A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

by

Betty Smith

One of Johnny Nolan’s brothers, along with Andy and Georgie, and the son of Ruthie and Mickey Nolan. He dies after being pierced in the stomach by a spike on a makeshift fence while walking home drunk. A priest had never absolved Frankie of his sins, so Ruthie goes to mass “once a month for the repose of his soul which she knew wandered about purgatory.”
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Frankie Nolan Character Timeline in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

The timeline below shows where the character Frankie Nolan appears in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8
Gender, Sexuality, and Vulnerability Theme Icon
Georgie and Frankie like Katie, but they resent Johnny for leaving them to look after their mother. As... (full context)
Romanticism vs. Pragmatism Theme Icon
About a year after Johnny got married, Frankie, “whom many thought even handsomer than Andy,” stumbles home drunk and falls on a makeshift... (full context)