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THE pain tree - Literature Notes
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Olive Senior was born in Trelawney, Jamaica. She attended Montego Bay High School, then went on to study journalism in Cardiff, Wales. She then studied at Carlton University in Ottowa. She currently lives in Canada, but visits Jamaica regularly. http://enloehs.wcpss.net/projects/west02/senior/bio.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Senior |
PLOT
The narrator remembers Larissa, the woman who took care of her as a child. She has a vision of Larissa greeting her, instead of her mother, when she arrives home. The narrator was sent to boarding school at ten years old and stayed away from home for fifteen years. She was returning home because her father had died and her mother was alone. She was their only child, so she felt burdened by the responsibilities that were left in the wake of her father's death, as well as her mother's expectations. She (www.bulbsoup.com) visited the slave barracks one day, heading straight to Larissa's room. After perusing it, she thought about how much that room was a part of her, about how she and Larissa had bonded, in that room, by arguing and choosing the pictures that would decorate the walls. Most importantly, they combed through the newspapers to find her sons. The narrator even signed for, and bought the telegram for Larissa, which facilitated the discovery that her youngest son, Zebedee, had died on a ship that sank. The narrator tried to comfort Larissa by hugging her and telling her that her son died as a hero, but it was not necessary, for Larissa did not cry, she didn't even take the day off. The narrator compared Larissa's response to her son's death to that of her parents' friends response to death in the family. It was a year long mourning, yet, in Larissa's case, she was not expected to mourn.
The narrator then recalls, with great shame, that when she was going off to boarding school in England, she did not tell Larissa goodbye. Larissa had asked her to wait because she had something for her, but she had allowed the driver to drive off without accepting the gift. She had planned to write to Larissa while she was away, but it never happened and she never once wondered what Larissa had for her. She felt ashamed for abandoning Larissa, while standing in her former room, and took out the resultant rage on the walls. She ripped the magazine clippings off the wall, then felt even more guilt ridden. She surmised that women like Larissa always moved on, history proved this. The narrator then recalls, again, the day that Larissa had received the news of Zebedee's death. Larissa went into the bushes (www.bulbsoup.com) and put a nail into a tree that was already filled with nails. She asked Larissa why she placed the nail in the tree and her response was that if you feel a heavy burden, too heavy to bear, you give a nail to the tree and ask it to take your burden from you, then you will feel relief. She explained that a lot of people did this, so the narrator tried it, but the nail would neither bend nor go in properly. Larissa suggested that maybe people like her did not need the tree. It was at that point that the narrator felt uncomfortable around Larissa, for the first time. The narrator then decided to find the tree and when she did, it was almost unrecognizable because it had become a massive, tall tree. She spotted the nails, high up in the tree, with the help of the sun glinting off the nails. It was then that she understood why the women gave the tree their pain, like prayers. The tree would always bear them up. The narrator then concludes that she should be grieving for people like herself, not the Larissa's of this world, because people like her (the narrator) would always inherit the land, but Larissa would possess the earth.
The narrator remembers Larissa, the woman who took care of her as a child. She has a vision of Larissa greeting her, instead of her mother, when she arrives home. The narrator was sent to boarding school at ten years old and stayed away from home for fifteen years. She was returning home because her father had died and her mother was alone. She was their only child, so she felt burdened by the responsibilities that were left in the wake of her father's death, as well as her mother's expectations. She (www.bulbsoup.com) visited the slave barracks one day, heading straight to Larissa's room. After perusing it, she thought about how much that room was a part of her, about how she and Larissa had bonded, in that room, by arguing and choosing the pictures that would decorate the walls. Most importantly, they combed through the newspapers to find her sons. The narrator even signed for, and bought the telegram for Larissa, which facilitated the discovery that her youngest son, Zebedee, had died on a ship that sank. The narrator tried to comfort Larissa by hugging her and telling her that her son died as a hero, but it was not necessary, for Larissa did not cry, she didn't even take the day off. The narrator compared Larissa's response to her son's death to that of her parents' friends response to death in the family. It was a year long mourning, yet, in Larissa's case, she was not expected to mourn.
