A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Johnny disappears after his breakdown. The family tries to search for him, but to no avail. Sergeant Michael McShane then comes to the house with the news that Johnny is in the hospital, having been found unconscious in a doorway. McShane drives Katie to the hospital, where she finds out that Johnny has pneumonia and is about to die. She sits with him, but he says nothing to her and dies shortly after her arrival. Katie doesn’t reveal to Francie and Neeley that their father has died until the next morning, hoping that a full night’s rest will help soften the blow. Francie, however, is stunned when her mother tells them.

Katie goes back to the hospital and helps fill out the death certificate. She is upset that they want to list cause of death as “(a)cute alcoholism and pneumonia” instead of just pneumonia, so she begs them to abbreviate the cause of death (285). After a little wrangling, they agree to Katie’s request. Katie then must deal with the funeral and burial costs, which take every penny they have saved plus more. When Francie asks Katie if she should nail back down their empty savings bank, Katie says it won’t be necessary, as the tin can has served its purpose; they started it so they could buy land and now they have land, even if it’s in the form of a cemetery plot.