# Chapter Notes: The Selfish Giant

This document provides a comprehensive analysis of Oscar Wilde's allegorical fairy tale, "The Selfish Giant," including a detailed summary, textual analysis, and discussion of its literary elements.

***

## Summary

Every afternoon, on their way home from school, a group of children would visit and play in a large, magnificent garden belonging to a Giant. It was a child's paradise, with soft green grass, beautiful flowers, and twelve peach trees that produced delicate pink and pearl blossoms in the spring and rich fruit in the autumn. Birds would perch on the trees and sing so sweetly that the children would often stop their games just to listen to them.

This idyllic routine was shattered when the Giant returned after a seven-year visit to his friend, the Cornish Ogre. Upon seeing the children in his garden, he became furious and, in a selfish rage, shouted at them to leave. He declared that his garden was his own and that he would allow nobody to play in it but himself. To enforce this, he constructed a high wall around the garden and put up a threatening notice board: "TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED." The children were left with no place to play and could only wander outside the high walls, reminiscing about the beautiful garden within.

Following the Giant's selfish act, the garden fell into a state of perpetual winter. When spring arrived throughout the country, the Giant's garden remained cold and desolate, covered in Snow and Frost. The trees forgot to blossom, and the birds refused to sing without the children. The Snow and Frost were so pleased that they invited the North Wind to stay, and he, in turn, invited the Hail. The seasons of joy abandoned the garden, and Autumn brought no golden fruit. The Giant, miserable and isolated, could not understand why Spring was so late in coming.

One morning, the Giant awoke to the beautiful music of a linnet singing outside his window. The sound was so sweet that it signaled the end of the long winter. Looking out, he saw a wonderful sight: the children had found a small hole in the wall and had crept back into the garden. On every tree he could see, a child was sitting, and the trees were so glad to have the children back that they had covered themselves with blossoms. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight.

However, in the farthest corner of the garden, it was still winter. There stood a very small boy, crying because he was too tiny to reach the branches of the tree. Seeing this, the Giant's heart finally melted. "How selfish I have been!" he said. He understood that he had kept the Spring out of his garden by keeping the children out. He went out to help the little boy, but when the other children saw him, they fled in terror, and winter returned to the garden. Only the little boy remained, his eyes so full of tears that he did not see the Giant approaching. The Giant gently lifted him up into the tree, which immediately burst into blossom. In gratitude, the little boy threw his arms around the Giant's neck and kissed him.

Seeing that the Giant was no longer wicked, the other children returned, and with them came the Spring. The Giant tore down the wall and declared that his garden would be the children's playground forever. He played with them every afternoon, but the little boy whom he loved best was never seen again. Years passed, and the Giant grew old and feeble. One winter morning, he looked out and saw a marvelous sight: the corner tree was covered in lovely white blossoms, its branches were golden, and underneath it stood the little boy. The Giant ran to him, but when he drew near, he saw the prints of nails on the boy's hands and feet. In anger, the Giant asked who had wounded him, but the boy replied, "These are the wounds of Love." Awe fell upon the Giant, and the child invited him to his garden, which is Paradise. Later that day, the children found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.

***

## Understanding the Text

**a. Where did the children use to play?**
The children used to play in the Giant's large, beautiful garden, which was filled with soft grass, flowers, and fruit-bearing trees.

**b. What did the Snow and the Frost do to the garden?**
The Snow and the Frost personified the winter that took over the Giant's garden after he drove the children away. The Snow covered the grass with a great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver, ensuring that the garden remained barren and cold.

**c. What did the giant hear when he was lying awake in bed?**
After a long and desolate winter, the Giant heard the beautiful and sweet music of a linnet bird singing outside his window. This sound was the first sign that the cold spell was breaking and that spring was finally returning to his garden.

**d. Why do you think the spring season never came to the giant's garden?**
In the story's allegorical framework, the seasons are directly connected to the presence of joy, love, and innocence. The spring season never came to the Giant's garden because his selfishness had banished the children, who symbolized these life-giving qualities. By walling the children out, he had effectively walled out happiness and warmth, leaving his garden in a state of perpetual spiritual and literal winter.

**e. How did the giant realise his mistake?**
The Giant realized his mistake through an epiphany that occurred when he saw the children sneak back into his garden. He observed the stark contrast between the parts of the garden that immediately blossomed wherever a child was present and the one far corner that remained in winter, where a tiny, crying boy could not reach a tree branch. This visual evidence of the connection between the children and the garden's vitality made him understand the profound consequences of his selfishness.

***

## 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 beautiful garden, which used to be the children's playground.

**ii. What does ‘they’ refer to?**
'They' refers to the children who have been locked out of the garden by the selfish Giant.

**iii. Why are they saying so?**
They are saying this because they have been deprived of their joyful playground. The Giant has selfishly built a wall around the garden, and they are now left with only the hard, dusty road to play on, causing them to fondly remember the happiness they experienced in the soft grass of the garden.

**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 the Giant, after his heart has been changed.

**ii. Who is he speaking to?**
He is speaking to himself, reflecting on the profound lesson he has learned about the nature of true beauty and happiness.

**iii. Who are ‘the children’ that the speaker is referring to?**
'The children' are the local school children who, through their innocence and joy, brought life and spring back into his garden and into his own heart.

