The Selfish Giant: Oscar Wilde

The author of this story is Oscar Wilde. The message of the story is the co-existence and the spread of love. It is a story of a young boy who was a messenger of God and a selfish giant.

The story starts with the children playing in the garden of the Giant every afternoon after coming from school. The garden was lovely, large, with soft grass, and fruit trees. The trees bore rich fruits and birds sang sweetly sitting on them.

One day after seven years the giant came back. He was staying with his friend, the Cornish Ogre. The children were scared to see him. He saw the children playing and scolded them that he would not allow anyone to play in his personal garden. He built a wall around it and also put a notice board. The notice board displayed a warning on it, ‘Trespassers will be prosecuted.

The children became sad as they had no other place to play. They would wander around the high walls of the garden and remember the beautiful days they had spent in the garden.

The spring the season came and there were blossoms and little birds all around. But it was winter in the giant’s garden and there were frost and snow. In the absence of children, birds also did not sing. Once a flower bloomed out of the grass but seeing the notice board, it also went back to sleep. Then came the north wind and the hailstorm. Due to the giant’s selfishness, autumn’s golden fruits also did not come to his garden.

One morning, the giant heard sweet and lovely music. It was a linnet singing outside his window. The hail and the north wind stopped and he could feel the spring. He saw that the children came into his garden through a little hole. The children were sitting on the branches of trees and the trees were blossoming. He also saw the birds flying and hear them chirping. The flowers had also come up.

But, to his surprise, in one corner there was still winter. He saw that there a young boy was standing and he was not able to reach the branches of trees. The tree lowered its branches but still, he could not climb.

At this scene, his heart melted. He realized that he was really very selfish. He decided to put that boy on the top of the tree, pull down the walls, and allow children to play here forever. But when the children saw him, they ran away and the garden became winter again. However, that little boy did not run as he was weeping. The giant put him on the top of the tree and the tree blossomed at once. He kissed the giant.

The other children realizing that the giant is not wicked came back. The spring came back with them. The giant used to play with the children every afternoon but that little boy was nowhere to be seen. As the years went by, he grew very weak. One winter morning, he saw a lovely tree with white blossoms in a corner. The branches of the tree were golden and the little boy stood under it.

The boy was wounded which made the giant very angry. He told the boy that he will slay the man who has harmed him. The boy told him that these were the wounds of love. The boy smiled and asked the giant to come to his garden. Later, the children found the giant dead under the tree covered with white blossoms

Understanding the text

Answer the following questions

a. Where did the children use to play? 

The children used to play in a beautiful garden that belonged to a giant in the afternoon when their the class would be over.

b. What did the Snow and the Frost do to the garden? 

The snow and the Frost were the two agents who appeared in the giant's garden after the offensive behavior of the giant against the children. The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak and the Frost painted all the trees silver. They even invited the North Wind to stay with them.

c. What did the giant hear when he was lying awake in bed? 

The giant heard some lovely music of a little singing bird linnet when he was lying awake in bed. He didn't hear such beautiful music for a long time.

d. Why do you think spring season never came to the giant's garden? 

I think the spring season never came to the giant's garden because she became sad along with the children. She was angry at the rude and impolite behavior of the giant. He was selfish not to allow his beautiful garden to play for the innocent children.

e. How did the giant realize his mistake? 

The giant realized his mistake by experiencing unusual changes that took place in his garden. He found out the continual presence of snow, frost, north wind, fog, etc. in his garden. He felt guilty himself for his harsh and impolite behavior toward the children. When the children reappeared in his garden through a small hole in the garden, it once again bloomed with leaves and flowers. He even heard the chirping of birds in his garden. Greenery and beauty has come back in the garden.. Thus, he realized his mistake.

 Reference to the context

 
A. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow. 

a. “How happy we were there !” they said to each other. 

i. Where does ‘there’ refer to?

'There' refers to the giant's garden where children used to play after school.

ii. What does ‘they’ refer to? 

They refers to the children who used to come and play in Giant's garden after school.

iii. Why are they saying so? 

