Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree

As a person gets older and more mature their idea on what's “fun” changes. What other ways do people demonstrate change throughout a lifetime? In The Giving tree, the boys idea on what he enjoys doing changes. When he was younger he would go visit the tree everyday and play on it. As he got older and older he grew more and more away from the tree and became more independent. Shel Silverstein uses the character of the boy to illustrate the theme of change.

The first way that the boy demonstrates change is by coming back and visiting the tree less and less. This shows that the boy's idea of what was fun was changing. When he was a young boy he would visit the tree everyday and do things such as “gather her leaves and make them into crowns” or he would “play hide-and-go-seek and eat apples.” As he got older and visited the tree less he would only go back ask for things and take things from the tree. For example, "I want to buy things and have fun. I want some money! Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in

the city. Then you will have money and

you will be happy." From that, you can see how the boy went from playing and doing things with the tree everyday. To, coming and visiting the tree once in awhile and only asking for things for himself such as money. That's just one of the many ways the boy demonstrated change over his lifetime.

Another way the boy demonstrated change is what he “wanted or needed” throughout his life.

When he was young he was very satisfied with what he had. He would use what he had without complaining. As he grew older and older it changed. He started asking for many different things and became very greedy. For example, as a young boy he was satisfied with playing with the tree and sleeping with the tree alone. He felt the tree as a friend. As he got older he would ask for many different thing such as; “I want a boat that will take me far away from here. Can you give me a boat?” Another example is “I want a wife and I want children and so I need a house.” As as he was getting older and older his friendship with the tree grew farther and farther apart. Overtime the boy changed his tune and became to realize that he was fortunate for what he had. He didn't need everything he was asking for. That's another way the boy “changed” over

time.

In the paragraphs above we saw all the ways that the boy demonstrated “change” throughout his lifetime. The first way the boy showed change was when he was seeing the tree less and less. The second way was when he would ask for more and more stuff and became more greedy throughout his life. From all the ways the boy changed, we can see that people change as they get older and more mature. What you do as a kid you most likely wouldn't like to do as an adult. The way people act as kids and adults is way different also. It is normal for people to change throughout their life. People change over time.