what is the theme of the book learning tree by gordan parks?

Answer 1

You must read The Learning Tree (1963) carefully and determine its meaning for you. That will be the best way to state its theme. You may then want to view the movie, which Gordon Parks made himself, to see how he chose to modify the original story to gain attention from the movie-going public. I once had an opportunity to participate in a discussion of the book/film with Parks at the time of the release of the movie (1969). Of course, the story was based on his own experience as a boy growing up in rural Kansas in the 1920s. He insisted that the book was based closely on his life experience, only somewhat less threatening and tragic than the reality; furthermore, the said the movie was different from the book only in that once again he made it even less threatening and tragic. I think I remember him saying (though I can't swear to this) that, of all the young African American boys he grew up with in that prejudiced Kansas community, he was the only one who survived into adulthood.

The themes that I remember most vividly are (1) the warmth and support of a close-knit family during periods of social crisis; (2) the approach of a peace-loving family to the unfairness of prejudice and discrimination; (3) the psychological, sexual, and intellectual tensions of adolescence; (4) an understanding of why young men who suffer outright prejudice and unfairness might want to respond violently; and (5) the inevitable consequences of a life of pressure, tension, resistance, rejection, and violence.

But that was my way of experiencing the novel and the film in the context of the 1960s. I wonder what meanings you will find in it some four decades later. Parks gained fame in his long life (1912-2006) as a photographer, filmmaker, author, and musician. Upon his death this year, he was buried with honor in his hometown in Kansas. One could hardly have imagined such honor devolving upon him when he was growing up eighty years earlier. How far we have come (and how far we have yet to go). The Learning Tree is probably not Parks' most enduring work, but it may well be his clearest and warmest statement on his own growing up, his own family, survival, and living with the constant threat of prejudice.

Answer 2

The Learning Tree Movie

Answer 3

The inner lives of a black family as they struggle to understand and accept--without malice--the bitter challenge of their special world. It's the story of a young African American growing up in a rural setting in the early part of the 20th century, when racial discrimination was a social norm, legally sanctioned in parts of the United States.