Literary Analysis Of 'The Selfish Giant' By Oscar Wilde

The short story “The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde, is reminiscent of the kinds of fairy tales one hears as a child. It is the story of a Giant who closes himself off from others, and learns that the price of selfishness is loneliness. While the outside world enjoys Springs and Summers, the Giant is isolated in his own unceasing Winter. As time goes by, the Giant longs for Springtime, and eventually he realizes how he erred long ago. He opens up his garden so that the children who once played there might return with the Spring along with them. This story teaches the value of love and generosity, and warns that the price of selfishness is loneliness. The overarching theme of “The Selfish Giant” is that love toward others leads to one’s own …show more content…
The story begins in a lush beautiful garden. The beauty is compounded by all the children who love to play and stay in the garden. The Giant returns to his garden after 7 years away, and finds the children playing in his garden. After he drives them away he becomes colder, and the garden begins to reflect him. Once the winter comes around, it refuses to leave and begins inviting its friends to join. The Snow and Frost invite the North Wind. The North Wind invites the Hail. They all stay there and the Giant becomes sad and lonely. The dead of winter mirrored what the Giant had become as person. One day, as the children return to the garden, the spring begins to shine through the winter. The Giant opens up his heart to the children and knocks down the wall. As his sadness dissipates, so does the winter, and soon enough, Spring had fully returned to the garden. The renewed Spring symbolized the Giant at the end of the story, lush and full of …show more content…
This story is a good example of man vs. himself conflict. The Giant starts the story as a cold hearted brute, and soon learns of the consequences of his actions. As the Winter drags on, he wonders why the Spring will not come. His longing for the Spring is a symbol for him longing for other people. At the peak of his isolation, the Spring finally returns to the Garden with the children, but this time, when the Giant sees the children he is not filled with anger, but love. He goes out and plays with the children and knocks down the wall. In his largest act of kindness, he finds a little boy all alone because he is too small to play with the others. The giant lifts the boy into the tree the other kids were playing in, and forms a strong bond with the child. The child disappears for a long period of time and the Giant misses him greatly. Many years later, the Giant finds the child again. The Giant had grown old, but his heart was filled with love. The child, who was most likely a symbol for Jesus Christ, has prints of nails in his hands and feet. The Giant is filled with rage as he wants to know who hurt him. The child calms the Giant and says that since the Giant showed him such kindness, he had earned his way into