About the Author
Gieve Patel is an Indian writer born in 1940 in Mumbai. He is a poet, a doctor, a painter, and a playwright. He writes poems and plays in English that talk about everyday life, nature, and big problems in society like unfair treatment of people. His works often show how strong living things can be, even when hurt. "On Killing a Tree" is one of his famous poems from his book Poems published in 1966. He lives a simple life and uses his writing to make us think about what we do to the world around us.
What’s the Story About?
This poem is not a regular story with heroes or adventures, but it feels like a step-by-step guide on how to kill a tree. The poet writes it in a calm, matter-of-fact way, like someone explaining a tough job. But really, it's to show how hard it is to destroy something that has grown strong over time.
The poem starts by saying that killing a tree is not as easy as just hitting it with a sharp tool once or twice. The tree has been growing for years, slowly drinking water from deep in the earth with its white, soft roots. Its skin (bark) is rough and tight, like a shield, and it has grown huge by eating the soil and sun.
To kill it, you first have to hurt its outer layer. You use a sharp knife or axe to cut and hack at the bark. You keep doing this until the white, sensitive part inside – called the "heart" of the bark – starts to bleed a sticky white liquid called sap. This sap oozes out and covers the cut like a bandage, trying to heal the wound. The tree fights back by growing new leaves that curl and relax in the sun and air.
But chopping the bark alone won't kill it. The tree's roots are the real source of its life. They are deep and white, twisted like fingers gripping the earth tightly. To finish the job, you have to pull the whole tree out from the ground. This means tying ropes around it and using all your strength to yank it up, or digging around the roots with tools until you loosen the soil. The roots will come out slowly, making choking sounds as they leave the wet, dark earth. Once out, the tree can't grow anymore and will dry up and die.
The poet uses these details to make us feel the tree's pain and strength. It's like watching a living friend being hurt slowly. The poem makes us wonder why we would want to kill something so tough and full of life.
Who’s Who in the Story
Since this is a poem, there are no named people like in a novel. But we can think of the main parts like characters:
- The Speaker (The Killer): This is the voice telling the story. It's like a guide or worker who knows how to destroy the tree. The speaker talks in a cold, simple way, listing steps without feeling sad. But through the words, we sense the poet wants us to feel the wrongness of it.
- The Tree: The real hero here! It's not a person, but the poem makes it feel alive – growing, bleeding, fighting back, and holding on with its roots. The tree stands for something strong that won't give up easily, like nature or even people facing tough times.
There are no other characters; it's just these two in a quiet battle.
Themes and Moral
Themes (Main Ideas)
- How Hard It Is to Destroy Life: The poem shows that killing something alive, like a tree, takes a lot of effort and time. It's not quick or simple, which makes us see the value in all living things.
- Nature's Strength: Trees grow slowly but become very tough. This is like how people or countries can suffer but keep going strong.
- Human Greed and Harm: People often cut trees for homes, farms, or money without thinking. The poem hints at bigger problems, like how rulers in the past hurt lands and people (some see the tree as a symbol for India under British rule).
Moral (Lesson)
The big lesson is: Think twice before you hurt or destroy something natural or alive. Easy harm isn't real – true damage needs cruel work, and it leaves everyone poorer. We should protect trees and nature, not treat them like enemies. Grow kindness instead of axes!
Important Vocabulary and Phrases
Here are some key words and phrases from the poem. I've explained them in easy, everyday words so you can picture them clearly:
- Leprous hide: "Leprous" means like a skin disease that makes things spotty and rough. "Hide" is animal skin. So, this is the tree's bark – rough, cracked, and dirty-looking, like old leather.
- Hacking and chopping: Using a sharp tool like an axe to cut roughly and quickly. It's like chopping vegetables but harder and more violent on wood.
- Bleeding bark: The tree's inner layer (under the rough skin) that gets cut and lets out sap (sticky liquid). It's called "bleeding" because the sap looks like blood, showing the tree feels pain.
- Sap: A thick, white or clear juice inside plants and trees. It flows like blood and helps the tree heal or grow.
- Curl and relax: The new leaves or tips bend and straighten out lazily in the breeze and sun. It's like stretching after a long sleep.
- Source: The starting point or main part that gives life. Here, it means the roots, which pull water and food from the soil.
- Mattock: A tool like a pickaxe with a flat blade, used for digging up soil or roots. Think of it as a strong garden shovel for tough jobs.
- Choking: Making a tight, gasping sound, like when something is pulled out with force. The roots make this noise as they leave the wet earth.
- White and wet: Describes the roots – pale like fresh milk and soaked from the damp soil, showing they're alive and strong.
- Earth cave: The dark, hole-like space in the ground where the roots live. It's cozy and hidden, like an underground home for the tree's base.
These words help paint a vivid picture. Read the poem again and spot them – it'll make the lines jump out!