The Giving Tree

[prog]

Via jadelennox, I learn that The Giving Tree, one of my beloved books from childhood, has a great deal of controversy around it and is actually reviled by some children's literature scholars, herself included.

I find the controversy both surprising and interesting, but I think this is the first time I've seen a book I hold so dear (there are very few) get attacked like this. I put up a little defense for it in that thread, but seeing all the other commenters pour righteous scorn on it makes me feel queasy, as if all these people were rushing in to talk about how my Aunt Jan was actually a pirate who molested them as children or something. Bad news.

Comments

[spatch]

The smartest person out of all those smarty textbrick-writin' people was the person who asked his six-year-old son what he thought of the book.

Spare me the arguments on gender roles and self-entitlement with "the king of the forest" and all that. The tree loves the boy and wants to make the boy happy, and the boy knows the tree loves him and will support him all she can.

Maybe there's a hint of codependency in there, but honestly, you can claim that on any relationship built on giving.

[jadelennox]

Well, I may be smarty textbrick-writin' people now, but when I was 7 and 8, and not smarty textbrick-writin' in any way, I found the boy's relationship with the tree to be incredibly upsetting. It didn't, at that age, read like any love I'd ever be comfortable receiving.

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

yeah, I remember feeling uncomfortable and confused when I read that book as a child. Maybe that was supposed to be the point? But it definitely rang very wrong for me. At some point when I got older, I think I wondered if it was supposed to be one of those religious allusions that I also never understood. I've been cynical all my life.

[aspartaimee.livejournal.com]

agreed. it resonated wrong to me when i first read it as well, at that age.