Literary Criticism

What are some examples of formalism in the Giving Tree?

children’s story with simple structure, repetition, pages become more dense as the story progresses and the boy grows

What are some examples of archetypal criticism?

tree as a mother, tree as earth and boy as human (eco criticism)

What are some examples of feminist criticism?

mothers giving everything to their child, typical role when boy wants to provide for his family but can’t without female help, boy gets all the credit and never says thank you, tree is stuck, boy doesn’t care that he is taking everything from the tree

What are some examples of marxist criticism?

greed, ambition, entitlement, money=happiness, tree as lower class being happy to help boy upper class

What are some examples of postcolonial criticism?

boy as colonizer and tree as colonized who is happy to be saved and to help the colonizer

What are some examples of psychoanalytic criticism?

childhood innocence and adult corruption, tree as the id and boy as the superego, tree caused the boy’s dependance so that he would never leave her supported by her giving him ideas to take things from her and her loneliness, tree calls the boy

What are some examples of new historicism?

written in 1970s, communists were still at large, environmental activism

What is new historicism?

applying historical context to the work

How do you go about applying new historicism?

find clues in the book through setting, historical markers, allegory; research history

What should you look out for in feminist criticism?

portrayal of female characters, gender dynamics, vocabulary

What should you focus on in marxist criticism?

characters’’ class situation, how does money change people

How do you spot psychoanalytic criticism?

unconscious desires and dreams of the character