The Black Walnut Tree Mary Oliver Summary

Trees stand there, not saying a word, frozen. Melinda doesn’t talk a substantial amount in her class and social life, therefore, it is like she is frozen, not speaking. A dead tree can represent how Melinda wasn’t able to speak, the leaves on the dead tree are still clinging onto it, hoping it can live longer. Like that, Melinda would cling onto the idea that she would return to her happy self, maybe being able to freely express herself again. During Melinda’s science class, she draws a willow tree drooping into the water, this represents her sadness. “I look out the window. No limos... Now when I really want to leave, no one will give me a ride. I sketch a willow tree drooping into the water” (page 147). This shows how the willow tree expresses her negative emotion without saying a word. When Melinda’s dad was chopping down their tree; of course, it couldn’t say anything because it is only a tree. “ He is killing the tree... The tree is dying... There’s nothing to do or say. We watch in silence as the tree crashes piece by piece to the damp ground,” (page 187). This shows that when Melinda got raped, she did not say anything, instead she was dying inside, depression taking over. A tree in its various stages was an object that describes Melinda’s freshman year from the beginning to the

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."

Hirshfield writes this poem in second person to give life to the poem so that the poem speaks to the reader. The poem starts by accusing the reader of letting the redwood grow near the house. “It is foolish” (line 1) lets the reader know that nature should not be growing this close to your home. Hirshfield takes the liberty to talk straight to the reader through the speaker in telling them that it is nonsense to let nature be so close to a material object such as a house. The reader can visually see a “young redwood// grow next to a house” (line 2, 3). The tree starts to symbolize the beauty of nature growing against the materialistic world.

The diction in the excerpt is an essential component to the dramatization of the plot’s central incident. Jewett uses rich language to intensify the simple nature of the main character Sylvia’s journey up a “great pine-tree.” For example, in describing the tree, the narrator uses personification as he mentions the “huge tree asleep yet in the paling moonlight.” The use of personification harkens back to those universal moments in childhood in which everything alive had human feelings, and creates an emotional attachment between the reader and the tree. Jewett also uses other figurative language, like similes, to relate the grandeur of the tree to the audience. She writes, “It [the tree] was like a great main-mast to the voyaging earth…” In comparing the tree to the great mast of a ship, the author invokes feelings of awe at its size.

Trees are important not only physically but also spiritually and for many this fact is lost. Physically trees provide humans with beauty and a healthy ecosystem. Spiritually trees provide humans a connection to nature. Their importance has been lost in our modern times as humans further separate themselves from nature. While forgotten by many, their actions still resonate. The two modern poems “The Tree Agreement” by Elise Paschen and “Living Tree” by Robert Morgan trumpet the value trees hold in comparable ways. In the poem “The Tree Agreement” the speaker argues for the benefits of the Siberian Elm against a disagreeing neighbor. By structuring the poem in this manner, the poet highlights how people are blind to the services trees provide while simultaneously highlighting said services. The tree is portrayed almost as a friend or ally to the speaker. The speaker describes not only to the significance of the tree to humans like the neighbor and the speaker but also to the other living creatures surrounding them. The poem “Living Tree” focuses on the actions performed by trees in cemeteries. This poem follows a more spiritual route when compared to Paschen’s poem. This poem describes the process those who have been buried go through and the role trees play in this process. The trees in this poem are portrayed as lightning rods for the chemicals and spirits of the dead. This relationship is portrayed positively, as the trees are a monument to the passing of life. These poems

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,

Both speakers ply nature as setting to express their emotion.the speaker in the poem “The Lonely Land”apply “cedar and jagged fir’s action” as setting to express the lonely environment of the poem and the negative attitude.

The narrator's vision of her ancestors expanding a plentiful life is emphasized with the picturesque “blue fields…with leaves and vines and orchards.” This then strikes the narrator with the realization that cutting down the tree would be a betrayal to their ancestors, their dreams and the demise of the heritage of the

Many people believe that this mimics Whitman's life. Living in a life of social separation much of the time, he still managed to succeed not only with his writing, but also in life itself. However, in line five Whitman goes on to say that he wonders how the tree could grow such joyous leaves while being alone. He himself says that he could not survive if put in the same situation. Whitman did however lead a joyous and happy life in many peoples opinion, even though he did not enjoy the social life many other had during his lifetime. His own opinion of himself not being lonely may be frayed in order to spare the image he proposes to the public in his writings. The next few lines are interesting because of the way they could possible spell out Whitman's life. In the poem, he breaks of a twig, wraps some moss around it, and takes it to he room and places it in plain view. This may parallel his life by way of his memory. The twig may represent pieces of his memory that were enjoyable to him. He then takes the twig and places it in his room signifying that he wants to be able to constantly see those fond memories. Again Whitman replies by saying he did not do this to remind him of his friends, but in reality he may have just said this to help keep a good report with his readers about his lifestyle.

