ipl-logo

Examples Of Sacrifice In The Giving Tree By Shel Silverstein

870 Words4 Pages

Self-Sacrifice
If you were given the choice, would you give up your entire world just for the happiness of one person? Sacrifice is a simple word but with a broad meaning. An ordinary living, breathing soul can sacrifice everything just for the well-being and happiness of another. In the story, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, the Tree dedicates her life to making a little boy happy. She sacrifices her entire form just so he can feel complete, which in the end leaves her alone and hollow. When giving up all that a person has to benefit someone’s welfare is a positive gesture, but if they never receive anything in return, there will not be anything left to give.
One of the most prominent examples of sacrifice is the relationship between mother and son, which is illuminated through the tree and the little boy. Every day, the little boy visits the tree, and each day, their bond grows into love. “He swings from her long, towering branches, eats her delicious apples, plays hide-and-go-seek, and when he is exhausted, he falls asleep in her shade” (Silverstein 16-20). The boy loves the tree and his …show more content…

There has been a point in each person’s life where he or he have either been the little boy or the tree in a relationship. It is necessary to view the story in both points of view to be able to appreciate the eloquent message it presents. In the case of the boy and the tree, she gave up all she had, including her own physical form, just to make the boy happy, and as a result, she was happy. The tree’s sacrifice may seem unreasonable, but to her it was worth it. When a simple being aspires to make someone’s life healthier and happier, no matter the consequences that may occur, his or her actions should never be seen as pointless attempts. It takes genuine courage and a profound love to be willing to give up everything for something better in

Show More
Related

  • Sacrifice In Rita's To Shasta, America

    490 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The UDF existed to protect a world obsessed with creating worthless piles of crap,” said Rita as she played with the small bullet toy. The bullet toy: 25 cents, 9mm, live ammo, painted to match a soldier. Rita couldn't believe it when she was handed a bullet that was based off of her. At first it was dumb to her, but little did she know how big of a role this would play in her life.

    Read More

  • The Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver

    1439 Words  | 6 Pages

    Sacrifice is the surrendering of a possession to offer a God. In the beginning of the book, the mother Orleanna Price, tells her story of the guilt that she is feeling from losing her child. She explains everything she has sacrificed to make her husband’s

    Read More

  • What Is The Loss Of Innocence In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak

    403 Words  | 2 Pages

    Freeman, her art teacher, inspires Melinda to get comfortable with expressing herself through art and eventually, through her speech. When Melinda first meets Mr. Freeman he allocates a project in which each child is given an object. During the course of the year they must take that object and “figure out how to make [their] object say something, express an emotion, speak to every person who looks at it” (Lee 12). Melinda’s object is a tree. She does not perceive how she can bring emotion into an object such as a tree.

    Read More

  • Paper About Sacrifice

    734 Words  | 3 Pages

    My daily sacrifices are not as extremes as the ones of the book but it doesn’t express less whiling of performing the action in question. The actions I do and sacrifices made in life make me who I am or how I see the world and the way I react to the environment I am that is why I would never change

    Read More

  • Metamorphosis In Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree

    180 Words  | 1 Pages

    As the boy grows old his interest involved wealth instead of climbing, swinging and playing. As a result, the tree offers its apples for the boy to sell for wealth. The boy returns again in need of a home. Then, the tree offers its branches for the boy to build a home. Next, the boy returns in need of a boat, the tree offers its trunk to build the boat.

    Read More

  • Isolation In Laura Halse Anderson's Speak

    988 Words  | 4 Pages

    Like many isolated people, they were wrapped up in themselves and not too interested in the world outside. Charles Frazier once said “people who are isolated interest me,whether they isolate themselves or have been isolated by circumstances.” The inner thought coming from the heart represents the real motives and desires. These are the cause of action . The tree metaphor is speaking her voice and inner thoughts without her having to speak up.

    Read More

  • Sacrifice In Of Mice And Men

    561 Words  | 3 Pages

    The story Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck was made to describe how the 1930’s was when the Great Depression came about. The characters George and Lennie had a very special bond. They took good care over one another and made sure one another stay out of trouble. They also support each other with their one goal in life, such as wanting to have land of their own. All these things come with consequences, they have to risk or sacrifice things for each other or are responsible for one another.

