Another popular allegorical interpretation of the story is one focusing on environmentalism in which the tree is symbolic of all the planet’s natural resources which are exploited by selfish human beings for short-term goals and needs. Update this section! You can help us out by revising, improving and updating this section.
The very first interaction between the boy and the tree is one in which the boy gathers up the falling leaves in order to fashion for himself a crown. With this crown upon his head, he proceeds to play a game in which he pretends he is king of the forest.
The boat comes to symbolize not just that he has been a failure in life but combined with coming back to the tree to make the vessel of his escape, the boat also ties in with the crown of leaves a symbol of his selfishness. The tree is a symbolic of different things, depending upon the overall allegorical interpretation one takes.
The symbolism of this carving representing maturity is juxtaposed against the fact that the tree continues to address “M.E.” as boy even as he ages into an elderly man. When the boy comes back and builds a boat from made from the trunk of the tree, he describes himself as “old and sad.”
The very first interaction between the boy and the tree is one in which the boy gathers up the falling leaves in order to fashion for himself a crown. With this crown upon his head, he proceeds to play a game in which he pretends he is king of the forest.
For many—perhaps most—the tree is really a symbol for the boy’s mother; her willingness to give and give despite getting so little in return is symbolic of the unconditional love of a mother for a child.
The second carving is a symbol for the boy’s maturation from a young boy content with playing games by himself into a man who acknowledges to the tree that he wants a wife and children.
Unquestionably, the boy loves the tree back, but the argument here is that it is the opposite kind of love shown by the tree. Hers is unconditional; his is very conditional based on selfish desires.