Brooklyn

In Brooklyn, Eilis struggles to sleep through the night at Mrs. Kehoe’s boardinghouse because of the heat. Every girl in the house is Irish, and the two primary rules are that there are no guests and no dirty dishes. Eilis writes home about the shared meals and the drama between the other boarders, such as noise complaints and grudges over using each other’s things. The other girls in the house are named Patty, Diana, Sheila, Miss Keegan, and Miss McAdams. Patty and Diana are obsessed with boys and like to go out at night. They invite Eilis to go with them one night, but she refuses.

Eilis likes to wake early and beat the other girls to the bathroom and then make herself breakfast. She does not like how the bread, butter, or tea taste in America and uses sugar to cover them up. She is the youngest boarder and hates how much attention and advice the other girls give her because of it. On her first day at Bartocci’s, she meets Miss Bartocci, the daughter of the owner, who emphasizes that the girls must serve everyone the same. Miss Fortini, her floor supervisor patiently shows her how to use the cash system, and though Eilis is already familiar with it, she plays along. Miss Bartocci encourages night classes for the girls with the right abilities, as many of the office workers start on the floor and move up. Father Flood tells Eilis he will help her access these classes when the time is right. Throughout her first few weeks, Eilis writes letters home about her days at the store and with the boarders, but no one from home writes back yet.

Eilis enjoys the work at Bartocci’s and stays on Miss Fortini’s good side. She eats lunch quickly and spends the rest of her break exploring the surrounding shops, but she is always back on time to begin working again. One day, Mr. Bartocci announces that it is the day of the famous nylon sale. The store never advertises the sale in advance, not even to their own employees, and it is always an exceedingly busy day. There is no change given, everyone must pay in exact amounts, and there will be no lunch breaks. The girls will get some short breaks however, as well as the opportunity to buy four discounted items. Eilis buys nylons for herself, Rose, her mother, and Mrs. Kehoe. During the hectic day, Eilis remembers a peaceful day in Enniscorthy, walking along the river with her mother.

That night, she receives her first letters from her mother, Rose, and Jack. They all seem impersonal, though Rose does ask Eilis to write her at her office if there are ever any personal matters she does not want her mother to know about. Eilis begins to feel homesick for the first time and thinks of how she was someone else at home but is now no one in Brooklyn. As she sleeps, she has a dream of being taken from her mother at the courthouse in Enniscorthy.

The next day, Eilis struggles with the feelings of homesickness. For the first time since she arrived, her day at work goes by slowly. She leaves dinner early that night and cries in her room, feeling trapped and alone, wondering if this is how Jack felt when he said he missed home at first. She knows her family cannot help, and she is so caught up in her feelings that she is almost late to work the next morning. Miss Fortini recognizes that Eilis does not look well and sends her to the break room to wait for her. Miss Fortini deduces that it is homesickness and discusses the matter with the Bartoccis, who instruct Eilis to sit downstairs all day until Father Flood can come to speak with her.

When he arrives, he apologizes for not seeing her sooner, saying that he did not check in on her because he thought she was doing well. He tells her that what she feels is homesickness and that it will pass. Father Flood tells Eilis that the best ways to overcome homesickness are to have someone to talk to and to stay busy. He promises to get her into night classes, but she must promise to come to work tomorrow smiling and prepared for the day.

Eilis goes home, and she and Mrs. Kehoe have tea until Father Flood arrives to deliver the news that he has paid Eilis’s tuition and that she is now enrolled in bookkeeping classes at Brooklyn College. She asks why he is helping her so much, and he tells her that he could not believe that someone with her gifts could not find work in Ireland. She promises herself she will be strong and get through the homesickness. The next day, Father Flood drops off the books with the promise that Mrs. Kehoe will pack her lunches.

Eilis begins classes at Brooklyn College and finds some of it easy, but the lessons on law and her teacher’s explanations confuse her. Everyone in the class is nice, but no one tries to befriend her. Christmas season soon arrives, and Eilis buys presents for her family and takes extra hours at work. Father Flood asks for her help serving Christmas dinner at church and she agrees. He tells her that the men they serve are the leftover Irish who came to build the city and its infrastructure and now have no connections left in Ireland. She goes to midnight mass with Mrs. Kehoe and Miss Keegan and reports to the church in the morning.

Eilis and the Murphy sisters are the only all-day volunteers, and once visitors begin trickling out, it is clear that the crowd is comprised of destitute men. Eilis helps serve them and is shocked by the sight of a man who reminds her of her father despite not actually looking like him. As the day goes on, and the men warm up and become more friendly, the hall reminds her of Ireland and the diners of the men in her family. As the day wanes, Father Flood asks the man who reminds Eilis of her father to sing as a way to thank the women who volunteered, and the man beckons Eilis to join him. He sings in Gaelic while holding Eilis’s hand and she is struck by his talent. As the night ends and the men begin to leave, Eilis walks home to lie in bed and relive the night.