The Selfish Giant Analysis by Oscar Wilde

Symbolism

The Giant symbolizes the arrogance of human beings who feel that they control fate. The snow and winter represents emotions of anger and hatred that Giant felt toward other. The spring represents happiness and forgiveness. TH small child symbolizes divine intervention and help for those who show compassion and love. The small children represent innocence and purity of human thought and emotion when it not corrupted by greed and envy. 

Setting

The story is set almost entirely inside the garden of the Giant. The garden is beautiful with marvelous array of flowers and trees. However, after the Giant outs a wall around it there is no spring warming the frozen ground of the garden.

Conflict

Annoyed by the children running around his garden, the Giant builds a wall around his garden and makes it inaccessible. The kids cannot play anymore and the Giant just waits for the spring to come to his garden.

However, even though the winter ends, there is no spring in the garden. The world outside the garden sees blossoms and warmth of spring but the garden remains a frozen graveyard.

Climax

The giant sees the children laughing and playing in his garden and sees the spring had accompanied the children into his garden. He also locates a small boy struggling to climb up a tree and helps him.

He realizes that the spring celebrates the smiles and laughs of young innocent children and decides to break the walls down.