The Giving Tree, By Shel Silverstein

The tree would love to play with the boy. From page 5 through 10 it shows how much the boy and the tree would play together. It shows all the things they would do when the boy was younger. "...he would gather her leaves and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples. And they would play hide-and-go-seek." It is like how a mother and son play a lot together when he is young. All the things the boy and the tree would do, the mother and son do also. A mother also takes care of her child.

The lesson is how no matter how different we seem, we all have a lot in common in terms of grief

Annie Dillard, in “A Christmas Story,” expresses the difference between seeing and understanding, and simply looking without understanding. She begins the story by describing an extravagant banquet. This banquet took place in a hall filled with chandeliers, decorated tables, and centerpieces. Young adults and adolescents were present, while musicians entertained the guests.

In the book “ The Giving Tree” Shel Silverstein wrote “Cut down my trunk and make a boat. Then you can sail away… and be happy” She immediately gave her trunk away to make the boy feel happy. She didn’t even think about how the boy was going to use the wood to sail far away from her. The Giving Tree gave up many things for the boy and not once thought about what she wanted. In “ The Giver” Shel Silverstein also wrote “ And the tree was happy… but not really.” The giving tree gave up so many things for the boy. But each time she gave up something for the boy and then he immediately left, and it made her feel heartbroken. To avoid being heart broken the Giving Tree could easily not give the boy anything but because she cares more about the boy than herself she continued to hurt herself just to make the boy happy. The Giving Tree let boy take everything from her no matter what. She never once thought about herself, which lead some people to think she was strong, but if you never second guess yourself and stand up for yourself, you aren't taking chances. You aren't standing up for what is right. Giving tree loved the boy so much that she never thought to second guess herself and do the right

In the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines there are many themes and motifs to be taught. A reader could acquire so much knowledge from reading this book but if anything they will learn the most important lesson to learn before dying. The most important lesson to learn before dying is that everybody can make a difference in life. Three characters that learned this lesson includes Vivian, when she helped Grant when he was having hard times, Grant Wiggins, when he knew that he accomplished his goal which was helping Jefferson regain his humanity and Jefferson, when he realizes himself that he has much more potential than a hog.

In a society where hardships occur daily, it is vital to have something to hold on to as an anchor. This reliance or commitment is in the form of friends, family, or even tangible possessions; however, humans sometimes have to fulfill deeds for others instead of continually thinking of themselves. Given these obligations, there results both a need and a desire to complete certain tasks for other individuals, for a community, or even for a higher power. In his novel, A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines quite successfully portrays the theme of the importance of obligation and commitment through presenting an effective setting and community, constructing strong relationships between characters, and providing

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

Nature’s beauty and bountifulness has been exploited by humans since the beginning of time. The simple story of Shel Silvertein’s, “The Giving Tree”, seems like a leisurely tale of a relationship between a boy and a tree. However, this book can be analyzed in several different ways, resulting in multiple interpretations. My own view of the story is quite cynical. I believe this story is an allegory of the destructive relationship between mankind and nature.

As a child matures, the word “lesson” can hold two different connotations. One meaning denotes a traditional portion of a school day dedicated to a specific subject, such as a biology lesson. This lesson is based on facts that are generally gleaned from a textbook or transmitted by a teacher who has been certified in some way. Another type of lesson is that which helps the recipient either live a life of fuller satisfaction or gain some practical knowledge that can help others, either physically or emotionally. This type of lesson can be passed along by anyone, regardless of age or training. However, quite often, one associates this type of knowledge with those who have lived long enough to absorb such “life lessons.” The novel, Oral History by Lee Smith and the poem, “Fishing Among the Learned” by Nikky Finney take two distinct and separate forms, but each work is separated into individual sections and focuses on an elderly female character who fulfills the role of an all-knowing sage, relying on nature and rituals to teach younger generations the importance of a type of knowledge that cannot be learned in an academic setting.

Would you trade safety for freedom? In the book, The Giver, by Lois Lowry that is exactly the choice the people in this book had to face. The people who created the community were called, “Founders”. The Founders main goal in creating their community was to get rid of hurt and anger and gain peace and safety for all the people. There is a price for safety and happiness. Communities should be willing to let go of some of their liberties in order to live in a more peaceful and safe society. The Founders in this book took many measures to ensure safety for their community.

Elvis Presley once said, “Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain 't goin ' away.” Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave relates to this quote by focusing on the truths of reality that humans do not comprehend. We think that we understand what we are seeing in our world, but we really just perceive shadows of the true forms of the things that make up the world. We are ignorant about the true nature of reality. The novel, The Giver, by Lois Lowry also involves these concepts. The main character, Jonas, lives in a community of conformity and conflict. When he begins to spend time and train with The Giver, an old man who is the only keeper of the community 's memories, Jonas discovers the unsafe truths of his community 's secret past. Once Jonas discovers the reality about his community, it constantly pesters him until he makes an important decision. Jonas realizes that he must escape from his world in order to make a long needed change for his community. As the prisoner from The Allegory of the Cave seeks knowledge outside of the cave, Jonas from The Giver discovers dark and deadly truths of his community’s secret past that will change his life forever.

We hear it all the time “it’s better to give than to receive,” from our parents, teachers, preachers, everybody we look up to for guidance and advice, but until you experience it first hand—it’s just words!

"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."

This tree ends up being the worst for Finny. Finny and Gene leave school without permission and go to the beach. Gene ends up being late for a test and which he fails. Gene blames Finny for this incident because Gene realizes that Finny was doing this so Finny could be at the top of the class instead of Gene. Finny wants to be the best at everything. Finny and Gene one night decide to take a jump off of the tree and tragedy occurs. John Knowles writes, "Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step toward him, and then my knees bent and I jounced the limb." With the limb being jounced Finny falls down and hits the ground causing him to shatter his leg. His shattered leg prevents him from playing sports for the rest of his life.

As a child I was taught to be polite and to never use obscenities, that there are many words within the English language that I can use to express myself and this was enforce by family and teachers and I was aware of the consequences of disobeying rules set forth. A core principle that was instilled in me was to always ask for something, but most importantly the value of earning and deserving of getting rewards, that nothing in life that is not earned without hard work and sacrifice. In earning these rewards one can appreciate hard work and know the value of hard work. Another important value taught to me as child is to be willing to share with others and that there is joy and fulfillment in sharing and an appreciation for what you have and not to covet things your neighbors have. I had to learn to appreciate what I had and show that appreciation and that has carried over into my adult life wherein I appreciate gifts and people and I am very thankful for those in my life. I am very careful of the friends I keep as one of the things instilled in me is that the people you surround yourself is a reflection of the person you are.