It is natural for people to like or love one person more than another, but it may not seem so natural to those who are not loved more . In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, Francie and her mother, Katie, often argue and argue; Meanwhile, Katie devotes all her attention and love to her son Neeley. The root of Katie and Francie's contentious relationship is that Katie often focuses only on Neely's well-being, leaving Francie to manage herself; however, Francie does not realize that Katie, in doing so, has overall good intentions for both of her children. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Katie has a prejudice against her son, Neeley, and Francie is aware of this, which is why Katie and Francie often argue. Katie favored her son, Neeley, from the day he was born. Katie knew that she preferred Neely and that "it's wrong to love one child more than the other" (Smith 95), but she tries to reason and convince herself that "it's something [she] can't help" (95). Katie loses her warmth and compassion towards Francie, and "the boy [becomes] Katie's whole world" (96). As the children grow, Katie becomes more and more determined to ensure that her son receives an education and succeeds in life, and less interested in helping Francie, reasoning that Francie is capable on her own. Although Katie tells herself that "[she] must never let [Francie] know" (95) that she is loved less than her brother, Katie does not do a good job of keeping this promise. As Francie grows up, she “[grows] a harshness of response towards her mother” (96) because she realizes her mother's prejudice towards her brother. This coldness is inevitably something Francie and her mother share, but ultimately it drives them apart. Francie and her mother, Katie, are very similar in their opinions and worldviews, but this similarity causes them to oppose each other quite often. Francie, sharing the same harness as her mother, says that "[it] brings them closer because [it] makes them more alike" (Smith 96), but she doesn't realize that it actually separates them. He's still young when he says this, so the simplistic idea that finding common traits in people is always a good thing is probably all he understands. He still cannot understand that similarities between people can separate them. “Researchers note that [people] who are too physically and mentally similar to each other are less likely to have a [good] relationship than those with some distance between them.” (Crissy). Katie and Francie are very similar and live in a small place very close, so by the standards of the researchers mentioned above, they naturally wouldn't have a great relationship. When Katie and Francie discuss friendship, Francie asks "Do you have any friends, Mom?" (331) Katie replies “No, I hate women.” Francie then makes the interesting comment “See? You're just like me." (331). This conversation shows that Katie and Francie both prefer to live independent lives, which drives them apart. When Katie says she hates women, she means she doesn't want friends and can make it on her own. When Francie he agrees and says that they are just the same, he expresses his thoughts in words and states to his mother his feelings and opinions about friendship. To sum up, when they say they hate “women”, they use the word woman as symbol to people and friends in general. This shared dislike of company is another factor that drives Katie and Francie apart. conclusion, Katie and Francie have a contentious relationship because Katie often focuses her time and attention on Neeley and because Katie and Francie are very characters.