The Self The Selfish Giant

A story by Oscar Wilde

The Literary Analysis of The Selfish Giant

Content Analysis : Fiction(Short Story)

Biography of The Author:

Oscar Wilde was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest
playwrights of the Victorian Era. In his lifetime he wrote nine plays, one novel, and numerous poems,
short stories, and essays. Wilde was a proponent of the Aesthetic movement, which emphasized aesthetic
values more than moral or social themes. This doctrine is most clearly summarized in the phrase 'art for
art's sake'. Besides literary accomplishments, he is also famous, or perhaps infamous, for his wit,
flamboyance, and affairs with men. He was tried and imprisoned for his homosexual relationship (then
considered a crime) with the son of an aristocrat.

The Selfish Giant

The Selfish Giant can refer to:

The Selfish Giant, one of our Favorite Fairy Tales, was first published in 1888 as part of Oscar
Wilde's collection of children's stories entitled The Happy Prince and Other Tales. That
collection of children's stories also includes: The Happy Prince, The Nightingale and the Rose,
The Devoted Friend, and The Remarkable Rocket.

The Selfish Giant

Author : Oscar Wilde

Genre: Animation
Characters:
The most important characters in the short story “The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde are the
Giant and the little boy. The children act as a collective character and the seasons are also
personified, having more a symbolic function.

The Giant
The Giant is a fantastical creature depicted directly by the narrator and indirectly through his
actions and reactions to the events.

Outer characterisation

We do not know much about the creature’s outer characterisation, except the he is very big and
strong, as it would be expected of any giant.

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Inner characterisation

The Giant is not a static character, but one who changes throughout the story as a result of the
events he experiences.

At first, he is “very selfish” as he chases away the children playing in his garden.

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The little boy

The little boy in the short story is a symbol, a disguise Jesus Christ takes in order to test the
Giant.

Outer characterisation

At first, there is nothing about his outer appearance that might suggest his true identity.

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Inner characterisation

The defining feature of the little boy is that of being a loving child. Initially, he seems fearful and
distressed as he cannot climb the tree. But, as the Giant helps him, he turns to the creature with
affection:
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The children
The children in the short story function as a collective character. They are associated with spring
and joy, as the season ‘refuses’ to enter the Giant’s garden in their absence.

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The seasons
The four seasons, as well as other natural elements, are personified in the short story. They speak
and act like persons and play a symbolic role, suggesting the passage of time and different
personality traits.

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Plot
A giant erects a wall to keep children out of his garden, reaping the consequences of a continuous winter.
After months of winter with no other seasons in sight, spring suddenly returns when the children slip into
a hole in the wall and play in the trees, except for one corner of winter where a little boy is too small to
climb into the tree. The giant's heart melts at the sight and, realizing how selfish he's been, he helps the
child into the tree. He then tears down the wall and tells the children it was their garden to play in. Years
pass and the giant enjoys playing with the children, but never sees the one special boy he first helped.
One day when he had grown old, he again sees the little boy, who appears with wounds in His hands and
feet. He has come to escort the giant to His garden, which is paradise.

Plot
Short stories are usually organised around a sequence of events. We call this structure a plot. A
classical plot includes the following elements: exposition, inciting action, rising action, climax,
falling action, and resolution.
“The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde is structured like a fairy-tale, constructed around the unusual
character of the Giant. The plot can be summarised as follows:

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Title
The title of the short story is very simple and hints at the fantastical nature of the narration.

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Beginning
The beginning of the short story comprises two plot elements: the exposition and
the intrigue. At first, the author presents a peaceful state of facts:

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Middle
The middle of the short story is comprised of the rising action and the climax. The rising action
represents all the subsequent events triggered by the Giant’s selfishness:

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Ending
The ending of the story represents the plot sequences we call falling action and resolution. A
state of equilibrium is restored as the children become regular visitors to the Giant’s garden.

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Summary Summary
“The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde starts by telling us that children in an unnamed place go to
play daily in a Giant’s garden because the creature has been away for seven years visiting his
friend, the Cornish ogre. When the Giant returns to his castle, he is disturbed by the children’s
presence, chases them away and builds a wall around his property. The Giant is selfish and wants
to enjoy his garden all by himself. Though the children miss the garden, they do not dare to
trespass and try and find other playgrounds. But the roads are too busy for them to play and they
end up wandering next to the Giant’s wall.
When Spring comes in the county, she does not dare to go into the Giant’s garden as there are no
children there. Winter, Snow, Frost, the North Wind and Hail ruled over the Giants’ garden.
Flowers and trees did not bloom and the Giant grew sadder and sadder waiting for Spring.

Setting and Narator

Setting and narrator

In what follows, we will focus on the setting and narrator of the short story “The Selfish Giant”
by Oscar Wilde.

Setting
The short story “The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde is set in a fairy-tale setting, with castles,
beautiful gardens, giants, and ogres. We do not know the exact location of the events, but the
reference to the “Cornish Ogre” suggests the events take place on the British Isles. The action
spans over one year, as we see seasons succeeding outside the garden of the Giant: “But the
Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the
Giant's garden she gave none.”

Physical setting

The main physical setting is the Giant’s garden, which goes through different stages. At first, the
garden resembles a paradise: “It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass.

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Narrator
The short story “The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde is a third-person narrative, but it is hard to
tell whether the narrator has limited or unlimited knowledge on the events. The story is told in
retrospect, meaning that the narrated events have already happened.

Some hints that may suggest the narrator has implicit omniscient knowledge can be found in the
way he renders the Giant’s thoughts and feelings:

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Themes and message
The main themes in the short story “The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde are that of the negative
consequences of selfishness and that of redemption. Since the short story was intended for
children, the author explored these themes in an allegorical way, using a fantasy world with
giants and ogres and personifying natural elements.

Negative consequences of selfishness

The short story illustrates how certain behaviours attract negative consequences, being a very
moralistic tale.

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Redemption
The second theme of the story is that of redemption and forgiveness. Upon realising that it was
his selfishness that has caused the warm seasons to avoid his garden and that it is children who
bring spring along with them,

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Message
The author’s message in this story is very clear: bad deeds are always punished, and good deeds
are always rewarded, in this life or the afterlife.

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Motifs
The themes and message of the short story are enhanced with several motifs which play a
symbolic role.

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