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The Giving Tree Essay

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The Giving Tree Critical Analysis Paragraph The Giving Tree is a story many children have grown up with. It has always been generally interpreted as a blissful narrative, warming the heart of children and their parents. Throughout the story, readers are able to observe the gift of giving and how to show unconditional love. However, rereading the story with more analysis can make one look at the book in a more malevolent perspective. In fact, it may make many individuals who once loved The Giving Tree as a child, wince and question the ideas being displayed in the book. If one were to look at the story in a more oppositional point of view, they can see that the narrative promotes narcissism. A narcissist is an individual who has a distorted self- …show more content…

At first, in his childhood “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.” (Silverstein 1). However, as time passes the boy does not visit the tree for a very long time until he returns one day as a teen. At this point in time, the tree is content that the boy has returned, little does she know he has come not to play but to ask for something, saying "I want to buy things and have fun. I want some money?"(Silverstein 3).This is when she offers him her apples so he can sell them for money. What should be pointed out in these lines is that the boy consistently says “I want”. This shows his tendency to think about himself. Readers should question why he was not able to consider the feelings of the tree. Why did he not begin his conversation with the tree, by asking how she is doing after all these years? Instead, he goes straight to his wants. This display of character only enhances the view of looking at the boy as a more selfish person; an individual who only thinks of themselves. However, it does not end there, the boy proceeds again in his adult years asking for a

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