What Is The Giving Tree About? Meaning Explained
The Giving Tree follows a tree and a boy through his whole life. As the boy grows up, he keeps asking the tree for things, and she gives him everything she has until only a stump remains. Readers disagree on whether this is a story of generous love or of an unhealthy one.
Silverstein himself described it simply as a relationship in which one gives and the other takes.
| Stage | What the tree gives |
|---|---|
| Boyhood | Apples to eat and branches to play on |
| Young man | Apples to sell for money |
| Adult | Branches to build a house |
| Middle age | Her trunk, to make a boat |
| Old age | Her stump, to sit on |
What happens in the book?
A tree loves a little boy, and he plays in her shade, climbs her trunk and eats her apples. As he grows up, he visits less and asks for more. She gives him her apples to sell, her branches to build a house, and her trunk to build a boat.
Years later the boy, now an old man, returns. The tree has only a stump left, and he sits on it. The book says the tree was happy.
↑ Back to the topIs it about unconditional love?
Many readers see the tree as an image of selfless love, often compared to a parent's love for a child, which gives without expecting anything in return. Others read it as a friendship.
↑ Back to the topWhy do some readers dislike it?
Other readers focus on the boy, who never says thank you and takes more each time, and on the tree, who gives until she has nothing. They read the book as a warning about relationships in which one person is used up, or as a picture of how people exploit nature.
Which reading seems right often depends on the reader's own life. Silverstein said little to settle the question.
↑ Back to the topWhy does it still matter?
The text is very short and the drawings are very simple, which leaves room for each reader to interpret it. That openness is why the book is still discussed.
↑ Back to the topMore about The Giving Tree
This guide covers the 1964 picture book. Page counts vary by edition and by how unnumbered pages are counted.