Brooklyn Trivia Quiz

Answer: Shoe polish

The film opens with Eilis leaving her house in the morning to attend the early mass at church, so that she can open up Miss Kelly's store and work the crowds after the nine o'clock mass. Something is on Eilis's mind today, and she asks her employer if she can talk to her later. Miss Kelly eyes Eilis suspiciously and says, "Not if what you're going to say will cause trouble for me in some way or another." Later, the tiny store is packed with customers and Eilis is coping the best she can. Miss Kelly spies a well-dressed woman entering the store, and immediately greets her warmly and lets her jump to the head of the queue. When another customer complains that she was next in line, Miss Kelly looks at her dismissively and says, "And you still are." Miss Kelly turns her attention to plainly-dressed woman, who asks for some shoe polish. "Shoe polish?" Miss Kelly asks in surprise. "That's not really a Sunday item, now, is it? These people need things for their dinner or their tea. Why couldn't you have remembered yesterday?" She looks down over the counter at the woman's shoes. "Because it looks like you needed it yesterday." Suitably chastised, the woman apologizes.

When all the customers have left, Eilis reminds Miss Kelly that she needs to ask her something. "I hadn't forgotten. Spit it out, whatever it is," Miss Kelly says irritably. Eilis informs her that she's leaving for America soon, but that she can work every Sunday until she goes. Miss Kelly tells Eilis that she won't be needed back at the store, before adding, "Your poor sister." Eilis is puzzled by her comment. "Oh, mothers are always being left behind in this country. But Rose - that's the end for her now, isn't it? She'll be looking after your mother for the rest of her life."

Answer: Eilis's sister, Rose

Father Flood used to play golf with Rose, and he kindly agrees to sponsor her sister at her request. Rose reveals her motivation on Eilis's last night at home. Eilis, Rose, and their mother, Mary, are having dinner when Eilis expresses her regret that she didn't ask Father Flood to help Rose. "Me?" Rose says to Eilis. "I have a job. You had a couple of hours on a Sunday working for Nettles Kelly." Mary glances at Rose disapprovingly and reprimands her for referring to Miss Kelly by her nickname. "I think it's quite a kind name," Rose says. "Considering she's actually a terrible old witch."

Later that night, Rose helps Eilis pack her few belongings into an old suitcase. "Is that really everything you own? Oh, Eilis, I should have looked after you better," Rose remarks. Eilis won't hear of it, and points out that most of her clothes were purchased by Rose. "That's one of the reasons I'm going, because I can't buy my own," she adds, taking Rose's hand in hers. "If it was just that, I'd spend every penny I had on you, gladly," Rose replies. "But I can't buy you a future. I can't buy you the kind of life you need." Eilis starts to tear up at this, and asks Rose to take care of herself, and makes her promise to come to Brooklyn one day. "And I'll come home to visit, won't I? Because I couldn't bear it if..." Eilis's voice trails off as she chokes on her tears. Rose takes the chance to change the subject. "You haven't packed your shoes yet. They'll take up a bit of room," she says, as she puts on a brave face for Eilis.

Answer: She is locked out of the toilet.

Eilis's third class cabin is deep within the bowels of the ship, and it shares a toilet and shower with the adjoining cabin. She finds herself all alone in the dining room, where she makes a valiant attempt at finishing her meal which appears to consist mostly of gristle, when a waiter interrupts her. "It's good to see that not everybody's put off their dinner by the weather forecast," he says. "It's supposed to be a rough one tonight, so none of the other passengers are eating. A few spoonfuls of soup, maybe, but not the mutton stew." Later, Eilis discovers that her next-door neighbours have locked her out of the shared bathroom, and the movement of the storm-stricken boat isn't doing wonders for her stomach. Desperate, she ventures out into the corridor and locates a mop and bucket, which she uses to relieve herself. Back in her cabin, her knocking on the bathroom door goes unanswered, so she has to avail herself of the bucket again. Her cabin-mate, Georgina, returns from getting kicked out of First Class to find a sickly Eilis resting on the bunk. "The bathroom door was locked all night," Eilis explains, as she apologizes for the smell. An enraged Georgina takes swift action on Eilis's behalf: she retrieves a nail file from her bag and uses it to unlock the bathroom door, then locks it on their side and wedges her trunk against it so that it cannot be opened by their neighbours. "Go on, you can use it," she says to Eilis. "I'm going to get us some water. That's all you're allowed."