As she is developing, she is tantalized by the societal norms he represents. She is ready to give up the backwoods (a symbol of herself) for all he (a symbol of society) has to offer. Convinced of that, she sets off to find the secret of the elusive white heron and in order to find the heron, she had to climb to what was literally the top of the world for her, the top of the pine tree. The world from the top was different than the city and it was different from the woods at ground level. From the top her perspective about the world changed, it was vast and awesome, and she understood her place in it more than before. She understood it to mean more than to sacrifice her own self for the gifts this man had to offer that were tantalizing but incapitable with her personality and true self.

The poem then continues with the main metaphor of the piece with a comparison of himself with a live-oak. The poet explains this tree as this beautiful, untamed piece of nature, that is complex, and these characteristics remind Whitman of himself. This is an example of him rejoicing in his originality and the poet’s word choice of the oak being “rude” is used as a way to highlight how his sexuality is frowned upon by society, especially during his time of the late 1800s, over a century before the LGBTQ community began to have a respected voice, but he still can acknowledge, without shame, the beauty he sees in himself and thus his sexual identity, that does not cater to popular opinion. His message soon shifts when he reveals the difference between himself and the oak tree, for the oak is able to thrive on it’s own. Whitman repeats the same ideology of the beginning of the poem of his desire for both friendship and love when he states,

What did that tree, leaning out from the bank, all white and lacy, make you think of? She asked. Well now, I dunno, said Matthew. Why a bride, of course- a bride all in white with a lovely misty veil.” (Montgomery, 65-66) It is identified here how nature pleases Anne’s eye. The way in which she is able to take a tree branch and bring it to life by imagining that is connected with something beautiful like a bride. It doesn’t only suggest her inquisitive imagination, but also her intellect. With using the enjoyments of nature to foster a desire, and with her perceptive vision she is capable of imagining the branch as something else. Through its beauty and emphasis on colour she can make a connection that the tree branch can be compared to a bride. It is crucial how Anne doesn’t take the natural sights of Avonlea for granted, because she values the power of self-expression in nature. Through her imagination with nature she is able to seek comfort. This is seen on her first night in Avonlea, when she’s afraid no one will come for her, so she turns to a tree as her home, where she can sleep. She states, “I had made up my mind that if you didn’t come for me and to-night I’d go down the track to that big wild cherry-tree at the bend, and climb up into it to stay all night.” (Montgomery, 64) This scene represents how Anne is reliant on nature. Instead of being afraid that no one has yet to pick her up she uses nature to occupy her time. She is inspired by nature to

This poem is about how the author has changed from his youth, focusing on his past conviction and attitude. Benjamin compares himself to a tree and aggrandizes his youth by asking “What is a storm in the face of a stubborn tree?” (Saenz 39). The author uses this tree metaphor to express his past as being stubborn, unmoving, and strong-minded. Then he looks back at his ideas prior and states “The man who wrote those words is gone, dead and glad too” (Saenz 39). The use of hyperbole emphasizes his dramatic change from his younger alteration to his current self. He is no longer a man against the world like the tree against the storm. This can be supported by a sentence in the end, “He dreamed a tree, leafless, standing alone in a windless night” (Saenz 39). This imagery implies that the author is done changing; his battle with the storm is over and he has victoriously survived. There is no clarification if the protagonist had any clear regrets however, it is obvious from the overall tone of the poem he is glad to have blossomed into his current version. His past reminds him that he is stronger than

“The Black Walnut Tree” by Mary Oliver begins with the line “My mother and I debate”. There are two characters introduced: the narrator and her mother. In a typical family, there is a mother, daughter, and father. The lack of a father in this introduction stands out. This is furthered by the line “two women trying / in a difficult time to be wise”. The author highlights the lack of the father once again by saying “two women”, in order to clearly demonstrate the lack of male, fatherly figure. Lacking a fatherly figure makes the phrase “a difficult time” more meaningful; it implies that not only has the family become poor, the family has also lost its patriarch. Later in the poem, however, the narrator “dream[s] / of my fathers out of Bohemia / filling the blue fields”. The author uses alliteration here with “blue” and “Bohemia”, and even further back with “brighter” and “blood”. The use of the letter b is kind of forceful and proud, which entails with the message the poem is sending. The imagery in this part of the poem is also very vivid. The narrator says that her ancestors planted and by imagining it, she implies that she believes that they planted the walnut tree in her backyard. Instead of using “ancestors”, the author chooses to use the word “fathers”. This use of metonymy fills the gap in the family of two women from earlier. Knowing that there is no father in the picture, this revelation of ancestors as fathers makes the ancestors far more

The young man appeared to be loitering, his dulled eyes occupied by the presence of the trees finery. Yet what proceeded next was somewhat of a curiosity for the trees and their gnarled and lifeless branches. The man had outstretched his withdrawn hand and began tracing the barks imperfections. ‘What a pretty tree that accompanies me.’ His voice had resonated the woods composure for the man had spoken with the kindest of lips; soft and sweet yet untampered by bitterness. The woods itself was grazed by such tenderness, for it was used to the silence a lifeless being endures. However this raggedy man’s eyes lacked the tenderness his hands had created. They were dull, impassive . The young man reached behind his back, a place where a woods with such short sightedness could not see. The man brought his hand forward. Within his feeble hand was an axe. ‘That beauty you own, I will create you into the perfect gift for my love.’ He said as his axe was swung from loving and delicate hands.