Literary Annalysis - The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein has been repeatedly analyzed by students and readers alike since it's publishing date in 1964. Focused at children, it's simplistic wording carries undertones of love, generosity and sadness that resignates with readers of all ages. Although every analysis based on this book differs in various ways, there is no denying the basic give and take relationship dynamics that Shel Silverstein so adequately displays in this story regardless of his determination to let his readers interpret the story however their own mind chooses.

Silverstein was known in his time for being a bit of a traveling loner, remaining a bachelor for his entire life regardless of various encounters and short lived relationships over the globe with women. As any of his fans would know, Shel's works always hold so much meaning even from a quick simple read but once the reader delves into his actual life, studying what kind of man he really was to those of his personal companions, then a clearer understanding of his stories such as The Giving Tree shines through from the eyes and heart of the man who wrote them.

Being one of his best known books, Shel had been asked repeatedly during interviews and while meeting fans to verify exactly what the symbolism and meaning is behind The Giving Tree but in every case he simply answered "It's about a boy and a tree." ( ). Shel had a way of forcing his audience to interpret his stories however they chose, a quirk of his that still causes readers to easily identify with the stories in their own lives, often viewing themselves as the main character and the symbolism in the stories as metaphors for what they experience in their own lives.

The Giving Tree is a great example of this. At first glance the book seems as just another simple children's book, located in the children's sections of bookstores and libraries. Small in size with only a few words per page in a language even the youngest of children could understand, it is an easy and quick read but as the story progresses the raw emotion from the simple words and sentence structure holds a magic to evoke feelings in children and adults alike. Suddenly, The Giving Tree is not just another children's book but a mirror into the depths of your own relationships or lack thereof.

The give and take relationship dynamic is fairly easy to recognize in the story and arguably one of the fundamental interactions in any relationship, weather it be in a romantic sense, a friendly sense, or a parental sense. This book can be understood to explain all three. Reading the story as a child, the first instinct is the parental love between the lines of the story, the tree being the mother or father figure who constantly gives of herself just to see the boy happy, sacrificing her own well being and comfort just to see a smile on the little boy's face. This is parallel to the sacrifices we make for our children, wanting only for them to be happy in their lives.

The romantic sense of the give and take relationship is one that becomes more apparent as the reader ages, venturing off into romantic endeavors, realizing that it's the ones we love the most that we will sacrifice everything we are for them just to make them happy. With no other reason for why we do it besides the overused term of 'love', it simply comes naturally to be the tree, to blind ourselves to the outside world, blind ourselves to the fact that there are more little boys that won't eat all our apples or cut down our trunks, blind ourselves to it all only wanting to feel the prescense of that boy, to give him everything he could ever ask for just so he can be happy.

The Giving Tree is a book for the ages, maybe originally intended for children but like so many other's of Silverstein's books, the message rings true no matter the age group. And maybe every time you read it, you will find a new message, a new way to analyze the meaning behind it.