Preview

Shel Silverstein's 'The Giving Tree: Deep Meaning'

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
515 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Shel Silverstein's 'The Giving Tree: Deep Meaning'
The Giving Tree : Deep Meaning

Do you want something so so bad like a video game or new clothes? Even if you think you haven’t, you probably have. We always want the new thing as soon as it comes out. Sometimes our parents will say no and most will think they have terrible parents and they will feel like they never get what they want. Before you ask yourself what you don’t have ask yourself what you do have.In The Giving Tree, Shel Silverstein uses the character of the tree to represent one’s parents.
The first way I see the tree representing a parent is of how much it gives even when it almost has nothing to give.This happens all the time, not always to me but I see it a lot. Some kids at school always want to get what other kids think is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Giver by Lois Lowry includes a major concept of Freedom. Freedom may come easily to some people but in The Giver people don´t have the freedom of choice or even the freedom to express feelings , they get to make no choice such as what they would like to do as a career, who they would like to marry additionally their not even allowed to love someone let alone expressing it. The Giver reveals the horrible outcomes of a community which has relinquished their freedom to secure its safety. In this essay the points which will be stated include…

    • 100 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Tree of Red Stars, by Tessa Bridal, presents many themes throughout the story. The story itself is of Magdalena Ortega Grey growing up in Uruguay as it is taken over by a military dictatorship. It chronicles not only her life, but the life of the poor, the social injustices of this time and the revolt against it. One of the themes contained in this novel is that of the activism of students. Students are the leaders of this revolt, they lead the Tupamaros. Students are displayed as the activists working for change. This can be compared to any college campus as university students are usually much more active politically than other groups of people in society.…

    • 506 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene Forrester and Phineas, also known as Finny, are best friends who have a very deep friendship. However, as the story progresses, Gene began to develop feelings of jealousy for Finny when he saw how perfect Finny’s character is. Finny has always been able to talk his way out of trouble and is naturally a good athlete who is earnest, confident, & pure. On the other hand, Gene cannot be pure like Finny and feels insecure. Seeing how good Finny is, caused Gene to become jealous, “I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything, I couldn’t help envying him…” (ch2.20) Soon, Gene thinks that a rivalry is happening between them. Because Gene envies Finny’s character, he thinks that Finny is also jealous of him for his good academic performance, “I felt better. Yes, I sensed it like the sweat of relief …We were even after all… The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all.”(ch4.34). By thinking there is a competition between them, Gene feels at ease, because none of them is better than the other. One night, Finny announced that Leper will jump off the tree, in order to become a full member of their secret society. Gene didn’t want to go because he feared his grade would slip if he didn’t study and also thinks that Leper wouldn’t dare to jump off the tree. After hearing from Gene that he wanted to study, Finny was surprise because he thought that Gene was naturally intelligent, who doesn’t need to review for a test. With sincerity, Finny lets Gene study, but Gene changed his mind and would come along with Finny. On the way to the tree,Gene realizes that a competition never happened and it was just Gene that was envious of Finny. Because Gene saw Finny's goodness and innocence, Gene realizes a rivalry with Finny will never occur. Gene began…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why spend it [money]?’” Stuever then points out that regardless of that, she still “likes the tradition.” This is the rhetorical strategy of allegory, because there is a deeper meaning there. It connects to the overarching theme because it highlights the fact that shopping can indeed be a tradition. Even though Carroll feels as if no one wants anything big that’s going to be worth buying, she still likes the tradition. It’s a “wet and unappealing morning,” so it’s very easy for Carroll to just stay home and not spend any money, but it’s a tradition that her and her daughter, Marissa, have created and they thoroughly enjoy doing it together. They even say that it felt as if it wasn’t the same, but they still do it. It’s the same thing with a family that has a traditional tradition, such as a Christmas tree or Christmas lights. Every single year, regardless of how they feel or where they’re at, they are always going to put up a Christmas tree. Carroll and Marissa like the tradition of shopping, and they will continue to do it.…

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shel Silverstein wrote a children’s book that can be perceived through multiple critical lenses, from historical to feminist to psychological. In the Giving Tree he uses personification, metaphor, and allusions to depict the psychological impact of growing up with someone who was different than him but whom he shared a special bond with.