Eilis recovers with Georgina's help, but is looking rather pale and tired by the time the boat is almost at its destination. "We'll have to do something with you," Georgina says to Eilis. "They'll put you in quarantine or something if you try entering the country looking like that." Georgina helps Eilis pick out an outfit and gives her face a bit of colour with some makeup. "Stand up straight, polish your shoes, and don't cough, whatever you do," she instructs. "Don't be rude, or pushy, but don't look too nervous. Think like an American. You have to know where you're going."

Answer: Homesickness

Bartocci's is an upmarket department store that is lovingly stocked with beautiful things, and a clientele to match. Eilis is serving a customer from behind a counter under the watchful eye of Miss Fortini, her supervisor, who motions for Eilis to fill the empty silence while waiting for the customer's change. Eilis tries to make small talk but her attempts are strained and awkward. Miss Fortini appears behind Eilis as soon as the customer leaves. "Remember: if people like it here, they'll come back," she says to Eilis, "So you treat every customer as if she's a new friend." Eilis tries her best, but is unable to retain her composure in front of a customer after she receives her first letter from home, and breaks down in tears when she is confronted by Miss Fortini. "Is it your time of the month?" she asks, before adding, "Take some time off now. Go and sit in the staff room." Eilis does as she is told, and is surprised when Miss Fortini appears a while later with Father Flood. "I'm so sorry, Eilis. This is all my fault. I was led to believe that you didn't need looking after," he says as he takes a seat in front of her. "I'd forgotten just how bad it feels to be away from home." Father Flood tells Eilis that he has enrolled her in book-keeping classes three nights a week at Brooklyn College, and that he has paid the first semester's tuition. Eilis is grateful, but doesn't understand why he would do that for her.

"I was amazed that someone as clever as you couldn't find proper work at home," he explains. "I've been here too long: I forget what it's like in Ireland. So when your sister wrote to me about you, I said the Church would try to help. Anyway, we need Irish girls in Brooklyn." Eilis remarks that she wishes she could stop feeling that she wants to be an Irish girl in Ireland. "All I can say is that it will pass," Father Flood says thoughtfully. "Homesickness is like most sicknesses. It will make you feel wretched, and then it will move on to somebody else."

Answer: Dinner with his family

Tony is a sweet, unassuming Italian-American plumber who attends the Irish Dance because he really likes Irish girls. He dances with Eilis and saves her from having to babysit Dolores, the new sour-faced tenant at her boarding house. One night, Eilis emerges from her night book-keeping class to find Tony waiting for her on the sidewalk. "All I want to do is travel home with you. No food, no drink, no nothing. I know you gotta study, and get some sleep. I'll take you to your house and say goodnight. Otherwise it's too long to wait," he says earnestly. They ride a trolleycar back to Eilis's place, and it is obvious that Tony has something to say. "I want to ask you something, and you're gonna say, 'Oh, it's too soon, I don't really know him well enough, we've only been out a couple times'," he begins, but doesn't get to the point fast enough for Eilis. "Please just ask. You're beginning to terrify me," she says. "Oh, sure," Tony replies. "Will you come for dinner and meet my family sometime?" Relieved, Eilis tells Tony that she would love to meet them. Tony decides to push his luck with Eilis, and asks her if she will go to a movie with him. "I'll sign up for two movies," she tells him. "Even if the first date is a disaster, I'll give it another chance." Tony folds his arms and smiles like he just won the lottery.

Eilis's demeanour at work changes completely, which doesn't go unnoticed by Miss Fortini. "Eilis, you're like a different person!" she remarks after witnessing Eilis chatting effortlessly with a customer. "How did you do it? Maybe I can pass some advice on to the next poor girl who feels that way." Eilis smiles broadly. "I met somebody. An Italian fella," she explains. "Oh, no. I'm not passing that on," Miss Fortini replies. "I'd rather have them homesick than heartbroken. Does he talk about baseball all the time? Or his mother?" Eilis remains unfazed. "No," she says. "Then keep him," Miss Fortini says with a smile. "There isn't another Italian man like him in New York."