    Read More

  • Stand Tall Analysis

    716 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Mom and Dad smiled at each other and laughed. It was a sound that Tree hadn’t heard from them in the longest time” (132). This shows how Tree wasn’t sure his parents were ever going to get along again, but they end up having a good time. This is an example of how family matters most and hope is always around. This situation gave Tree strength to preserve.

    Read More

  • Essay On Thanksgiving

    539 Words  | 3 Pages

    A kindergartner could carve a better tree” (Anderson, 103). Melinda is still not able to create a tree for Mr. Freeman’s art class which also represents she still cant find the right time, place, and person to tell about being raped. One day after school Melinda needs a ride home and Mr. Freeman offers to do so. Mr. Freeman tells Melinda, “I’m seeing a lot of growth in you work. You are learning more than you know”

    Read More

  • Unconditional Love In Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree

    358 Words  | 2 Pages

    People that love each other unconditionally always provide support and love for that person. In The Giving Tree Shel Silverstein uses the relationship between a tree and a boy to demonstrate unconditional love. As a young boy the tree gives the boy apples to eat and gives him shade to lay under. The boy also has a place to play; ¨Come boy, swing on my branches.”

    Read More

  • To This Day Symbolism

    263 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the poem, To This Day. Shane Koyczan uses symbolism in the poem to really get the reader to relate to his point of view. An example of symbolism that he used in his writing was comparing a boy to a broken branch, “he was a broken branch grafted onto a different family tree…” (Koyczan Part 4). This quote is representing that the boy is broken and lonely.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton

    100 Words  | 1 Pages

    The classic novel, Ethan Frome, wrote by Edith Wharton, contains a great deal of symbolism. Throughout the story, Wharton recognizes a large Elm tree that nearly kills a newly- engaged couple. In most cases, a large tree may symbolize strength or majesty, however, Wharton gives the readers an understanding of fate., when describing the tree. While coasting down a slope, Ethan and Mattie make the immoral decision to commit suicide and crash into the large tree. Ironically, the end result was not their death, but the tragic ending of the two becoming crippled which robbed them the outcome they wanted.

    Read More

  • Pan's Labyrinth Essay

    975 Words  | 4 Pages

    This emphasises the enormity of the task Ofelia is about to embark upon and also her vulnerability as the tree’s dominating presence fills the frame. The fig tree itself is symbolic in its representation. Firstly, the entrance of the tree resembles that of a female’s ovaries, with its curved branches replicating the fallopian tubes. Moreover, the tree’s sickened state mirrors Ofelia’s pregnant mother’s own fragile condition.

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Rape And Sexual Assault In Beloved By Toni Morrison

    1970 Words  | 8 Pages

    “Schoolteacher’s nephew represents a dismissal by whites of the dehumanizing qualities of slavery”. When Sethe is raped, schoolteacher observed how her body is exploited. The scars on Sethe’s back are so many that they resemble the trunk of a tree with its branches. Sethe bear scars on her back because she was whipped due to her try of escape. Amy Denver, a white girl that helped Sethe when she was running away from Sweet Home, calls the tree a chokecherry tree.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Planting A Sequoia By Dana Gioia

    1100 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dana Gioia’s poem, “Planting a Sequoia” is grievous yet beautiful, sombre story of a man planting a sequoia tree in the commemoration of his perished son. Sequoia trees have always been a symbol of wellness and safety due to their natural ability to withstand decay, the sturdy tree shows its significance to the speaker throughout the poem as a way to encapsulate and continue the short life of his infant. Gioia utilizes the elements of imagery and diction to portray an elegiac tone for the tragic death, yet also a sense of hope for the future of the tree. The poet also uses the theme of life through the unification of man and nature to show the speaker 's emotional state and eventual hopes for the newly planted tree. Lastly, the tree itself becomes a symbol for the deceased son as planting the Sequoia is a way to cope with the loss, showing the juxtaposition between life and death.

    Read More

More about Examples Of Sacrifice In The Giving Tree By Shel Silverstein

Open Document