The Giving Tree (Topic Two)
“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” -Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet. Giving is one of the best possible actions that people can do. In the book The Giving Tree John Steinbeck teaches readers the importance of giving and how some people grow selfish and give nothing in return. The main character in The Giving Tree is a tree and a boy. The tree acts as a mother type figure to the boy because she loves the boy. During the book, the boy grows up and as the boy grows the tree gives more of itself to the boy as the boy leaves. Coming back and reading this book as a teenager it brightens my memory of the joy I had reading it as a kid. Now that I am older
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He wanted to get away, so the tree gave its whole trunk to the boy to make a canoe and leave. Running does not solve problems, confronting your problems is the only way to resolve them. They boy resolved his problems by finally going back to the tree and being with her. Another key point is to relax and cool down. They boy is always stressed out as an adult and never cools down. Until he grew old and the tree became his relaxing place. Cooling down and relaxing is like refreshing the page on the computer. You slow down and clear your mind. Which everyone needs in their life. Giving to your family, friends, or a charity is always does good in bringing happiness. Like my mom used to say “It is the thought that counts”.
If every book disappeared and I could save one I would save The Giving Tree by John Steinbeck. The book taught me how to act as a child and now shows many more deeper meanings now as a teenager. With this as the only book left lots and lots of people would read it and learn all of the right things to do. From treating each other right to knowing that you cannot run from your problems. The Giving Tree is one of my favorite books of all time and I love to read it so much. It brings me such joy everytime I read over the pages and gasp every time I find another hidden meaning. For whoever is reading this Thank
This shows that pain, suffering, and the real world should not be forced onto one person because it does not work and the one person that does have to face all of the truth will not believe that it is right. Another reason that connects to not only one person should face suffering and sorrow shown in The Giver is when Jonas thinks about how he was the only person that had to go through what was actually happening and wanted to tell others what was actually happening. For example, the author wrote,"They were satisfied with their lives which had none of the vibrance his own was taking on. And he was angry at himself, that he could not change that for them. "(Lois Lowry, 13).This explains that with throwing all of sorrow and pain on to one person makes them think that they should help others that don't get to experience the truth but they cant making
East of Eden, written by John Steinbeck, is a profound, complicated retelling of the biblical story of Cain and Abel, focused around the overall struggle between good and evil . John Steinbeck wrote this for his own sons, John and Tom, to show them not only the history of their family in the Hamiltons, but also the concept of sibling rivalry emerging from the competition over paternal love and acceptance (Shillinglaw). This was first evident in Adam and Charles Trask, and then in Adam’s sons, Aron and Cal Trask. The absence of a true mother figure in these two instances of brotherly contention enhances the need for acknowledgment and love from their parental figures. And yet, both mother figures in East of Eden choose to abandon their
As a child, there are special books that we never will forget. When I was younger, my mother would read the bible to me every night. Joining the wandering group of book lovers, had me choose a valuable book to preserve and memorize. I would preserve the bible for future generations because it gives a message of freedom, tells history, and transformed the world.
Lee was a vital character in East of Eden as he prompted some of the most meaningful conversations and questions for other characters and readers, themselves. Many critics view Lee as the stereotypical, “inscrutable, wise Oriental man” because of the times when he was robustly Chinese. Although, in Part two of the story, Lee tried to convince himself that he was “American”, but acted Chinese as it was what people expected from him. Lee said to Samuel, “Pidgin they expect, and pidgin they’ll listen to. But English from me they don’t listen to, and so they don’t understand it.” (Steinbeck, 163) Lee thought it was best for him to stick with his status quo, and he did with the way he spoke and the way he looked.
The characteristics of people are formed by multiple factors. In many situations, children are raised under similar conditions, however, their later characteristics and life choices are very different. In the book, East of Eden, author John Steinbeck explores the development of humans, from childhood, to adulthood, and eventually, to death. East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, is a genealogical novel about the lives of the Trasks, particularly the main character in the book, Adam Trask. Along the way, the Hamiltons, Ames, and many other characters are introduced. Steinbeck makes a point of showing the continually changing nature of some characters, while describing the ceaseless
A central question raised by John Steinbeck’s East of Eden is whether it is possible to triumph over evil, answered by the discussion of free will and inherited sin. The idea of “timshel” is canvassed through the struggles of Caleb “Cal” Trask. The concept of inherited sin is illustrated through the actions of Cyrus Trask, Charles Trask, and Cathy/Kate Trask.