Answer: Yes

Eilis makes a good impression with Tony's family at dinner, but she is a little unnerved when Tony teases her about their children not being Dodgers fans. Tony makes it worse when he walks Eilis home and tells her that he loves her. "I...," she starts to reply, before saying, "Thank you for the evening. It was lovely." After Eilis's next night class, she is disappointed but not surprised when Tony isn't waiting for her outside the college. She starts off down the street when Tony suddenly runs up and calls her name. "I thought you weren't coming," she says, clearly relieved. "I thought you were gonna think that. That's why I wanted to be here no matter what," Tony replies. "I need to say something to you," Eilis begins, but Tony changes the subject. He is worried about what's coming next, and is hoping to delay it. "Let me say what I want to say. I don't think you'll mind," Eilis says gently. Tony takes a deep breath and readies himself for bad news. "You remember that after I had dinner at your house, you told me you loved me?" Eilis begins. "Well, I didn't really know what to say, but I know what to say now. I have thought about you and I like you, and I like being with you, and maybe I feel the same way. So the next time you tell me you love me, if there is a next time, I'll say I love you too."

"Are you serious?" Tony asks excitedly. "I thought we were having a different kind of talk." His face is a mixture of happiness and relief. "You love me?" he asks. "Yes," Eilis replies. "But don't ask me anything else, and don't talk about our kids being Dodgers fans."

Answer: Rose dies

Mary finds Rose sprawled on her bedroom floor one morning, and Miss Fortini and Father Flood have to break the news to Eilis at work. "It was sudden," Father Flood explains. "I think perhaps she was ill, and she knew she was ill, and she didn't tell anybody." Eilis is inconsolable, especially after she learns that Rose's burial will proceed without her. "Why did I ever come here?" she asks quietly. "Rose wanted a better life for you. She loved how well you were doing," Father Flood says tenderly. "But I'll never see her again," she replies in tears. Eilis speaks on the phone with her mother, who is just as devastated. "When your daddy died, I said to myself that I shouldn't grieve too much because I had the two of you," she says to Eilis. "And then when you went to America, I told myself the same thing because she was here with me. But everyone's gone, Eilis. I have nobody."

Tony is comforting Eilis, when she asks him how he would feel if she went home to see her mother. His answer is simple but honest. "I'd be afraid, every single day," he says. Eilis eventually decides to go home for a month, and tells Tony her decision one night. "Will you marry me before you leave?" he asks, adding that they could do it quickly and not tell anyone. When Eilis asks him why they have to get married, he says, "Because if we don't, I'm going to go crazy." Eilis thinks about it, and asks, "Would a promise not be the same?" Tony holds her gaze, as he says, "If you can promise, you can easily do this." Eilis nods her agreement, and they hug.

Answer: She gets accepted at the Waterford Institute of Technology.

Eilis returns home to be with her mother, and runs into Nancy after church. Nancy wiggles her finger at Eilis, showing off her engagement ring, and tells her how happy she is that she can attend the wedding. "Your mother accepted the invitation on your behalf," Nancy explains, before leaving with her parents. Eilis tells her mother that she is booked to return to New York six days before the wedding. "Oh, you can wait an extra week to see your best friend married," her mother replies. The next night, Eilis meets Nancy and her fiancé, George, for dinner, and finds Jim Farrell, George's rugby club friend, tagging along. Once Eilis is alone with Nancy, she asks her what Jim is doing there. "He's very nice, so don't be too hard on him," Nancy says. Eilis considers telling Nancy about Tony, but settles for a slightly exasperated, "I'm going back" instead. "But you can have a bit of fun while you're here, can't you?" Nancy replies with a grin.

