Shel Silverstein The Giving Tree Analysis

Like Francie, the tree remains constant, yet still changes every so slightly with Francie as she navigates childhood to young adulthood to adulthood. The tree proves to be as stubborn as Francie is, fighting through every season and gaining more strength on its journey. In harsh contrast, Johnny Nolan is an incredibly soft character, who Smith depicts almost in a weak way. Johnny does not have his limits when it comes to two of the great loves of his life: alcohol and daydreaming. Yes, it is Johnny who instills the naivety of daydreaming into Francie, helping her to be the innocent child the audience meets at the beginning of the story, but ultimately, his addictions lead to his demise. Thorough a vast array of characters, Smith creates a tale with a variety of morals, fears, and everything in

The mood of the speaker changes to guilt as the speaker and her mother realize they would "crawl" with "shame" and leave an "emptiness" in their father's heart and yard. The author negatively connotes "crawl," "shame," and "emptiness" to invoke a more serious and shameful tone. The beginning of the conveyed a more matter-of-fact and pragmatic tone, but changes into a more sentimental one by the end to convey family is more important than the money. The symbol of the tree represents the family, and connects it to their father's hard work and dedication to the family. If they were to cut it down, it would be symbolic of their betrayal. Imagery of the tree is used to describe the freedom and beauty of the tree as it "swings through another year of sun and leaping winds, of leaves and bounding fruit." The tree represents their family bond and how strong it is even through the "whip-crack of the mortgage."

As the story progresses the woman’s cravings reach a point at which she desired some bark from the Great Tree. However as stated before in the passage, “the tree was not supposed to be marked or mutilated by any of the beings who dwelt in the Sky World”. “The women decided that she wanted some bark” proving that she made a conscious choice to violate the rules. This is a representation of how the Iroquois view women. How dare she, as a woman, decide to do anything without the authorization of a man. When she asked her husband to retrieve the bark he denied her request,

Personification also contributes to the relationship by making the tree a lively component of the family instead of a passive object in the back yard. A relationship necessitates at least two parties so it is necessary that the tree be a part of the family. At the end of the poem, “the black walnut tree swings into another year” when the family decides to keep it. This shows that the family respects the tree as its own entity and presence. First, this personifies the tree as free and leisurely because swings are usually for play. It also contextualizes the tree as having a

The Giving Tree becomes so absorbed in her concerns for the Boy that she neglects to truly take care of herself. While Silverstein states in the poem that the Giving Tree loved the Boy, all of her subsequent actions benefited the Boy and harmed herself. She was only content when caring for the Boy; she never seemed to be complete by herself. Thus, when the little Boy wanted money, she gave her fruits to him to sell. She gifted her branches to him, so that he could build the house he wanted. Then she gifted her trunk, so that the Boy could sail away in his own boat. By the time the Boy had aged into seniority, he had already reduced the Tree to a stump. In relation to self care, it’s also vitally important to remove toxicity in your life. Somebody who drains you of energy is toxic. The Boy came back time and time again to ask for more, and then would leave her behind

Trees and plants represent life in the novel which ties into the overarching theme of the dehumanization that comes from slavery. Many of the characters in Beloved have been subjected to awful events causing them to feel as if they were worse than animals. Because of this, many characters look to the beauty of nature and trees in particular, to help them heal from their time in slavery. For example, Baby Suggs decided to preach in a place called The Clearing, which is surrounded by tall trees. "In the Clearing, Sethe found Baby's old preaching rock and remembered the smell of leaves simmering in the sun, thunderous feet and the shouts that ripped pods off the limbs of chestnuts. With Baby Suggs' heart in charge, the people let go." (Morrison 94) Another example of trees bringing healing to the characters in the novel is the arrival of Beloved. “A fully dressed woman walked out of the water. She barely gained the dry bank of the stream before she sat down and leaned against a mulberry tree.”(Morrison 60) This tree represents a chance at a new life for Beloved and also offers Sethe a chance to heal. Ever since killing her child, Sethe has been haunted over her decision and she is finally able to confront her past with the appearance of

A search for love is the major theme throughout the novel. The tree represents the stages of love and growth throughout Janie’s life. “Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches” (Hurston 13). During the quest for love, Janie finds that love comes in different forms with different people. In the end, she ends up finding the love for

A tree in John Knowles’s A Separate Peace, symbolizes the true strengths and weaknesses of two boys relationship during World War Two. This specific tree really corresponds with what is doing on with the two boys relationship. When the tree is big and strong the boy’s relationship is really thriving. Once the tree starts to lose branches and weakens the two boy’s relationship starts to weaken as well. Which is implemented all over the book with weak moments in their relationship and strengths.

The tree was a metaphor of the relationship between Phineas and Gene, strong and resilient, but after Finny’s death, indirectly caused by Gene, now only enfeebled and

Shel Silverstein used personification to make the tree into a person and how the tree can show love to the boy and how it can do all this stuff just for the boy to spend time with have you ever had someone take your kindness for weakness? Have you ever had someone use you for your money and good fortune? The tree waits and waits for the boy and the boy only comes every once and a while and when he comes it’s only using the tree for its resources and money. “i am too big to play, i want to buy things and have fun.”

"Blessed is the mother who is able to help her child, at whatever age. This truth about parental happiness is surly known by any loving parents who has been compelled to watch impotently while his child is suffering." The example to prove this statement can be seen all through the story. "The forest is my house, but you may cut of my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy. And so the boy cut of her branches and carried them away to build his house. And the tree was happy." On the other hand, the boy still stays inconsiderate and selfish. He never even once mention to the tree how thankful he is or even a simply "thank you". "The love of the tree for the boy or the man is a selfless love, while the love of the boy for the tree is a selfish love. The boy never tries to help the tree (by pruning, feeding it, et cetera), while the entire being of the tree is devoted to helping the boy meet his most recent need, whether trivial or essential."

As the story goes the boy continues to ask the tree for things. So the tree says "Cut down my trunk, build a boat and sail far way. "Stating that the tree told the boy to cut down the tree's trunk and therefore the boy can make a boat and sail away. In the story it also shows a bit of selfishness of what the boy does. The boy says to the tree "I want a boat, can you give me a boat to sail far away from here."

Would you give up everything you have for a person who once loved you to make them and yourself happy? You most likely would not, so how come this “tree” in the Giving Tree did? Was it because she was naturally selfless? Or because she was so in love with the boy she would give anything she had to him simply because he wanted it? In The Giving Tree Shel Silverstein explains what selfless and being in love means in the form of a tree and a boy.

The Giving Tree one of the number one children’s novels, is a book about a little boy who finds a tree when he is little and loves the tree very much. The boy loves to climb up the apple tree’s trunk, swing from her

What he asked the tree for wasn’t what he really what the boy needs, he is asking for what he wants and not appreciating it. This is evident when the text states, “I want to buy things and have fun. I want some money.” It also states, “I want a house to keep me warm. I want a wife and I want children.” Later on in the text it states, “I want a boat that will take me far away from here.” As you can see, what the boy asks is not out of need, it is out of want and he doesn’t do anything that shows the appreciation of how generous the tree is in giving him what he wants. The author shows that the tree doesn’t feel appreciated by the boys attitude by saying, “And the tore was happy… but not really.” This shows that even though the tree was usually always happy when she gave away herself to the boy, this time she w’s still happy because she helped someone but she was a little sad at the way the boy kind of ignored