The Extended Metaphor In Four Skinny Trees

    The speaker (Esperanza) compares herself to trees for the extended metaphor and it creates a theme of loneliness which is brought up in the short story multiple times. She compares herself to trees by saying “They are the only ones who understand me. I’m the only one who understands them. Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine.” That sets up the tone of loneliness because she is comparing herself to trees and in my personal opinion that sounds like she is really alone and she needs some attention. She also sounds like she needs to be stronger about herself and how she wants to be a skinny tree so she could fit in with the ones that don’t belong there in the city poorly placed. In the end of the story she says “When there is nothing left to look at on this street. Four who grew despite concrete? Four who reach and do not forget to reach. Four who’s only reason id to be and be.” That shows loneliness because she is saying on a literal level is that when there isn’t anything to look at on the street or everywhere else there will always be those four skinny trees. That is the extended metaphor in the short story The Four Skinny Trees and why the theme that was presented out of that was loneliness.

-Alex Renner