**iv. Why is the speaker saying that ‘the children are the ……’?**
The speaker is using a metaphor to express his newfound understanding. While his garden's flowers are beautiful, he now realizes that the children possess a far greater and more vital beauty. Their presence brings life, joy, and warmth (symbolized by the spring), making them the most precious and essential "flowers" in his garden and in his life.

**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 afterwards, the happy giant dies. What is the coincidence of this event? Describe it in relation to this fairy story.**
The event is not a mere coincidence but the allegorical climax of this fairy story. The little boy represents a Christ-figure, a messenger of divine love and forgiveness. The "coincidence" is a profound act of spiritual reciprocity. Years earlier, the Giant, in his first act of selfless love, lifted the child into his earthly garden. Now, the child returns to invite the redeemed Giant into his garden, which he explicitly names "Paradise" or Heaven.

This event is the culmination of the Giant's journey from selfishness to salvation. The child's earlier wounds, which he calls the "wounds of Love," are an allusion to the stigmata of Christ, confirming his divine nature. The invitation is therefore a divine reward for the Giant's transformation. His subsequent death is not a sorrowful end but a peaceful and joyous transition into the afterlife, signifying that his soul, having embraced love, is finally ready for eternal peace.

### 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?

Personification is the literary device of attributing human qualities and actions to inanimate objects or abstract ideas. Three prominent examples from the story are:
1.  **The Flowers**: After the children are banished, the flowers are so sad for them that they slip back into the ground to sleep.
2.  **The Snow and the Frost**: These two are portrayed as characters who are "pleased" that spring has forgotten the garden. They declare, "We will live here all the year round," and invite other winter elements to join them.
3.  **The North Wind**: He is described as a being "wrapped in furs" who "roared all day about the garden" and was invited as a guest by the Snow and the Frost.

The personification of the seasons is of utmost significance as it serves as the story's moral compass, visually representing the state of the Giant's soul. Nature itself reacts to the Giant's morality. When he is selfish, the life-giving seasons of Spring, Summer, and Autumn abandon him, leaving his garden in the hands of the harsh, personified Winter. This demonstrates that selfishness is an unnatural state, contrary to the life and joy of the natural world. When the Giant opens his heart to the children, nature joyfully responds in kind, and Spring returns. This powerful use of personification shows that love and compassion are in harmony with the natural order, while selfishness leads only to coldness and desolation.

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

This fairy story is rich with symbolism, where characters, objects, and natural elements represent deeper abstract and spiritual ideas.

* **The Children**: Symbolize innocence, purity, joy, and the life-giving potential of unconditional love. They are the agents of change who bring spring and happiness wherever they go.
* **The Seasons (Spring and Winter)**: These symbolize the state of the Giant's soul. Winter represents the coldness, sterility, and spiritual death of a selfish life. Spring represents rebirth, joy, beauty, and the life that is generated by love and generosity.
* **The Tree**: The special tree in the corner symbolizes the connection between the earthly and the divine. It is the site of the Giant's first true act of selfless love and, ultimately, the place of his peaceful death and ascent to Paradise.
* **The Corner of the Garden**: This initially cold and barren spot represents a place of spiritual need and potential. It is where the Giant's redemption begins and where he finally meets his divine reward, transforming it into a sacred space.
* **The Snow, Wind, and Frost**: These elements symbolize the oppressive and joyless forces that accompany a selfish existence. They are personified as the unpleasant guests who occupy a heart that has closed itself off to love.

### 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 primary figure of speech used for "winter, frost, snow, north wind, and hail" is **personification**, as they are all endowed with human thoughts, feelings, and actions.

The **little child** is a more complex figure. He functions as a powerful **symbol** and is an **allegorical figure** representing divine love and forgiveness. He is directly compared to **Jesus Christ**. This comparison is made explicit through several key details:
* His mysterious nature and his special connection to the Giant.
* The wounds on his hands and feet, which he calls the "wounds of Love," are a clear allusion to the stigmata from the crucifixion of Christ.
* His final invitation to the Giant to join him in his garden, which he names "Paradise," directly equates his domain with Heaven.

***

## Reference beyond text

### a. What is the main theme of the story?

The central and most powerful theme of "The Selfish Giant" is the **transformative and redemptive power of love and compassion**. The story functions as a Christian allegory to illustrate that a life lived in selfish isolation is spiritually barren, cold, and devoid of joy—a perpetual winter of the soul. In contrast, a life of love, sharing, and selfless generosity brings warmth, beauty, and true happiness, symbolized by the return of spring. The Giant's dramatic transformation from a cruel, selfish figure to a kind and loving one demonstrates that anyone, no matter how hard-hearted, can achieve redemption through a genuine change of heart and acts of love. The story teaches the profound lesson that it is only in giving that one truly receives, and that selfless love is the pathway to salvation and eternal peace.

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

Within the moral and allegorical framework of this story, punishment for cruelty and selfishness is not depicted as a direct, thunderous act from a vengeful God. Instead, it is portrayed as the **natural and inevitable spiritual consequence of one's own actions**. When the Giant is cruel and selfish, he is "punished" by being trapped in a perpetual winter. This is not an external punishment inflicted upon him, but rather the direct, barren reality he has created for himself.

By shutting the children out of his garden, he shuts out love, joy, and life itself. His punishment is the desolate, cold world that is a perfect mirror of his own heart. The story suggests that the true punishment for cruelty is a life devoid of the very warmth and happiness that one has refused to give to others. Salvation comes not from appeasing an angry deity, but from the personal act of opening one's heart to love, which naturally brings its own reward of joy and life.