The Selfish Giant: Summary and Analysis: 2022

This story by Oscar Wilde is a beautiful story about a Giant and a young boy. The giant changes after he meets the young boy. The story is about spreading love. 

The Selfish Giant Summary: Line by Line

The story starts with children playing in a beautiful garden that belonged to a Giant. They came to play in his garden every afternoon after they returned from school. The garden was beautiful, with trees that bore rich fruits and beautiful flowers all over. The birds would sit on top of the trees and sing beautifully.

The Giant returned home one day after spending seven years in his friend Cornish Ogre’s house. As the children saw him, they got afraid. When the Giant noticed the children, he chased them away and did allow them to play there. He also built a massive wall around the garden and put up a board that read ‘trespassers would be prosecuted.’ The children saw this and were sad about losing a good place for playing games. Often they would roam around the high walls and miss the beautiful garden beyond it.

It was soon Spring, and there were beautiful, colorful flowers everywhere. The trees were blossoming, and the birds were singing. But only in the Giant’s garden, winter still prevailed, and there was frost with endless snow all over. The absence of children caused the birds not to come to sign, and trees did not blood. A small flower bud bloomed out of the grass, but just as it saw the board, it slipped back into the ground and slept. In some time, snow covered the grass while blanked, and Frost painted the tress in silver. They invited the North Wind, which roared all day wildly in the garden. Soon enough, they had Hail join them, who would rattle the castle’s roof and break the slates of the roof.

Amidst this, the Giant wondered why Spring did not come to his garden. Summer and Autumn did not come too, and there were no golden fruits in his garden because of his selfishness. One day, the Giant was lying in his bed, and he heard sweet music. He noticed that Hail and the North Wind were not roading, and a pleasant fragrance came in. He jumped out of his bed in the hope that Spring had finally arrived.

The Giant saw that children had entered his garden via a tiny hole in the way. They were seated on the branches of trees, and the trees started to blossom. He noticed that the birds had come in and were chirping. The flowers were blooming in their brightest colors and made the garden a beautiful place for everyone. 

The Giant noticed that in one corner of the Garden, there was still Winter. He saw a small boy standing in front of the tree and could not reach the tree branches. The tree lowered its components, but he still too small to climb it. Seeing this, the Giant’s heart melted, and he realized how selfish he was in not allowing children to play in his garden.

The Giant broke the wall he had built around his garden to let the children come and play in his garden forever. The children got scared when they saw the Giant and ran away. Just then, Winter set again in his garden. The little boy did not run away. He was weeping because he could not climb the tree. The Giant took him in his arms and put him on top of the tree. The trees started to blossom again. The boy kissed the Giant’s cheek as a gesture of thankfulness.

The children came back as they realized that the Giant was not wicked or selfish. Spring returned with the arrival of the children. The Giant played with the children in his garden every day. However, he did not see the little boy again.

Several years later, the Giant was weak and old. On a winter morning, he saw a tree blossomed with beautiful white flowers in one corner of the garden. The branches of the tree were golden, and the little boy was standing under it.

The Giant was pleased to see the little boy. He noticed that there were prints of two nails on the palms of the child’s hands, and he got furious. He said that he would slay the man who harmed the little boy. The boy smiled and asked the Giant to come to his garden, the paradise. The children went to the garden in the afternoon and found the Giant lying dead under the tree. He was covered with white blossom all over his body.

The Selfish Giant Analysis

The story is about the process of the Selfish Giant change. It shows how he transforms from being selfish and wicked to generous and kind. The story highlights that spreading happiness is the best feeling one can experience.

The Selfish Giant Theme

The story is based on the theme that one must not be selfish. Everyone must try to be open-minded and spread love. The idea of life should not be to spread terror and hatred, instead just spread happiness. The story teaches one to let go of their self-interest and loves others. It also has the presence of a theological concept. It shows the presence of the Divine and the belief that the world has a system that God has justly ordered. The natural world, plants, animals, and weather, exists according to God’s will. The story also talks about redemption when the Giant befriended the little boy. The story also shows that children have natural goodness that has a transformative effect on the world. One must look at the simple perspective of children and use their needs as a moral compass.

The Selfish Giant Analysis Key Points

The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde speaks about co-existence and spreading love. The story is about a boy who is the messenger of God. There happens to be a selfish giant who did allow children to play in his garden; that is why there is an endless winter in his garden. When he sees the young boy, the giant realizes that he is selfish. So, he started to allow children to play in the garden, and he too joined them. After several years, the giant became weak. The boy came and took the giant to paradise.