UNDER PAINTING OVER THINKING

Watercolor "Under-Painting" experiment 1-12-2015

Created this quick watercolor this morning using a technique called "Under Painting". This technique means painting in layers initially, and then when you add the final colors the painting seems to have more depth and interest. When you look at a finished painting you may not be aware of the story behind the story, that is, what was done behind the scenes.

I was reflecting on this when I read a review of "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein, one of the books we used to read our kids. I had no idea that despite the recognition that the book has received, it has been described as "one of the most divisive books in children’s literature." 

The controversy concerns whether the relationship between the main characters (a boy and a tree) should be interpreted as positive e.g., the tree gives the boy selfless love, or as negative e.g., the boy and the tree have an abusive relationship. Here's a short description of the book.

The book follows the life of a female apple tree and a boy who are able to communicate with each other; the tree addresses the human as "Boy" his entire life. In his childhood, the boy enjoys playing with the tree, climbing her trunk, swinging from her branches, and eating her apples. However, as time passes he starts to make requests of the tree.

After entering adolescence, the boy wants money; the tree suggests that he pick and sell her apples, which he does. After reaching adulthood, the boy wants a house; the tree suggests he cut her branches to build a house, which he does. After reaching middle age, the boy wants a boat; the tree suggests he cut her trunk to make a boat, which he does, leaving only a stump.

In the final pages, the boy (now a shriveled old man) wants only "a quiet place to sit and rest," which the stump provides. The story ends with the sentence "And the tree was happy."

I thought this was simply a good book describing a relationship between a boy and a tree. When we read this to our kids "abusive relationship" never came to mind. Maybe we should read books without digging too deep for a hidden meaning. To consider this book "divisive" seems to be "over-thinking" a nice story about a boy and a tree.