They are saying so because they aren't allowed to play in the giant's garden anymore. The giant has chased them out of his garden being furious.

b. “I have many beautiful flowers,” he said; “but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all."

i. Who is the speaker?

The speaker is an old and feeble giant who keeps on watching the children at their play sitting on his armchair.

ii. Who is he speaking to? 

He is speaking to himself admiring his garden.

iii. Who are ‘the children’ that the speaker is referring to?

 'The children' that the speaker is referring to are the small and innocent school children who enjoy playing a lot in his garden.

iv. Why is the speaker saying that ‘the children are the most beautiful flowers of all’?

The speaker is saying that 'the children are the most beautiful flowers of all' because he has experienced blissful nature after the presence of children in his garden. They have brought back greenery and beauty hat vacated his garden when he became offensive and impolite to them. He has observed their simplicity and innocence. He believes that the children are the gift of beautiful nature and their presence has made the entire garden look beautiful and bloom with myriad leaves and flowers. The comparison values the worth of children much because by now he has realized they sustain the glory of nature with their presence.

c. When the little child smiled at the Giant and said to him, "You let me play once in your garden, today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise," shortly afterward, the happy giant dies. What is the coincidence of this event? Describe it in relation to this fairy tale.

When the little child reappears the second time in one of the garden's corners, the giant has become quite old and feeble. The child has come to return the gratitude of the giant who once had favored him to play in his garden. The giant keeps on searching and waiting for the little child. He is, in reality, alive only to meet the little child who has been a messenger of God  In a while after the little child's words, he dies in the afternoon.

B. The story makes use of personification as one of the main figures of speech. Cite three examples of personification from the story. What is the significance of the seasons personified in the story?

The story makes use of personification as the main figures of speech. Personification takes place when there is the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form. The three examples of personification used in the story are the Snow, the Frost, and the North wind. The significance of the seasons personified in the story is that they are related to nature and play a very vital role in transforming the giant's beautiful garden into a dry and barren land  as punishment against the bad deeds of the giant.

C. This story can be read as a fairytale, where the children, the seasons, the tree, the corner of the garden, the snow, the wind and the frost is all used as symbolism. Interpret those symbols.

Here, the spring season symbolizes happiness whereas the winter stands for suffering. The tree speaks of the identity of the child as Christ or his messenger.. The corner of the garden symbolizes the sacred place of God from where salvation is possible. The snow, the wind, and the frost represent unique forces against giant's cruelty.

D. Which figure of speech is used for ‘winter, frost, snow, north wind, hail and little child’? Who is the little child compared to?

The story makes perfect use of personification. Here, winter, frost, snow, north wind, hail, and little child have been magnificently personified. Among these, winter, frost, and snow are personified as feminine gender with unique nature force. They have punished the giant for his undeserving bad deeds against the innocent children. The north wind, hail, and little child have been personified as masculine gender with unique powers. The little child is compared to the Christian God 'Lord Jesus'.He has been presented with divine powers who have the power to change and everything. Due to his presence, the garden has been bloomed with beautiful leaves and flowers. The signs of two nails on his palms and feet remind us of the crucifixion of Lord Jesus.

Reference beyond the text

a. What is the main theme of this story?

There are various themes like arrogance, consequences of selfishness, love and compassion, the concept of salvation, etc that may be identified in this story.. Good deeds are always rewarded whereas bad deeds are always punished. The giant has been fittingly punished for his arrogance, selfishness, and cruelly to the innocent children. However, the giant realizes his folly soon and welcomes the children back in his garden. For his good deeds and changed behavior, he has been emancipated and taken to heaven by the little boy who has been no other but the messenger of God.

b. Does God punishes those who are cruel to children and very selfish?

Yes, if you believe in the story, God punishes those who are cruel to children and very selfish. Children are taken to be very innocent, simple, and beautiful creations of God. Their presence is the sign of good premonition. The example of the giant is a beautiful instance of God's punishment for undeserving actions.