70 pages • 2 hours read
Michael ChristieGreenwood
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Trees
While the environment plays a prominent role in Greenwood, its presence is symbolic of the larger inexplicable forces that dictate changes in fortune. Trees are often portrayed as dispassionate witnesses to the characters’ lives—Euphemia Baxter dies embracing a maple tree; Everett Greenwood and Temple Van Horne are buried near the maple trees where they began their relationship; God’s Middle Finger hangs over Jake’s thoughts as she confronts the possibility of new wealth. When Jake cuts the tree down, she briefly traces the novel’s upheavals in its rings. The events of the novel are described as occupying only a few inches in the tree’s history, minimizing their significance in the grand scheme of things.
The persistent quality of trees prompts the characters to make something good of their lives. Liam Greenwood finds his footing as a carpenter when he discovers the craft of fine woodwork. Though an environmental preservationist, Willow praises Liam’s craft, saying that it respectfully honors the sacrifice of the trees. Liam’s work resonates with Everett Greenwood’s treatment of trees; in fact, Everett directly inspires Liam’s career when he cuts down three of the maples he planted with Temple to build her coffin. Jake’s choice to cut down God’s Middle Finger represents her defiance of the belief that humanity’s needs must be prioritized over the environment’s. The balance between trees and humankind represents Humanity’s Interdependent Relationship with the Environment.
Literature and Writing
Literature and writing are recurring symbols in the novel, representing the possibility of new life. The first time a significant piece of writing appears is in Jake’s narrative when Silas gives her a diary that he claims will ensure her ownership of Greenwood Island. In this narrative, paper is seen as an antiquated object since most of the world’s trees have been wiped out by the Great Withering. As a result, literacy is considered a luxury by the people in Jake’s time. As she comes to acquaint herself with the contents of the book—the diary of Euphemia Baxter—Jake becomes inspired to rise above the anxieties of her time. The emotional strength conferred by Euphemia’s story is more valuable to her than the material wealth the book promises.
Literature also recurs in the other parts of the novel, inspiring characters to embrace an environmentalist mindset. Willow, for instance, becomes an activist after reading the 1948 book Our Plundered Planet by American conservationist Fairfield Osborn. Liam, on the other hand, becomes deeply invested in fine woodwork as he becomes acquainted with the writings of the woodworker George Nakashima.
Finally, literature becomes one of the cornerstones of Everett’s relationship to Temple. After spending the day planting the saplings that will become maple trees around her farm, Temple offers to teach Everett how to read using the Greek epic poem The Odyssey by Homer. In many ways, Everett’s desire to return to Temple mirrors Odysseus’s quest to return to Penelope on his home island of Ithaca.
Death
Death becomes a major motif in the latter half of the novel, supporting the theme of The True Value of Family Legacies. At the end of the novel, Jake muses on the fact that only a portion of a tree is considered alive while the rest of it is dead tissue that exists to maintain the tree’s structural integrity. This is a key metaphor for how Euphemia, Everett, Willow, and Liam’s actions influence Jake’s circumstances while also giving her the means to rise above her circumstances.
A central aspect of this motif is the fact that none of the characters realize the full extent of what their parents and grandparents did to make the world a better place for them to live in. For example, Willow continues to resent Harris until she meets Liam Feeney, who explains that her father’s decision to raise her was a symbol of his love for his brother. Similarly, Jake resents her identity as a Greenwood until she reads the diary of Euphemia Baxter. The characters’ shifting relationships with their forebears underscore that the true value of family legacy is immaterial. Willow realizes that she doesn’t need her father’s wealth to live a life that is true to her values. Similarly, Jake is emboldened to save Greenwood Island when she realizes that life can go on despite the Great Withering. Though she doesn’t reject the possibility of wealth as Willow did, she commits herself to her values even if it puts her career at risk.
