The Giving Tree

Author: Shel Silverstein

Analysis:

▲Character:
Protagonist: The tree (flat character)
[I think the tree is a flat character because the tree keeps sincere heart to the boy.]

Foil character: The boy (round character)
[I think the boy is a round character. When getting older, the boy does not keep his sincere heart to the tree.]

Character's revelation: What the character actually does

▲Setting: Backdrop setting

▲Narrative point of view: Omniscient narrator

▲Plot: Dramatic plot

▲Conflict: The protagonist against another

▲Theme: Friendship lies in sincerity.

▲Style: Simple words/ Short sentences/ Exposition/ Dialogue

▲Tone: Didactic

Personal Reflection:

    The story is very good because it shows the realistic aspects of human. Human must change something from the childhood to the adulthood, especially the change of human's minds. In this story, the boy originally visits tree for playing, and they both are like intimate. However, when getting older, the boy visits the tree for asking helps. It seems that between the tree and the boy only leaves requirement. This content occurs to me a common incident happening in today's society, which is about parents and their children. In childhood, children want to grow up quickly to take care of their parents because of their parents' selfless love. However, some of them still depend on their parents financially after becoming adults. In addition, in terms of the relationship between the tree and the boy, their friendship is no longer sincere after the boy grows up. The reason is that the boy doesn't care whether the tree gets hurt, and he still asks the tree for helps every time. Although this situation makes me sad, I still believe the sincere friendship exists. In my opinion, if we want to keep a sincere friendship, we have to show our sincerity. In other words, we should put ourselves in our friends' places. For example, we want to ask our friends questions, and we should do this behavior properly. In other words, we should not ignore our friends' feelings, and satisfy our needs first.
    I think that if we have a friend like the tree, we must be very happy. It's because the tree is a friend that devotes itself to whom it loves. Nonetheless, this kind of friends may encounter some problems in friendship. For instance, if their friends regard their devotion as a tiny thing and treat them at will, they may get hurt in their heart. Therefore, I think that they should spend time observing a person, and think whether they both are suitable friends. By doing this beforehand, they won't easily get hurt.