Penrose 1

Julia Penrose
Prof. Holly Guile
English 1010
3/21/2015

Revised: The Giving Tree: a rhetorical analysis

There are many recognizable, and meaningful childrens stories in the world that appeal to adults
as well, but not many of them have such an influence as The Giving Tree by critically acclaimed
author, Shel Silverstein. The Giving Tree provides a fun, and exciting story for children, and a
heartfelt nostalgic one for adults, The underlining themes of the story are, innocence (and the
loss of it), selfish and unselfish love, and parent-child relationships. The story packs an
emotional punch, and a relatable storyline for nearly every kind of reader.
The story starts out with a little boy and a very kind, loving tree becoming friends, its not known
where the tree is located, or where the story takes place. The boy and tree play games with each
other, spend a lot of time with each other, the boy is young and his mind is simple, free of
responsibilities, deeper thoughts, or desire for anything other than to just play around and have a
good time. This story is intended to invoke nostalgia in adults, and for them to remember back to
their childhood, the beauty of innocence, and also the realization of the inevitable, desire and
that desire essentially, destroying their innocence. The splendor of childhood memories and
coming of age, is usually not realized until theres a wave of nostalgia from a sudden flashback,
or a treasured object or souvenir of ones childhood is recollected.
The relationship between the young boy and the tree has its definite ups and downs, in the very
beginning of the story, the love is unconditional for both of them, their lives in a sense, revolve

Penrose 2
completely around each other, and the love they share, is strong, and a true friendship. The tree is
personified to provide an emotional connection to the audience, who can sympathize and
empathize with her throughout the story. As the story goes on, the boy matures, falls in love,
grows older, and leaves the tree unaccompanied many times, until he needs something to which
he will come back, and no matter what he does, the tree still feels unconditional love for the boy
and gives him whatever he needs. The boys desires for materialistic things override his love and
appreciation for the tree, whom of which displays parental characteristics.
The most important theme of the book is the parent-child parallels. The tree quite possibly
represents a mother, who absolutely loves her child, and would do absolutely anything for her
child, whether it be destroying parts of herself and well-being to have her child live a fulfilling
life. The child on the other hand often takes advantage of what the mother has sacrificed for
them, and this is true for nearly every child at some point in their life. When an adult reads this
book, its set to remind them of a mothers love and sacrifice, since the tree is a female, its
supposed to remind the reader of a mother. At the end of the story the boy is aged, and his desires
have been fulfilled and he returns to the tree, who is now a stump after what hes taken from her,
yet she remains as happy as ever to see her beautiful boy to keep her company. The boy, now an
old man, realizes at this point the incredible sacrifice the tree has made, and sits with her in
content silence, and the tree was happy, this shows that even if a child takes advantage of what
their parent gives, in the end and through maturity, theyll realize how fortunate they really were.
The Giving Tree provides a bittersweet story of love, joy, sadness, and grief. The tragedy and
beauty of what is to be human. Shel Silverstein, has many published works including poems, and
stories that deliver a meaning for all age groups, and most notably, The Giving Tree. Personifying
the tree gives a fun, imaginative story for children, and a motherly nostalgic and emotional

Penrose 3
feeling for adults, who realize a parents goal in life, true sacrifice of themselves for their childs
happiness.

Penrose 4

Works Cited
Silverstein, Shel. The Giving Tree. New York: Harper and Row, 1964.