 Silverstein begins by using personification to describe the tree's constant giving and dedication. Throughout the life of the tree, she ultimately sacrifices and gives everything she has to the boy symbolizing both compassion and love. She continues this pattern throughout her entire life and his entire life which is why Silverstein may have portrayed her as a woman. Throughout history women have been…

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Micheal Pollan's "Playing God in the Garden" addresses the many unseen aspects of farming and the technologies that are being designed to make planting effortless and safe. Pollan discusses how New Leaf (the plant company which has created the new biotechnological seeds) advertises a safer and less expensive way of farming, while concealing the harmful aspects of its product.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Our Christmas tree was never even an inch under eight feet, and it took the whole family hours to decorate it. Each year one of us was honored by being allowed to place the angel at the top of the tree, while Father help us up in his strong arms.” (Pelzer 22). This passage is a simile because this is how we are in Christmas, our tree would be long and it takes us a whole hour to decorate it. We are allowed to place the star on top of the tree, and that is what’s amazing about it. This brought my attention and interested me because it showed how good the mother was to her children and hoe kind she treated them, because the name of the chapter called Good Times. It also shows that the kid remember how good she was and then how she turned…

    • 159 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    All can relate to that one special time of the year, Christmas, when whole families unite and spend hours endlessly sharing stories, making memories, and of course, opening presents! What happens though, when all of the sentimental value of Christmas is replaced solely with physical value, the gifts? What would Christmas be like then? Richard Rodriguez takes the readers through one of his annual Christmases and brings to light, through his thoughts, the disconnect that exists between himself, his siblings, and his parents. Rodriguez’ chronological presentation of events with flashbacks, short, abrupt syntax, light-hearted attention to detail and concerned tone contribute to suggest his worried attitude toward his family.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While reading the poem The Gift by Murielle Minard for the first time, I felt angry at first. I was upset at the fact that she was not allowed to play with the doll. If she received the doll as a gift, why can’t she play with it? She was only allowed to hold it in her arms, “…not to disturb its perfection in any way” (Minard, 1984). In my mind, she is a seven year old girl and if she receives a toy as a gift, why can’t she play with it any way she wants? And then, once her mother felt the daughter had played with her doll for an appropriate amount of time, she would, “rewrap it carefully in tissue, put it back into its own long, gray box and place it high on the closet shelf safe from harm” (Minard, 1984). The daughter is not allowed to play with it how she wants or when she wants. While it was frustrating for me to just read about it, one can only imagine how maddening it is for a seven year old girl to be told not to play with her new doll.…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shel Silverstein's Story

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Shel Silverstein was removed from the University of Illinois because of his lack in keeping his academic high ("Learnodo Newtonic", 2015). Shel Silverstein says it best in his words “What you’ve got to say, you say”("BrainyQuote"). Shel Silverstein was more than a poet, he was a songwriter, a poet, musician, composer, cartoonist, and a screenwriter. Shel Silverstein has sold over 18 million copies of book and it is 20 different kinds of languages. Shel Silverstein was a poet who wrote music and different types of stories.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    ‘Generosity is not just about the giving of money’. How is this idea explored in a Christmas carol?…

    • 1130 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lois Lowry's The Giver

    • 310 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Why is their society, in The Giver so different than ours? Their society is so different because they think that they can make their world perfect. We all know that no one is perfect so what makes it so different? In Lois Lowry’s book The Giver their family unit interacts with each other on a day-to-day basis and has both similarities and differences in our family unit which is better than theirs because ours does not have a limit of children, do not have required time shares, and we like to keep track of age.…

    • 310 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One major theme in A Christmas Carol was entrenched in Dickens' observations of the plight of the children of London's poor. The second of the Three Spirits introduces Scrooge to two “wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable” children. Using stark language the spirit explains mankind’s responsibility for the children who are known as Want and Ignorance. Scrooge, clearly appalled by the condition of the children, asks the spirit if they were his and Scrooge receives the answer, “'They are Man's,' said the Spirit, looking down upon them. ‘And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.” His warning is to acknowledge that they exist but do not care for them. Dickens tells us to beware of ignorance more than want. This is because it demonstrates the cause of the problem. If our poor are not educated, they have no chance to escape the cycle of poverty. Want, or hunger and need,…

    • 659 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The free verse novel ‘The Simple Gift’ is about Billy Luckett, a sixteen-year-old boy who decides to leave home, as he felt he was isolated from everyone else. Billy finds his security, peace and identity in the natural environment but is also shown throughout the novel that he does not give up to be a part of something or someone as he continues to strive to see the good side to others.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Children are born without any sort of knowledge and eagerly look for someone to imitate. That someone is usually their parents. Parents are a child’s first role models. They learn how to behave by seeing what their parents do and follow by example.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays