The Giving Tree
The Giving Tree is a brilliant little story written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. It was first published in 1964. Shel Silverstein also penned stories like Take Ten (1955), Grab Your Socks! (1956), Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back (1963), A Giraffe and a Half (1964), Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros? (1964), Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974), The Missing Piece Meets the Big O (1981), Falling Up (1996).
The Giving Tree is, however, one of his best known stories.
Once there was a tree … and she loved a little boy.
And every day the boy would come and 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.
And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade.
And the boy loved the tree … very much.
And the tree was happy.But time went by.
And the boy grew older.
And the tree was often alone.
Then one day the boy came to the tree and the tree said, “Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy.”
“I am too big to climb and play,” said the boy.
“I want to buy things and have fun. I want some money. Can you give me some money?”
“I’m sorry,” said the tree, “but I have no money. I have only leaves and apples. Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in the city. Then you will have money and you will be happy.”
And so the boy climbed up the tree and gathered her apples and carried them away.
And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time …and the tree was sad.
And then one day the boy came back and the tree shook with joy and she said, “Come, Boy, climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and be happy.”
“I am too busy to climb trees,” said the boy.
“I want a house to keep me warm,” he said.
“I want a wife and I want children, and so I need a house. Can you give me a house?”
“I have no house,” said the tree.
“The forest is my house, but you may cut off my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy.”
And so the boy cut off her branches and carried them away to build his house.
And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time. And when he came back, the tree was so happy she could hardly speak.
“Come, Boy,” she whispered, “come and play.”
“I am too old and sad to play,” said the boy.
“I want a boat that will take me far away from here. Can you give me a boat?”
“Cut down my trunk and make a boat.” said the tree. “Then you can sail away … and be happy.”
And so the boy cut down her trunk and made a boat and sailed away.
And the tree was happy … but not really.And after a long time the boy came back again.
“I am sorry, Boy,” said the tree, “but I have nothing left to give you, my apples are gone.”“My teeth are too weak for apples”, said the boy.
“My branches are gone”, said the tree. “You cannot swing on them -”
“I am too old to swing on branches,” said the boy.
“My trunk is gone,” said the tree. “You cannot climb -”
“I am too tired to climb,” said the boy.
“I am sorry,” sighed the tree. I wish that I could give you something…but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry….”
“I don’t need very much now,” said the boy,
“Just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired.”
“Well,” said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could,
“Well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest.”And the boy did.
And the tree was happy.
There are different interpretations of this story. Some say the tree is incredibly selfless and self-sacrificing, while others interpret the tree as a metaphor for irresponsible parenting. The boy is seen by some as an insatiable and greedy presence that only takes what he can from the tree and never reciprocates. Others see the boy as the innocent object of a deep nurture and love that is finally reciprocated when the boy return to the tree as an old man who simply wants to rest with the tree. There is validity to each of these interpretations.
Personally, I think The Giving Tree is a story that actually invites the reader to situate him or herself in the story. Once there the question then becomes, “Am I the tree or the boy? Is it one or the other, or am I both?”
So, are you the tree, the boy, or both? Is that a good or bad thing? Think about it.
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I really, really dislike this book. Mostly because the boy never considers the needs of the tree. Even at the end when he just wants to sit, the desires are his. Worse, the tree repeatedly invites him to take more and more of *her* without asking anything in return.
If the tree is a God image, then it’s a nonbiblical one. In Psalms and elsewhere in the Bible, God wants something–praise, honor, respect.
Even as a young person, I never cared very much for this … I always thought that the Boy was thoughtless and careless. I felt let down by the story.
As an adult I read it and think, wow … that’s not really a very healthy relationship. One might almost say it’s abusive in nature … certainly the Boy seems sort of narcissistic in his desire to fill his own needs at the expense of his friend’s.
Is it really a parent/child relationship? Or could it be seen more as a peer relationship? Since they seem to age together …
Anyway … it’s bizarre and I don’t particularly care for it. So I never had Shel Silverstein in the house for my kids. Bad mom …
@Julia, @Sonja – Thank you for you thoughts on this story. They (your thoughts) are intriguing and totally valid. Like I said, there are people who really dislike the book and there are people who see it a bit differently, from a different angle. I’m not saying that one is better than the other, because I can’t really say such a thing. It’s all about reader interpretation, after all. And that is exactly what I’m thinking about the most. Silverstein wrote the story in a way that is totally fixed on reader response, I think. Maybe it’s in the reader’s response that the story actually works … It may or may not be pleasant, but I think that’s the point. That’s my take on it.