THE DICHOTOMY OF NATURE AND CHULTE: CONSTRUCTIVE OR DESTRUCTIVE? (AN ECOFEMINIST READING OF THE GIVING TREE)

The Giving Tree reveals a special connection between a giving tree and a receiving boy. While some readers might define the aforementioned relationship as “love,”, the ecofeminist reading of the book disentangles new aspects of this story. Since the exploitation of nature and the oppression of women, as the main postulations of diverse branches of ecofeminism, are vividly depicted in this book, the present study unravels the resemblance of nature and women along with their subordination by the patriarchal society. Additionally, illustrations of the book are injected through the analysis to explicate the theoretical depictions. Eventually, the analysis leads to the conclusion that children had better confront the ecofeminist tenets through pictures and stories to fully comprehend the destructive effects of patriarchy as defined by ecofeminism.

Keywords:

boy , ecofeminism , love , nature , patriarchy , tree , women