THE-BO-Y-AND-HIS-TREE

THEBOY&HISTREE@CLASS14GREAD2015Alongtimeago,therewasabigappletree.Alittleboylovedtocomeandplayarounditeveryday.Heclimbedtothetreetopatetheapplestookanapundertheshadow…Helovedthetreeandthetreelovedtoplaywithhim.Timewentby...Thelittleboyhadgrownupandhenolongerplayedaroundthetree.Oneday,theboycamebacktothetreeandlookssad.“Comeandplaywithme,”thetreeaskedtheboy.“Iamnolongerakid,Idon’tplayaroundtreesanymore,”theboyreplied.“Iwanttoys.Ineedmoneytobuythem.”Sorry,butIdon’thavemoney,butyoucanpickallmyapplesandsellthem.So,youwillhavemoney.”Theboywassoexcited.Hepickedalltheapplesonthetreeandlefthappily.Oneday,theboyreturnedandthetreewassoexcited.“Comeandplaywithme,”thetreesaid.“Idon’thavetimetoplay.Ihavetoworkformyfamily.Weneedahouseforshelter.Canyouhelpme?”“Sorry,butIdon’thaveahouse.Butyoucancutoffmybranchestobuildyourhouse.”Sotheboycutallthebranchesofthetreeandlefthappily.Thetreewasgladtoseehimhappybuttheboydidn’tappearsincethen.Thetreewasagainlonelyandsad.Onehotsummerday,theboyreturnedandthetreewasdelighted.“Comeandplaywithme!”thetreesaid.“Iamsadandgettingold.Iwanttogosailingtorelaxmyself.Canyougivemeaboat?”“Usemytrunktobuildtheboat.Youcansailandbehappy.”Sotheboycutthetreetrunktomakeaboat.Hewentsailinganddidnotshowupforalongtime.Finally,theboyreturnedafterheleftforsomanyyears.“Sorry,myboy.ButIdon’thaveanythingforyouanymore.Nomoreapplesforyou,”thetreesaid.“Idon’thaveteethtobite,”theboyreplied.“Nomoretrunkforyoutoclimbon.”“Iamtoooldforthatnow,”theboysaid.“Ireallywanttogiveyousomething…theonlythingleftismydyingroots,”thetreessaidwithtears.“Idon’tneedmuchnow,justaplacetorest.Iamtiredafteralltheseyears,”theboyreplied.“Good!Oldtreerootsarethebestplacetoleanontherest.Comehere,pleasesitdownwithmeandhavearest.”Theboysatdownandthetreewasgladandsmiledwithtears…Thisisastoryofeveryone.Thetreeisourparents.Whenwewereyoung,welovedtoplaywithMomandDad.Whenwegrowup,weleavethem,andonlycometothemwhenweneedsomethingorwhenweareintrouble.Nomatterwhat,parentswillalwaysbethereandgiveeverythingtheycouldtomakeyouhappy.Youmaythinkthattheboyiscrueltothetreebutthat’showallofusaretreatingourparents.TheGivingTreeTheGivingTree是漫画大师谢尔·希尔弗斯坦创作的儿童绘本，1964年最先由Harper&Row出版社发行。它已经成为Shel最著名的作品之一，并被翻译成了多种文字，流传海外。尽管这本书受到了广泛的认可，但它也被称作“儿童文学中最富争议性的书籍之一”，争论在于树与男孩之间的情感是积极的还是消极的。关于这本书讨论最多的就是树与男孩之间是父母与子女的关系。部分评论家认为这是一种积极的关系，“这是一部关于给予和母性的故事，既真实又充满智慧”，他们鼓励更多的人去看这本书，因为这棵树是关于母爱神圣记忆的象征。但是，其他评论家则提出相反的观点，认为“该书是MeGeneration(我一代)的神话，是自恋情结的启蒙书，是利用的教义问答手册”。有相当多的作家尖锐地批评这书中出现的描述方式。“母亲”对待”儿子”就好像他永远都是个孩子，而“儿子”却一直停滞在时间中，一直表现得像个频频索要的婴儿。这本评价过高的书给年轻的孩子提供了一个无情的典范，这可供利用的关系跨越性别，超出时代。无私到什么都愿意给的母亲仿佛仅仅是为了被利用而存在的，而那个孩子则不会感恩，没有怜悯之心，完全是个贪得无厌的人。有人甚至偏激地指出，这是一部关于施虐与受虐之情的书，并将受虐倾向发挥到了极致。