The Singing Tree

720 Words3 Pages
In the historical novel, The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy, the author shows that a common goal among people of different nationalities and religious beliefs is to live a peaceful life. Even when nations become entangled in the destructive acts of the Great War in 1914, the common man still strives for peace. Kate Nagy and her cousin Jancsi, both thirteen years old, and their family represent the common man in Hungary who tries to live in accord with his fellow man. In this book, the Hungarian people live together in peace and harmony, even in wartime, as shown by the Nagys' loving family life, their ability to live and work together with people of different cultures, and their recognition that all men are brothers. Throughout the book, the Nagys illustrate a loving family life. Many things had happened before the war started which display how life was before the war began. One of the boys, Jansci, is a growing child, who experienced the excitement of being entrusted with a herd for him to manage. In fact, he was so happy that he jumped upon hearing the news! A very formal wedding occurred in the town. To keep the wedding exciting, it began as a story where the bride was a white dove, and the groom was searching for his dove. Once he found his dove, everyone cheered and began to dance and celebrated the marriage between the bride and the groom. During the festivities, a friend of the character Jansci named Lily found herself swarmed with puppies which she was able to keep some for herself. How fun it must have been to have a dozen puppies to poke and play with at once! It is a shame the war following limited the amount of happy occasions that took place in this peaceful family, however in the end every member of the family survived and lived past when the story ends. The Singing Tree
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