The narrator then recalls, with great shame, that when she was going off to boarding school in England, she did not tell Larissa goodbye. Larissa had asked her to wait because she had something for her, but she had allowed the driver to drive off without accepting the gift. She had planned to write to Larissa while she was away, but it never happened and she never once wondered what Larissa had for her. She felt ashamed for abandoning Larissa, while standing in her former room, and took out the resultant rage on the walls. She ripped the magazine clippings off the wall, then felt even more guilt ridden. She surmised that women like Larissa always moved on, history proved this. The narrator then recalls, again, the day that Larissa had received the news of Zebedee's death. Larissa went into the bushes (www.bulbsoup.com) and put a nail into a tree that was already filled with nails. She asked Larissa why she placed the nail in the tree and her response was that if you feel a heavy burden, too heavy to bear, you give a nail to the tree and ask it to take your burden from you, then you will feel relief. She explained that a lot of people did this, so the narrator tried it, but the nail would neither bend nor go in properly. Larissa suggested that maybe people like her did not need the tree. It was at that point that the narrator felt uncomfortable around Larissa, for the first time. The narrator then decided to find the tree and when she did, it was almost unrecognizable because it had become a massive, tall tree. She spotted the nails, high up in the tree, with the help of the sun glinting off the nails. It was then that she understood why the women gave the tree their pain, like prayers. The tree would always bear them up. The narrator then concludes that she should be grieving for people like herself, not the Larissa's of this world, because people like her (the narrator) would always inherit the land, but Larissa would possess the earth.
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SETTING
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CONFLICT
The protagonist is very hard on herself for abandoning her nanny, who was literally like a mother to her. She saw herself as lacking, in relation to Larissa, who suffered so much.
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CHARACTERS
Protagonist (nameless)
Larissa
Mother
Protagonist (nameless)
- The protagonist is a descendant of former slave owning land owners.
- She was sent to boarding school in England, at ten years old.
- The protagonist admits that she felt suffocated as a child, and admits that she had escaped to Larissa.
- She, therefore, suffers guilt about the disregard that she showed to her nanny, Larissa.
- She is a contemplative person who ponders on the disparity between the members of the land owning class versus the servant class; people like Larissa.
Larissa
- Larissa is the protagonist's nanny.
- She took great care of the protagonist and even formed a special bond with the little girl.
- Evidence of this bond is seen when she tried to give the protagonist a parting gift.
- She led a rough life because while she took such good care the protagonist, she had two children of her own that she did not get to know.
Mother
- The protagonist's mother.
- The protagonist felt suffocated by her mother.
- The mother is presented, by the protagonist/ first person narrator, as spoiled and petulant because she is annoyed that she cannot get live in help anymore and begrudges the on set of independence because it would mean that no one would be willing to work for them anymore.
THEMATIC TABLE
THEMES
Friendship
Larissa and the protagonist have a sweet friendship. Larissa is the protagonist's nanny and they bond over the search for information about Larissa's children. They spend time together in Larissa's room, decorating her walls with magazine clippings and the protagonist even read Larissa the telegram about the death of Zebedee. These (www.bulbsoup.com) experiences cemented a friendship between employer and employee. The protagonist even attempted to console Larissa, who was not allowed the opportunity to grieve. Larissa shared her life with a lonely little girl, who, unfortunately, did not adequately return this friendship.
Women in Society
Larissa and women of her social ilk are treated differently from wealthy descendants of the slave masters. We see this difference, or juxtaposition, in the expectations around grieving. The upper class women are given ample time to grieve and there are even protocols around the process, the poor working class (www.bulbsoup.com) women, like Larissa, are expected to get on with life. An example is seen when the protagonist's neighbour grieved for a year, while being treated with warmth and sympathy, while Larissa is expected to keep working and has to resort to burying her pain with a nail in the pain tree.
Childhood Experiences
The flashback, which is the foundation of this story, is based on the protagonist's childhood experiences. We see her reflecting on the times that she spent (www.bulbsoup.com) with Larissa; searching for pictures, decorating the walls with these pictures, and helping Larissa to search for her sons. These times, which she did not appreciate, are considered to be the best of times in retrospect.
Friendship
Larissa and the protagonist have a sweet friendship. Larissa is the protagonist's nanny and they bond over the search for information about Larissa's children. They spend time together in Larissa's room, decorating her walls with magazine clippings and the protagonist even read Larissa the telegram about the death of Zebedee. These (www.bulbsoup.com) experiences cemented a friendship between employer and employee. The protagonist even attempted to console Larissa, who was not allowed the opportunity to grieve. Larissa shared her life with a lonely little girl, who, unfortunately, did not adequately return this friendship.
