The Black Walnut Tree Analysis

Throughout the world, man families, rich and poor, have probably experienced rough times. However, some families experience it in different ways. It is best to keep an open mind and hope for the best, rather than give up and through a pity party. Just like those families, in Mary Oliver’s “The Black Walnut Tree”, a mother and daughter are faced with the struggles of paying their monthly mortgage. Oliver uses this poem to emphasize the relationship between a tree and a family trying to make ends meet. The poem begins with a mother and her daughter debating about rather they should sell a black walnut tree to pay off the mortgage. Even though selling the tree would be a good short term idea, they know that more problems would come later on. In lines 11-15, Oliver uses metaphors to compare parts of a tree to the family’s necessities, saying Roots in the in the cellar drains I say, and she replies that
In lines 27-28 the daughter emphasizes that she and her mother would rather crawl in their shame than sell the walnut tree, knowing that they have let her fathers’ down. Eventually the mother and daughter makes a decision to not sell the walnut tree because it is their motivation. Although it would’ve brought them to a leveled place in life, they are willing to keep working hard to make the money.
In conclusion, the way Oliver uses, “The Black Walnut Tree,” to convey the relationship between a tree and a family is impelling. The figurative language used to describe the journey a mother and daughter go through to make ends meet relates to society now. Many families travel through months at a time, not knowing if they would have to sell something valuable, when they would run out of money, or when money would become hard to get, however they still remain strong and make wise