Throughout the school year, Melinda’s tree goes through phases that reflect her emotions at the time. In the beginning of the story, Melinda thinks the project is too easy at first, thinking to herself, “How hard can it be to put a tree on a piece of paper?” (Anderson 32). However as Melinda tries to draw her tree, the more she begins to realize that she can’t. Similar to how she struggles with finding her voice, Melinda also has trouble drawing her tree. The tree acts as a symbol of growth and strength, something that Melinda tries to find in her life after her rape. As the story goes on, Melinda watches a real tree being cut down and listens to her father explain, “He’s not chopping it down. He’s saving it. Those branches were long dead