Shel Silverstein Thesis

The novel Speak by Laurie Hales Anderson shows Melinda Sordino struggling through the year, and her recovery from the painful memory of getting raped at the party in summer break. In the beginning of the story, the story shows how bad Melinda feels and then she changes and starts growing and at the final stage of the story Melinda becomes a strong hard oaktree-like person. In the book Speak, the author symbolizes the tree to show Melinda’s change from being an outcast to being an accepted person; this also supports the theme: time can help heal one’s painful memories.In the beginning of the year, her trees looked like trees that existed nowhere on earth, but by the end of the year, her trees were breathing and looked as if they had shot up

With the honest tone that can be considered trustworthy because of how blunt it is and the emotional diction that gives a better understanding of how the characters feel, the reader can see that the boy appreciates the tree while the girl does not pay particular attention to it. Following the tree the siblings pay attention to, it also serves as a romantic symbol in the excerpt and is a specific selection of

The tree represents Gene’s growth in maturity and age from being a teenager who is frightened by the magnitude of the tree to an adult who looks at it as unthreatening and small. Whilst revisiting the tree as an adult, Gene utters that the tree reminds him of the enemies of childhood that, once faced again, seem insignificant (14). When Gene is reflecting upon the first time he jumped off of the tree, he states the tree “flooded [Gene] with a sensation of alarm all the

In terms of conceptual discrepancies, one of the most important notions to consider is the “social definition of ‘need’” (p. 166). This idea of needing material objects and being satisfied

The book opens up to an adult Gene, visiting his old school years later. He comes back after fifteen years to get closure. He visits the buildings that were once so familiar to him, and reflects on how he’s changed, and the constant state of fear that had been so familiar then. But the main reason for his visit is to see the tree. There is a tone of regret as he remembers what happened so long ago, and how it all started.

The tree was a metaphor of the relationship between Phineas and Gene, strong and resilient, but after Finny’s death, indirectly caused by Gene, now only enfeebled and

Personification also contributes to the relationship by making the tree a lively component of the family instead of a passive object in the back yard. A relationship necessitates at least two parties so it is necessary that the tree be a part of the family. At the end of the poem, “the black walnut tree swings into another year” when the family decides to keep it. This shows that the family respects the tree as its own entity and presence. First, this personifies the tree as free and leisurely because swings are usually for play. It also contextualizes the tree as having a

“There are no happy endings. Endings are the saddest part, so just give me a happy middle and a very happy start”(Every Thing On It). Shel Silverstein is a guy who creates many well thought out and likeable poems, stories within magazines and books, and songs. Within Silverstein’s writings of every variety, one can truly feel close to who he was. Silverstein uses unique and humorous storylines with lots of thought and character. Silverstein knows how to incorporate his own style to everything he does and tell a worthwhile story to those reading. One can truly learn from the wonderful life of Shel Silverstein.

“I would hope that people, no matter what age, would find something to identify with my books…,” Shel Silverstein. (Ward 13) Throughout Shel Silverstein’s books he writes things that seem like a simple poem, but when the poems are deciphered they reveal a much deeper meaning. A situation may seem like a silly story about magic, but in reality it is a situation that encourages people to reach their full potential and take all they can from life. This also alludes to the fact that individuals can change the world by simply being themselves and portraying a positive image about themselves to the world. Furthermore, Shel Silverstein’s books encourage people to be themselves and to not let others influence how they think of themselves. Through Silverstein’s various works he has encouraged all age groups to embrace their individuality and he has taught people various life lessons through a more understandable medium.

In the middle of the book we see that the boy is starting to look like a man and pays the tree a visit and the tree asks if he wanted to play with her like read a book or swing from her branches and the boy says he wants a house and a family,

Granpa takes Little Tree to the mountaintop at dawn, to watch the mountain “coming alive”. As Little Tree watches and feels the mountain awakening, he realizes that he and Granpa have “an understanding that most folks don’t know” (Carter 8). Granpa said, “Folks who laugh and say that all is known about Nature, and that Nature don’t have a soul spirit, have never been in a mountain spring storm. When She’s birthing spring, She gets right down to it, tearing at the mountains like a birthing woman clawing at the bed quilts” (Carter 102). Little Tree is taught to sense his connection with Mother Earth, so he will live in harmony with the land, animals, and other people in the world. Little Tree learns that everything in nature has a

	Few writers of the twentieth century have made nearly the same impact on the literary society than Sheldon Allan Silverstein. His writing encompasses a broad range of styles, from adult to children’s, comical to unusual. One of his most common styles was that of fantasy: actions and events that cannot logically happen. This style was evident in his works, the Loser, Thumb Face, Warning, Squishy Touch, and Skin Stealer. Through the description of these absurd circumstances, Silverstein was able to entertain readers of all ages.

“But the boy stayed away for a long time....and the tree was sad.” The tree’s happiness and bliss is entirely depended on the boy. Although many are sad when they are not with someone they love, the tree can’t find her happiness without the boy and is portrayed to be lonely all throughout the book without the boy. Another one of her weakness also starts to show as the story goes on. “And so the boy climbed up the tree and gathered her apples and carried them away. And the tree was happy.” The tree cannot say reject the boy on his offers. She is willing to give everything she has for the boy. “And so the boy cut down her trunk and made a boat and sailed away. And the tree was happy... but not really.” Although by the end of the story the tree is merely an old stump, the boy still asks the tree for a quiet place to sit and rest.

There were no longer those two boys who used to visit the tree. The tree died with their friendship.

The boy on the other hand is like us, the children who are used to receiving and receiving, so much that we take it for granted, so sometimes, we tend to forget to think about the tree or our parents.