A Tree in Brooklyn includes several references to trees and leaves, most of which connote perseverance. In the opening of the novel, 11-year-old Francie is outside her flat on the fire escape, fixated on the “one tree” in her yard. The tree is of a type that “grew in boarded-up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps,” and Francie admires the tree’s “struggle” (6). The struggle of the tree parallels aspects of Francie’s own life. Born in a lower-class tenement in New York City, Francie receives about as much physical nourishment as this lone tree. Like the tree, however, she perseveres despite her surroundings. Although her family has little money, she finds ways to move forward in life and to be successful.

Katie comments at one point that her “children will be strong” like a tree is strong—“because its hard struggle to live is making it strong” (95). Francie becomes tough because she must deal with so many predatory adults and judgmental peers, and because she often has to fight off physical hunger. The neighbors’ belief that the tree should be cut down also parallels Francie’s experience with the doctor telling her she should be sterilized.

Leaves also take on a special significance for Francie after Sissy tells her she is “trembling like a leaf” (155), an expression that makes her think about the tree in the yard.