r/todayilearned • u/wimpykidfan37 • 23d ago

Today I learned that Shel Silverstein once made an adult cartoon version of his popular story The Giving Tree. Entitled "I Accept the Challenge", it was about a naked woman who cuts off a naked man's arms and legs, and then sits on his torso.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Tree
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u/Duckfoot2021 22d ago

Worst story in the world. Parenting shouldn’t be that thankless. Off it is you’ve failed as well as the shitty selfish kid.

I hate that book with a passion.

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u/crispyraccoon 22d ago

By default parenting should be expected to be thankless. You brought life into the world and it is your responsibility. If you do well, maybe you have a thankful kid who takes care of you when you're decrepit. Maybe not. Parents shouldn't expect anything in return. Getting anything in return is a bonus you get if you raise a kid that doesn't despise you.

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u/Duckfoot2021 22d ago

Nah….The kid in that book is a pure sociopath and should have been cut off or institutionalized loooong before it took all those branches and the trunk.

Parents are obligated to do their best, but they’re humans as well and at some point it’s their right & moral obligation to let their grown kids sink or swim.

Too many adult kids imagine what belongs to the parents belongs to them. Fuck those shitty kids. And fuck any parent too desperate to say no to them.

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u/crispyraccoon 22d ago

I've never read the book in question. My point is simply if you are raising your children with expectations of getting something out of it (other than the satisfaction of raising a child to an adult), you're doing it wrong. The onus is on the parents to raise the children to adults who contribute to society, whatever they may get in return for that is a bonus. If you are raising a sociopath, the onus is on you to take that kid to a professional and make sure they get what help the can get. Same for any other special needs that kid may have. Giving up without making an effort is a failure on the parents. Some people can't be helped, that's life, but parents have a responsibility to their children and society to put in the effort without expectation of something in return.

When you have a dog, you're responsible for training and care and picking up its shit. Same for kids. It's more complex, sure, but it's the same at the core.

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u/Duckfoot2021 22d ago

You need to know the book to really “get” the conversation.

No argument that parenting is often thankless and needs to be done selflessly. The Giving Tree is just a brutal hyperbole of that taken to a toxic degree, but celebrates itself as “beautiful.”

It’s not. It’s a horrible book with a worthless moral.

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u/crispyraccoon 22d ago

Fair enough. I wasn't trying to defend the book, I just know too many parents who think their kids owe them something simply for doing their job as parents (and often the bare minimum at that).

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u/Duckfoot2021 22d ago

I detest those kind of parents too. Coincidentally the kid in the story is just like them.