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Angela Busquets

Writing 2

March 7, 2017

The Taking Boy

Childrens books are meant to be easy to understand, fun to read, and teach a lesson.

Similarly, ads against abusive relationships are meant to be easy to understand, capture the

reader, and also teach a lesson. The two are very similar in what composes them, but the

audience intended is what makes them so different. Childrens books target families and ads

against abusive relationships target young adults and older generations.

The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein, contains all the basic elements of a childrens book.

It is fictional, there are images, and a clear lesson is taught. The Giving Tree unlike most

childrens books is a narrative poem, and the moral of the story is to always be kind.

Occasionally, pre-schools and kindergartens use the book to teach young children how to share,

or not be selfish. In the book, a boy develops a friendship with a tree, and her constant kindness

follows the boy as he grows up. The tree would do anything for the boy, no matter how greedy

the boy is or how heartbroken he leaves the tree. The poem is beautifully illustrated as it is meant

to be a childrens book, and the lines on each page tend to be no more than a few words. This is

because, as it is a childrens book less words will maintain their attention. This is also because

the book was actually a poem which has fewer lines, and a more broken structure. While reading

The Giving Tree as a child, a reader focuses on how selfless the tree is. As an adult, the focus

shifts on how greedy the boy is, but also on what type of relationships mirror this one. At first, it

appears to be the relationship is that between a mother and son, but a closer examination could

see the relationship as an on again off again relationship that is not mutually beneficial at all. The
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moral of the story which is key in childrens literature shifts, and the question arises of who

Silverstein intended the book to be for.

Campaign ads about abusive relationships are a relatively new genre, but as the ban has

been lifted and talking about abuse is no longer taboo, speaking out is a growing trend. Ads

about mentally abusive relationships are even newer, as the definition of abuse has expanded to

include verbal and emotional abuse. Campaign ads targeting this kind of abuse tend to list signs

of abuse on the poster, a way to get help, and a powerful image. A good campaign ad will make

the reader feel strongly influenced by it, and most campaign ads are sad and powerful. Typical

campaign ads use short bolded statements, and the images include a person who appears to be in

severe distress. Ads against abusive relationships always include a link or number to get help,

and encourage people to speak out. These ads can be found in many places, examples of this are

in magazines, as posters, a bus decoration, etc. Unlike childrens books they are not limited to

one form of expression. Campaign ads themselves usually focus on the victim, but occasionally

will show the abuser. They do this because they want all the attention to be focused on the person

they are trying to save. Ads against abusive relationships tend to not have too much information

or stimulation going on because they want their main message to be loud and clear. For example,

one ad has a picture of a girl curled in a ball, and has You dont care about me. All you want is

my body, splayed across the picture. This ad draws strong emotion for the young girl, as a

reader you want to help her, or save her from her abuser. This is the purpose of the ad, but even

more than that the creator wants girls to draw parallels from their relationship, and make them

think if they feel the same way. Another example says, She takes my money. She says she needs

it. I am afraid to say no, but I dont know what to do, written across the top. The picture has a

young man hiding in the doorway in the background and a younger woman counting money with
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a stern expression more towards the front. Abusive relationships are usually draining in some

way, and this ad shows that clearly. It is obvious in this picture who the abuser and the abused is,

this is the purpose of a good campaign ad.

The transformation was easily the most interesting part of the project. Kerry Dirks in

Navigating Genres, writes, genres often have formulaic features, but these features can

change even as the nature of the genre remains, I decided to transform The Giving Tree into an

ad against abusive relationships because I saw a lot of crossover between the two (Dirks 6).

Campaigns against abusive relationships list clear signs as evidence of abuse, and the childrens

book showed these signs. The reality is that upon reading the book children can pick up two

ways to behave either like the tree or the terrible little boy. The boy was the abuser and he had

characteristics that ads often portray as warning signs specifically being controlling, having

unrealistic expectations, blames others for his own mistakes, and rigid gender roles (15 Warning

Signs Your Relationship Is Abusive Kay). The boy exhibits both controlling behavior and

unrealistic expectations when he expects the tree to give him everything in order for him to be

happy. For example, at one point in the book the boy asks for money and the tree responds I'm

sorry," said the tree, "but I have no money. I have only leaves and apples. Take my apples, Boy,

and sell them in the city. Then you will have money and you will be happy,"(6 Silverstein). This

action is repeated throughout the book, as the boy takes more and more from the tree, this is why

in one of the ads the caption is You only want me for my body, a caption I found on a similar

ad against domestic relationships. Finally, the tree says, "I am sorry," sighed the tree. "I wish that

I could give you something.... but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry...."even

at its end the tree wants to give the boy more than it can(5 Silverstein). This is a typical sign of
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abusive relationships, and this quote taken from the book is what I captioned the other ad with.

The boy makes the tree depressed and emotional abuse is defined as,

Psychological abuse (also referred to as psychological violence, emotional abuse or

mental abuse) is a form of abuse, characterized by a person subjecting, or exposing, another

person to behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic

depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (21 Signs of An Abusive Relationship).

The boy may not intend to hurt the tree the way he does, but it is clear that his greed, and selfish

actions deteriorate the tree both emotionally and physically as she is left as just a stump and he

still proceeds to sit on her. This is why I included the stump in one of the ads I created as the boy

sits on the stump, the girl is on the floor in a fetal position.

The story is really tragic. The tree who draws a female voice begins strong, beautiful, and

in love. She ends nothing but an old stump of who she was, and the boy who changes into as old

man continues to use her, and because she has become so broken down she no longer can fight

back. The really sad part is that she does not even know she has been abused the book ends, the

boy did. And the tree was happy. The tree gives everything for the boy and she is happy

doing so. The book should be used as an example of what a relationship should not do to

you, and this is why I created the ad this way. I believe that by incorporating symbols from

both genres a stronger result was created, and that the symbolism pushed through more than

a direct answer. The Giving Tree was not intended to have a negative connotation, but there is

something there and Silversteins artistry can be interpreted as more than just a simple lesson

about kindness.
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Works Cited

Kay, Wendy. "15 Undeniable Warning Signs You Are In an Abusive Relationship." YourTango.

N.p., 2015. Web. 2017.

Lowe, Charles, and Pavel Zemliansky. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. West Lafayette,

IN: Parlor, 2010. Writing Spaces. 2010. Web. 2017.

Silverstein, Shel. The Giving Tree. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1964. Print.

Smith, Melinda. "Domestic Violence and Abuse." Domestic Violence and Abuse: Are You or

Someone You Care About in an Abusive Relationship? HelpGuide, 2017. Web. 09

Mar. 2017.