Eilis starts covering Rose's duties at Davis's during their busy season, and Mr. Brown, the owner of Davis's, is so impressed with Eilis's performance that he asks her to continue on a part-time basis. She also starts spending more and more time with Jim, and even flirts with him a little. One day at the beach, she opens up to Jim about her mixed feelings. "I wish it had been like this before I went. Before Rose died," she says. "There was nothing here for me before. And now I have a job, and..." She looks straight at Jim, and trails off. When Eilis and Jim share a slow dance at Nancy and George's wedding, Jim tells her that he doesn't want her to go back to America, and implies that he wants to propose. Eilis tells him that she is grateful and flattered. "I'd imagined a different life for myself," she adds. "I understand," Jim replies. "But your life here could be just as good. Better, even, maybe."

Answer: "I'd forgotten what this town is like."

Eilis sits in Miss Kelly's parlour above her store, wondering why she was summoned here today. They make small talk about Eilis's work at Davis's and the gossip about Jim Farrell, before Miss Kelly gets round to the real reason she wanted to see Eilis. "Do you remember Mrs Brady?" Miss Kelly asks. "She usually comes into the shop on Sunday morning for her rashers." Eilis draws a blank. "No? Well, you have a very busy life now, what with one thing and another." Miss Kelly is clearly enjoying herself. "Anyway, Mrs Brady has a niece living in Brooklyn," she continues. "The world is a small place, isn't it? She had a letter from her a couple of weeks back." Eilis is troubled by this, but she tries to keep her composure. "And what did it say?" she asks. "Oh, only that she'd been to a wedding at the city hall, and her husband bumped into a girl from Enniscorthy who was getting married there," Miss Kelly says triumphantly. "I'm not sure what you're telling me, Miss Kelly. He didn't bump into me," Eilis says unconvincingly. "Oh, you can't fool me, Miss Lacey. Although I'm not sure that that's your name any longer, is it? He couldn't remember. Something Italian, he thought," Miss Kelly replies. "I'd forgotten," Eilis says quietly. "You'd forgotten!" Miss Kelly says in mock disbelief. "What a thing..."

"I'd forgotten what this town is like," Eilis says with a look of determination. "What were you planning to do, Miss Kelly? Keep me away from Jim? Stop me from going back to America? Perhaps you didn't even know." Eilis stands up and stares down the now subdued Miss Kelly. "My name is Eilis Fiorello," she says, and leaves. Her altercation with Miss Kelly has imbued Eilis with a new sense of resolve. She marches to the post office and makes a reservation for the next available sailing to New York. Eilis confesses to her mother that she got married in Brooklyn and tells her she wants to go back so that she can be with her husband.

Answer: She passes on the lessons she has learnt from her own experiences.

In an interesting bit of role reversal, Eilis finds herself at the end of the film as the experienced traveller sharing her life lessons with an innocent and naďve girl, much like Georgina had done with her when she first made the voyage to America. Eilis is aloof initially, answering the girl's questions politely but reticently. "People say that there's so many Irish people there, it's like home. Is that right?" the girl asks Eilis about Brooklyn. "Yes, it's just like home," Eilis replies, and then remembers that she was once as scared as this girl. "You're not to eat," Eilis says, turning to face her. "But I might be there years," the girl replies, confused. "No, you can eat when you get there," Eilis explains. "But don't eat on the boat. It'll stop you getting so sick. Do you promise me?" The girl nods her agreement. "And in a moment, I want you to go straight down to your cabin and lock the bathroom door on your side," Eilis continues. "When next door starts hammering, you can negotiate."

"When you get to Immigration, keep your eyes wide open, and look as if you know where you're going. You have to think like an American." Eilis narrates her words of advice over scenes of people queueing up at U.S. Immigration, and Eilis smiling at the girl and giving her a nod of encouragement. "You'll feel so homesick that you'll want to die, and there's nothing you can do about it apart from endure it. But you will, and it won't kill you," Eilis continues, as we see her leaning against a wall, as Tony and his brother emerge from the bakery across the street. "And one day the sun will come out. You might not even notice straight away - it'll be that faint," Eilis says, as Tony finally notices her. "And then you'll catch yourself thinking about something or someone who has no connection with the past, someone who's only yours," Eilis continues, as Tony hands his toolbox to his brother and runs across the road, stopping just inches in front of her. "And you'll realise that this is where your life is," Eilis says, as she opens her arms to Tony and they embrace.