By Isabella Nestor (‘26)

Image courtesy of whoseoutthere.ca

Caption: A political cartoon created by Shel Silverstein portraying an American soldier in the Japanese Occupation era near the end of World War II. 

Shel Silverstein is an author known for his award-winning children’s books and his crude and comical works of art and literature. Although he mainly wrote poetry and even made political cartoons for some time, he was also a musician, writing his own songs. As an individual, however, he was known for his rebelliousness and inappropriate behavior, as well as for being a frequent visitor to the Playboy Mansion. His character is generally the reason why people are so wary of celebrating his works; there is an extreme contrast of a ‘filthy-minded’ man writing literature for the innocence of the world. However, these themes are never even suggested in his children’s books. Shel Silverstein’s works are seen as controversial, the most notable being The Giving Tree, because they have uncomfortable storytelling, with an unsatisfying yet realistic ending. His works, rich in dark imagery and undertones, unapologetically illuminate our dark and emotional behaviors. 

Shel Silverstein’s work came in three forms: art, literature, and music. His art was characterized by shaky lines and exaggerated features that portrayed more personality in a character, as well as comically mocking their identities. Oftentimes, his art is portrayed with large gaps and spaces, often meant to invoke a certain emotion or message. {his art?}It is almost always devoid of color and made with a pen-like utensil. Shel Silverstein’s literature is also very simple; some rhyme, but overall, no complicated literary creations. This aspect of his writing is likely why both children and adults are able to derive a certain meaning or feeling from his work. His work exaggerates the simplicity in such a way that it becomes essential to the message of the story he is trying to tell. In addition, the last lines of his poems and stories are often the punchline of the story. These ‘punchlines’ mention something comical about the situation, whether it is satirical or simply comedic. Shel Silverstein’s music is also as gaunt as his art and literature, with vocals that are often very rough and wild. His works cover a broad spectrum of interest, but originated in an unsightly way, which is why so many people are unable to accept his work. Interestingly, while they are often what he is/was best known for, Silverstein never intended to write children’s books. In fact, he mentioned frequently how he hates children and all “the likes of them”, despite having some of his own later in life. And yet, some of his most revered yet controversial works are his children’s books. 

His most famous work, The Giving Tree, is known as a modern-day parable. The Giving Tree is about a tree and a boy, one being the giver and the other being the receiver. When the boy is a child, he plays with the tree and picks its leaves. From the time spent with the boy, the tree is happy. However, when the boy grows up and no longer has time to play with the tree, he asks it for money. The tree offers its apples so the boy can make some money in the city, and the boy takes the apples, and the tree is still happy. The boy grows up again and returns asking for a house. The tree offers up its branches, and the boy cuts them down and hauls them away, yet still, the tree is happy. When the boy comes back when he is old, he asks for a boat to leave the place where he is now. The tree offers its trunk for the boy, he cuts it down, leaving the tree happy… but not quite. Finally, the boy returns when he is near death and asks the tree for a place to sit. The tree offers its stump to sit on, and the boy sits, leaving the tree happy. You can tell that there is a moment in the story where the tree’s happiness falters after the boy cuts its trunk, and this pivotal moment is essential to the understanding of the many interpretations this book has to offer. The tree is the giver, likely referring to human selflessness, which is essentially wavering and imperfect. The simplicity and vagueness of The Giving Tree make it receive a variety of interpretations, which in itself is something to analyze. 

The various interpretations of the story all have a very similar mapping due to the straightforward pacing of the events in the story. There is a giver, someone who is selfless and self-sacrificing, and someone who receives, either greedily, selflessly, or opportunistically. One very obvious and common interpretation of the text is about the environmentalist approach, highlighting the problems of deforestation, climate change, and global warming. It is simple to see how taking from nature and not giving back is the message of this parable, quite simply because the tree is left as a stump. However, this interpretation leaves the major aspect out of the talking tree, and how the tree offers itself to the boy. In this sense, the boy is not seen as greedy but rather as opportunistic. Certain individuals who have children of their own interpret the story in a positive connotation, that being of motherly or fatherly love and selflessness towards their children. The tree remains happy, despite being dwindled slowly, portraying the giving nature of a parent to their children. This interpretation seems the most probable because of how the story is made. It is important to note that Shel Silverstein intended for the tree to be a motherly figure, giving it a motherly voice in his read-aloud video in 1973, hence adding to this interpretation (“The Actual”). Although this interpretation is sound, some individuals claim that Silverstein is a narcissistic author portraying a toxic relationship between partners. Although Silverstein is not considered a narcissist, this interpretation has face value in comparison to his personal life, especially because of how many relationships he was a part of throughout his life. Although generally, these interpretations are limited to relationships between people, or even concepts of life, and how the value of that relationship can be measured. 

Silverstein’s The Giving Tree is a story about self-sacrifice and teaches the moral of having mutual responsibility for one another in any given relationship. The variety of interpretations made from this simple story is similar to the story as they portray the different stages of life one may go through, what their priorities are, and what their goals entail. Motherly love can only be experienced later in life, with the addition of a child. However, the interpretation of toxic relationships is a priority for younger individuals who care about their partners instead. This is the key aspect of Silverstein’s work; it makes sense throughout life. From teaching the text in elementary school about mutual responsibility, from using it in the field of law to describe humanitarian aid, Silverstein’s work is representative of your relationship with life itself.