Gwyneth Pearson
LI222
Southeast Missouri State University
Exploring Sacred Trees
In mythology, many myths associate the sacred tree of having roots that extend to the depths of the earth and branches that reach the heavens. The commonality we see in all these myths is that the scared tree, whether the roots or branches, has depths connected to life, death, transformation, and mysteriousness, but that mysteriousness usually leads to something important to humankind, or the “greater good.” As the textbook says, it brings together the temporary and the infinite, as one intertwining object full of life.
In Indian myth, the “Cosmic Tree” represents to universe or cosmos in full bloom. From their perspective, the Universe is an inverted tree, with roots in the sky and the branches being the earth. In this view, creation is descending, or as I interpreted that statement, something that is subjective and consequential. The branches in this myth are the things that make up our survival: air, fire, water, and earth. With this, they are also what make up man. From my point of view, we can also attribute human behavior within the elements water, fire, air, and earth… so intuition, empathy, care, being water; war, anger, adventure being fire; intelligence, thought, the flow of life being air; calm, patience, and longevity being earth.
I found the Norse myth of the Yggdrasil Tree to be extremely profound and interesting. With this myth, it is seen as the Tree of Wisdom but also the Tree of Life. The ends of the roots represent the entire universe/cosmos, and it has three great roots. One root reaches to Asgard, which is the plane of the Gods and light elves. Another root extends to Jotenheim, which is below the Asgardian plane, that men, giants, dark elves, and dwarfs reside. The other root goes very low, to the plane of Niflheim, which is the land of cold and mist, where Hel commands the dead. The tree connects all three planes of the Universe. Below each root is a well. The Asgardian well is called Urd, Norns stand watch and sprinkle necessities to the Tree, to care for the Tree. I believe this can also connect to human caretakers and how we must care for humanity for it to continue to exist. The Jotenheim well, called the spring of Mirmir, is the pure source of the second root. The Niflheim well, called Hvergelmir, and is a source for the eleven great floods, and even a mythological creature that resides within the source. This specific perspective of the Sacred Tree intrigues me so much because of the specifics on regards to connections. There are only three roots, but the myth itself seems to be non-linear, as after Ragnarok, the world will become anew again.
The Tree is of life, and as we know life is not light nor dark, it connects the underworld to the upperworld, connecting the living and the dead. Even though they are separate, are they truly? They are connected, one cannot exist without the other, and that’s what the Sacred Tree truly represents and the purpose, nothing we have can exist without the consequence, or the opposite, as everything is connected, so if we want to have good, we must have the bad, or what is perceived as bad. The tree is not something seen as linear, as it holds connections to rebirth. Even speaking on why this is so, I am finding myself writing without an end, because for this idea, there is none, not a true definite one. The Sacred Tree also represents hope, a stronghold, and opportunity, as a tree holds fruits.
For the movie clip I wanted to write about, I chose one of the ending scenes from Shawshank Redemption. In this movie, we see an extremely intelligent and innocent main put in jail, we follow his struggles in jail, the friendships and bonds he creates, the opportunities he creates, the corruption of the justice system, and his escape. This main character and innocent man, is named Andy. He makes a close friend in jail, who they call Red, is not innocent of his crime, but they become close regardless. We see that Red is a pretty likeable character, but he kept getting denied parole time after time. Before Andy makes his incredible escape, he tells Red that if he ever gets out, to go to this specific big white oak tree, as he has something that he wants to give him. For context, before either of them got out of jail, one of the people they became close to in the jail was Brooks, the librarian. Brooks was an older man, and had practically spent his entire life in the jail. When he was released, the heartbreak, fear, and pure shock in this man was shown in the film. He wasn’t prepared nor able to function mentally in this new, unfamiliar world. He sends a letter to his friends in the jail,
“Dear fellas, I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile
once when I was a kid, but now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in
a big damn hurry. The parole board got me into this halfway house called ‘The
Brewer’ and a job bagging groceries at the Foodway. It's hard work and I try to keep
up, but my hands hurt most of the time. I don't think the store manager likes me very
much. Sometimes after work, I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake
might just show up and say hello, but he never does. I hope wherever he is, he's doin'
okay and makin' new friends. I have trouble sleepin' at night. I have bad dreams like
I'm falling. I wake up scared. Sometimes it takes me a while to remember where I
am. Maybe I should get me a gun and rob the Foodway so they'd send me home. I
could shoot the manager while I was at it, sort of like a bonus. I guess I'm too old for
that sort of nonsense any more. I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the
time. I've decided not to stay. I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like
me”
By the time they had received the letter, Brooks had already carved his name in the wood in the apartment he was staying in, and killed himself. Red said something to Andy basically saying he doesn’t know if his fate would be any different, that the jail was all he’d ever known. When Red did get out, he ended up working at the same Foodway as Brooks, and the same exact apartment. He was able to physically function better, but mentally, he felt hopeless. He remembered what red told him, and went to go search for the big white oak tree. He was told his gift would be under a stone, or a rock different from all the other rocks. Once Red found it, he was given money for a plane ticket and a letter that wrote
“Dear Red, if you’re reading this, you’ve gotten out. And if you’ve come this far, maybe
you’re willing to come a little further. I could use a good man to help me get my
project on wheels. I’ll keep an eye out for you, and the chessboard ready. Remember
Red, hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies. I
will be hoping that this letter finds, you, and finds you well. Your friend, Andy.”
Red then quotes, in narrative, the quote that Andy said to him before escaping,
“you either get busy living or get busy dying,” showing his decision to get busy living, not dying. We follow him back to the apartment, where he packs his things, carves his name under Brooks’ name in the same wood, and then get on his way to find Andy. This specific part of Shawshank Redemption regarding the tree represents hope, a new life, and death of the old. I think also, with a tree being made of wood, also represents death of hope for Brooks. Though, in the same wood, from the same tree most likely, Red gains hope, almost as if that hope died and was reborn, again, the non-linear aspect of a tree and what is provides. Trees are the connection, everything together, as the differing sides of life, death, and every other concept you could think of.
Works Cited
Darabont, F. (1994). The Shawshank Redemption. Columbia Pictures.
Leeming, D. A. (2019). Part 4; Iceland (Norse): Yggdrasil. In The World Of Myth (3rd ed., pp.
294–295). Oxford University Press.
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