.
Smith, on the other hand, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ addresses the notion of the American dream that was mostly promoted to the immigrants during those periods. The immigrants were being shown that they could achieve whatever they intended to in America as long as they put in enough effort. The work, however, questions the truth behind the statement as it explored a couple of ways how many immigrants were systematically and continuously excluded and put down. The plot of the narrative flashes back to the past events, coming back to the present ones creating a tense atmosphere that allows the reader to feel the intense raw plot presented.
The immigrants in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ had one agreement that the only way out of their poverty was education. The theme of education carries along with the history of the Rommelys and Nolans. Mary Rommely is happy to know that our children get to study since she was not aware before she moved to the United States that it was free. Even today, going to the right college is the dream of many children. People are aware that getting admitted to a great college guarantees individuals that there are great probabilities that they will get good jobs that will help transform their lives.
The book by Whitehead The Colossus of New York In comparison reads like a book that was written in the 21st century. Even when it is watermarked by the vents of what it was inspired by, it has undoubtedly aged better when compared to many other cultural artifacts that were popular during the early 19th century. Pop music from 2004 might feel even older than the story of Whitehead. The story is further filled with more definitions and speculations, where the author addresses the reader directly.
The age of the book nevertheless meant that in 2020, that life would probably be the way that the author describes. The story proposes an excellent argument for contemplating how the City is pliable. This means that if the City is colossal enough to admit all the human solipsism, then the individuals who reside in the City must be prepared to be in shape to be so. Whitehead perceives the relationship that the people have with the City as eternally intimate. He writes that “the city knows you best compared to other individuals as it has been with you when you stood alone.” The people of the City are shown that they are the walls of the City and not the ones imprisoned by the walls.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ shows the statement of the idea of hope, which infects how life in the urban is lived, just like a tree that springs out of dirt instead of cement. The novel shows the persistence of hope, which is ironic, as it is during the face of disasters that people hope. Smith writes that “At sunrise, the throbbing had stopped and in some days, the arm had healed” (Smith, p. 150) to show the hope that the immigrants had. The book plays a significant role in the depiction of gender roles, which are reflected in the 21st century. The development of the sense of womanhood by Francie is developed by the encounter that she a pedophile who is killed by her mother. The feeling of what it’s like to be a woman for Francie is also shaped by the encounters that her mother experiences.
Katie from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ is a representation of how gender roles are changing the world. Katie does not mind doing dirty and hard jobs, even though men should be doing such jobs to provide for their families. Just like those days, the world is no different today in New York City. Women are filling the roles of head of the family, due to the rise of many single mothers who have to work hard to give their children the best that they can. Just like Katie, women today are filled with high resilience, grace, and strength to undertake carefully, strenuous tasks.