Analysis Of The Last Dream Of An Oak Tree

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Material and Method: The following story was taken from Hans Christian Andersen’s collection of tales. The story, ‘The last dream of the old oak by Hans Christian Andersen (1858) is based in Ireland. The life span development of the oak tree stands as a metaphor for the life of man (men).The tree was three hundred and sixty five years old but that long a time is same as a year to us. The tree keeps awake through three seasons of the year spring, summer, autumn and sleeps in the winter; it’s the time to recollect its energies, to sleep and to dream. It enjoys the warm summer days which is full of life and energy. On every summer day, he is seen interacting with the ephemeras, the flies that exist only for a day. The little ephemeras (mayfly) …show more content…

It was odd for the tree to accept their excitement of being alive everyday , as for the tree most days passed at a different pace than the ephemeras . Its reality was rooted in a different sense of timing and growth than the ephemeras , he was stationary in space but grew in time the ephemeras were stationary in time as they had a day only to live but grew in space as they could move about and experience the joy of life through the senses. The age of the tree was counted in the number of winters it lived through the hard times , the dry seasons it had lived through with patience and endurance. As is with a seasoned person. Oak tree is a symbol of strength and long life. It is personification of energy animating the earth. The life of the tree represents the controlled energies necessary for evolution, cyclic progression and the world of phenomena, of appearing and disappearing in sublunary world. Evoking what is royal, solid and eternal, oaks are traditionally associated with cycles of birth and …show more content…

It is, of course, the vertical arm of the Cross which is identified with the tree and hence with the symbol of the world-axis. In context, it is the highest tree serving as a landmark for the sailors approaching the ground, ending their long journeys and struggle. The men finally being ensured of the touch of ground and stability, with the Oak being the first ray of hope, happiness and fulfillment to their long hauls with the inconsistent, unpredictable, unfathomable depths. The tree is recollecting the world cycles of summer till winter. It has lived three sixty five years equivalent to the three sixty five days or a year of man . It is able to serve as an axis around which everyone places themselves. The tree with its roots underground and its branches rising to the sky is indicative of the upward trend and stands for the general relationship between the three worlds its firm gripped roots going to the underworld, (the underworld, the middle world and the upper world). The tree encompasses the life of the cosmos with its inexhaustible life-process the strong arched branches adorning the land and the beautiful foliage being able to reach the heavens shows it relationship

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