Beginning at a young age, people are taught to pursue a pure conscience and a bond of trust between close friends and family, all the while turning a blind eye to sin. Children most often learn from their parents and, as a result, believe that their parents are the quintessence of virtue. This concept is one that sticks with them until they catch an adult out for the first time; consequently, their beliefs begin to falter and the realization of a false perfect entity harms the child more than if the illusion were never created. Likewise, many adults struggle with realizing that society is built upon deceit due to masks of decency and credibility, while others deceive themselves by living in a world of illusions because of the pleasure and protection provided. That said, once the illusion is destroyed, it also destroys him. Similarly, John Steinbeck explores the double-edged sword of deception, wielded by both children and adults, in his novel East of Eden. Just as the masks that society wears, multiple characters throughout the story at first originally incapable of committing a sin as great as deceit due to their innocent introductions. Despite this initial virtuosity, Steinbeck’s East of Eden evinces humanity’s contrasting and inherent dependence upon selfish uses of deception, whether it be for self-empowerment, safety, or otherwise, with paltry consideration about the consequences of truth.
Through our society we are all raised up to be independent and unique individuals such as being ourselves and expressing who each of us are to the world. However, in the book The Giver by Lois Lowry, everyone is raised to count on one another and everyone must look and act the same. Our society differs from Jonas’s in many ways, such as the family units, birthdays, and the way we each learn about our past.
I. John Steinbeck used his personal experiences as a laborer to write many of his novels like Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath.
History, is the story among which all literary works are linked to, and this statement is true more than any other in John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Whether one believes that all stories in the Bible have actually happened or not, at least some concepts of them did. How would a writer arrive at the ideas of two brothers and jealousy of love, without having seen it or felt it before? Yet again, how would these ideas survive for so long, unless many people felt them as well and connected to them. The story of Cain and Abel has been around a long time, but the feelings of jealousy between siblings longer still. What stories offer, are not only a feeling of understanding to a child, but a lesson to be learned as well. It is a common cliche, that without knowledge of it history is destined to repeat itself, but if stories are born from past experiences and these too are contained in the archives of history than is it possible to say the same for those as well? What John Steinbeck does in his book is show that without the understanding of the possibility in choices, some of history 's greatest and oldest stories are able to continue to new generations to haunt their lives. In the use of metaphors, analogies, and symbolism, John Steinbeck displays the Cain and Abel story in two generations, and the horrors along with the beauties that the possibility of choice creates.
When I first read this book I was astounded by how selfish the boy was toward the tree. He would go to the tree and ask more and more from her, even is doing so would end up hurting the tree in the end. He would not only ask the tree for all these favors but he would give her nothing in return for doing so. He would use her and then not return again until he needed something else from the tree. This could easily be compared to an abusive relationship like the second view prompted. When you are in an abusive relationship the abuser only wants what is best for them and doesn’t think twice about their partner’s feelings or how what they are doing might affect them;
In Allen Johnson’s “The Forest, The Trees, and The One Thing”, he expresses that in order to understand sociology we need to be able to understand the relationship between biography and history. To explain this, Johnson uses five rules to sociology called the sociological imagination. These rules explain how an individual relates to social systems.
“I want you to stay with me Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself.” The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck shows the relationship between two migrant workers in the 1930s, George and Lennie, along with the other members on the new ranch that they began working on. Georgie and Lennie dreamed of following the American Dream and owning their own patch of land and the novel revolves around the dream and the obstacles that stand in their way. Lennie, a strong but mentally ill person, who accompanies George, eventually makes George think about how much easier the dream could be achieved without Lennie, eventually leading to the downfall of their friendship. The novel shows what it means to be human
The Giver shows us that love is an essential part to this world. The Giver shows Jonas the memory of pain and suffering and reacted in a way that made him upset, expressing love to Jonas as well as regret. Jonas was “no longer enjoying the freedom but instead, terrified…”(137). The Giver knows what Jonas is experiencing and regrets it although it is what he is told to do. The Giver took a liking to Jonas but couldn’t bare to watch him in pain. Jonas sacrificed his own comfort so the Giver could be relieved of these memories for himself. These same memories were given to the Giver because it was his job. The Giver of each generation feels love toward the new Receiver because the Giver knows what pain is like. Love is essential in this moment, especially for Jonas, because he needs a person to help him to start a new, more utopian society. People show love by sacrificing themselves for
The boy on the other hand is like us, the children who are used to receiving and receiving, so much that we take it for granted, so sometimes, we tend to forget to think about the tree or our parents.