When it seems as though everything around you is crashing down, that there is no one to help you understand, how can you possibly make it out? Do you try and run away from the pain, or do you face it and conquer it? No one ever said that Life would be easy, but to truly become experienced with It we must stand up for ourselves and overcome the challenges that Life throws at us.
There are moments in life when one feels that they are in so deep they can't even see the top anymore. Francie goes through one of these moments with the death of her father. Even before this ordeal, hope was beginning to dissapate because the Nolans barely had enough money to live on, with most of the income coming from Johnny. Now, with him gone, everything starts spiraling down to rock bottom.
Most people would quit and let themselves stay there, in that dark place, but Francie is not among them. She faced down this obstacle that Life has laid out and plowed right though it, getting a job with great income, and even sacrificing her education to spare money. It takes a lot of guts to resign oneself to not only save their family, but save themselves as well. By accepting the fact that she has been placed in a world of cruelty and unfairness, Francie began to see her place in the world.
The only way someone can really believe anything is to experience it. At the very end of the novel, Francie sees young Florry Wendy reading on the fire escape with a bag of candy. At this moment Francie sees herself through this girl,for Francie herself did the exact same thing. Knowing what she's been through, Francie knows that Florry will go through hardships just as Francie has. The cycle of innocent to experienced was completed then, because Francie can now understand her place.
The journey through life is never an easy one, but to get anywhere in it you have to accept that fact. No one knows for sure where their life is headed. Francie certainly didn't when she sat on the fire escape reading. But sometimes rock bottom is what it takes to make it to experienced. The obstacles we incounter in life makes all the differents in the world, because Life's adventure jsut wouldn't be
the same.
