Literary Analysis: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Have you ever gone back to read the books that you once read as a kid? Did you grasp the message the book has the same way? Many people interpret books differently no matter what age they might be. While others think a book is controversial and should be censored, individuals may have an opposite view. For instance, the book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is viewed in different ways. This story is about a female tree and a boy that can communicate with each other. They love each other and over the course of the boy’s life, he returns to her and she gives him all she has in order to make him happy; thus, making herself happy when he is. Silverstein’s use of the fable genre serves the …show more content…
They can learn about generosity, unconditional love, self-sacrifice, and about life. One learns generosity because the tree gives to the boy and she is happier making others happy. This also shows self-sacrifice because she gives him things that she has and she gives him a big piece of herself. Just look how happy she was because she was able to give to the boy and see him. This is expressed by “And when he came back, the tree was so happy she could hardly speak” (Silverstein 26). She was always happy when he was there and when she was able to give him what he wanted. The boy may have seemed happy at first but at the end, those gifts didn’t keep him happy for long. He always came back for something else. On the same note as before, happiness comes from giving rather than receiving. The unconditional love is seen by the trees love towards the boy. It is important to realize this love because look where loving too little got the boy. If everyone acted on love like the tree, we would all be better off. There wouldn’t be so much unhappiness in this world. The boy always went back to the tree in search for happiness. He always felt that possessions and money is what would make him happy when that was really never the case. If he gave like he received, he would have been …show more content…
According to the Reading Partners website, it states “The Giving Tree was banned from a public library in Colorado in 1988 because it was interpreted as being sexist” (Cleveland). People view this book as sexist because how much the Boy took and took from the female tree without giving back. Individuals think that it is demonstrating an abusive relationship between a male and female along with man to nature. The boy is also very narcissistic, and the story shows codependency. Along with that, it also shows greed. The Boy took each thing the Tree gave him and it was never enough. He was greedy and he was never satisfied. Lastly, people feel like giving to others inevitably detracts from what you give to yourself. Nevertheless, I disagree with this banning because I feel that the morals and lessons outweigh any controversial element this book might have. As a matter of fact, I doubt any child would turn into a selfish human being after reading this story. The Boy is an example of bad behavior but that doesn’t mean kids will follow it. This story teaches the reality of the world. The Boy is human and he takes without even saying thank you. At some point, each individual does this. They might be the taker or may even be the giver but that is life. This book has so much lessons one can learn and it shouldn’t be banned because of the little controversial stuff people pick out. It has way more
Have you ever gone back to read the books that you once read as a kid? Did you grasp the message the book has the same way? Many people interpret books differently no matter what age they might be. While others think a book is controversial and should be censored, individuals may have an opposite view. For instance, the book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is viewed in different ways. This story is about a female tree and a boy that can communicate with each other. They love each other and over the course of the boy’s life, he returns to her and she gives him all she has in order to make him happy; thus, making herself happy when he is. Silverstein’s use of the fable genre serves the …show more content…
They can learn about generosity, unconditional love, self-sacrifice, and about life. One learns generosity because the tree gives to the boy and she is happier making others happy. This also shows self-sacrifice because she gives him things that she has and she gives him a big piece of herself. Just look how happy she was because she was able to give to the boy and see him. This is expressed by “And when he came back, the tree was so happy she could hardly speak” (Silverstein 26). She was always happy when he was there and when she was able to give him what he wanted. The boy may have seemed happy at first but at the end, those gifts didn’t keep him happy for long. He always came back for something else. On the same note as before, happiness comes from giving rather than receiving. The unconditional love is seen by the trees love towards the boy. It is important to realize this love because look where loving too little got the boy. If everyone acted on love like the tree, we would all be better off. There wouldn’t be so much unhappiness in this world. The boy always went back to the tree in search for happiness. He always felt that possessions and money is what would make him happy when that was really never the case. If he gave like he received, he would have been …show more content…
According to the Reading Partners website, it states “The Giving Tree was banned from a public library in Colorado in 1988 because it was interpreted as being sexist” (Cleveland). People view this book as sexist because how much the Boy took and took from the female tree without giving back. Individuals think that it is demonstrating an abusive relationship between a male and female along with man to nature. The boy is also very narcissistic, and the story shows codependency. Along with that, it also shows greed. The Boy took each thing the Tree gave him and it was never enough. He was greedy and he was never satisfied. Lastly, people feel like giving to others inevitably detracts from what you give to yourself. Nevertheless, I disagree with this banning because I feel that the morals and lessons outweigh any controversial element this book might have. As a matter of fact, I doubt any child would turn into a selfish human being after reading this story. The Boy is an example of bad behavior but that doesn’t mean kids will follow it. This story teaches the reality of the world. The Boy is human and he takes without even saying thank you. At some point, each individual does this. They might be the taker or may even be the giver but that is life. This book has so much lessons one can learn and it shouldn’t be banned because of the little controversial stuff people pick out. It has way more