Women in Society
Larissa and women of her social ilk are treated differently from wealthy descendants of the slave masters. We see this difference, or juxtaposition, in the expectations around grieving. The upper class women are given ample time to grieve and there are even protocols around the process, the poor working class (www.bulbsoup.com) women, like Larissa, are expected to get on with life. An example is seen when the protagonist's neighbour grieved for a year, while being treated with warmth and sympathy, while Larissa is expected to keep working and has to resort to burying her pain with a nail in the pain tree.
Childhood Experiences
The flashback, which is the foundation of this story, is based on the protagonist's childhood experiences. We see her reflecting on the times that she spent (www.bulbsoup.com) with Larissa; searching for pictures, decorating the walls with these pictures, and helping Larissa to search for her sons. These times, which she did not appreciate, are considered to be the best of times in retrospect.
TECHNIQUES
Irony (situational)- It is ironic that Larissa, who was the protagonist's nanny, was more of a mother to her charge than to her own children. She formed a bond with the protagonist as a true friend, one that belonged to her own children who lived with Larissa's mother on an entirely different island. It is also ironic that Larissa was also more of a mother to the protagonist than the protagonist's own mother. The protagonists "saw nothing of myself in her, in this house, in this life" (Senior, 139).
Irony (situational)- It is ironic that Larissa, who was the protagonist's nanny, was more of a mother to her charge than to her own children. She formed a bond with the protagonist as a true friend, one that belonged to her own children who lived with Larissa's mother on an entirely different island. It is also ironic that Larissa was also more of a mother to the protagonist than the protagonist's own mother. The protagonists "saw nothing of myself in her, in this house, in this life" (Senior, 139).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Who did the narrator envision greeting her when she returned home?
2. What did the narrator's mother love to say? What was her silent response?
3. Why was the narrator returning home?
4. What were the narrator's mother's expectations of her?
5. What word does the narrator use to describe her mother? Why?
6. How did the narrator react to Larissa's room?
7. How did the narrator and Larissa bond?
8. Why did the narrator and Larissa pore over newspapers?
9. Who bought the telegram for Larissa?
10. How do we, the readers, know that Larissa loved her sons?
11. What news did Larissa get about Zebedee? How did the narrator try to comfort her?
12. How did Larissa react to the death of her son?
13. What was the expectation around grieving for women like Larissa?
14. What was the narrator ashamed of?
15. What was the plan, that the narrator had, that did not materialize?
16. What material thing did Larissa want?
17. Why did the narrator feel ashamed?
18. Why did the narrator rip the magazine clippings off the wall?
19. What realization did the narrator reach, in Larissa's room?
20. What is the reasoning behind the pain tree?
21. What happened when the narrator used the pain tree for the first time?
22. What did the narrator realize when she found the pain tree, in adulthood?
23. What was the narrator's final conclusion about who she should be grieving for?
1. Who did the narrator envision greeting her when she returned home?
2. What did the narrator's mother love to say? What was her silent response?
3. Why was the narrator returning home?
4. What were the narrator's mother's expectations of her?
5. What word does the narrator use to describe her mother? Why?
6. How did the narrator react to Larissa's room?
7. How did the narrator and Larissa bond?
8. Why did the narrator and Larissa pore over newspapers?
9. Who bought the telegram for Larissa?
10. How do we, the readers, know that Larissa loved her sons?
11. What news did Larissa get about Zebedee? How did the narrator try to comfort her?
12. How did Larissa react to the death of her son?
13. What was the expectation around grieving for women like Larissa?
14. What was the narrator ashamed of?
15. What was the plan, that the narrator had, that did not materialize?
16. What material thing did Larissa want?
17. Why did the narrator feel ashamed?
18. Why did the narrator rip the magazine clippings off the wall?
19. What realization did the narrator reach, in Larissa's room?
20. What is the reasoning behind the pain tree?
21. What happened when the narrator used the pain tree for the first time?
22. What did the narrator realize when she found the pain tree, in adulthood?
23. What was the narrator's final conclusion about who she should be grieving for?
Contributors: Leisa Samuels-Thomas
Senior, Olive. 'The Pain Tree' in A World of Prose, edited by Hazel Simmons-McDonald and Mark McWatt. (UK) Hodder Education, 2017.
Senior, Olive. 'The Pain Tree' in A World of Prose, edited by Hazel Simmons-McDonald and Mark McWatt. (UK) Hodder Education, 2017.
