The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde | CommonLit | Paired Texts

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by Oscar Wilde 1888

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

Love and Friendship

Emily Brontë

Emily Brontë (1818-1848) was an English poet and novelist. While growing up, Brontë spent much of her time creating stories with her siblings, two of whom were also famous authors. In this poem, Emily Brontë uses symbolism to argue that friendship — not love — is everlasting.

Pair “The Selfish Giant” with “Love and Friendship” and ask students to compare the themes and messages of the two pieces. How do they relate to one another in terms of their discussions of love and friendship? How do Brontë and Wilde’s definitions of love and friendship compare?

8th Grade Poem 1200L

The Model Millionaire

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854B1900) was an Irish author and playwright who is most famous for his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. "The Model Millionaire" is a about an average man whose generosity produces an unexpected outcome.

Pair “The Selfish Giant” with “The Model Millionaire,” both by the same author, and ask students to compare the depictions of love in each text. How do the definitions of love and affection differ in the texts?

9th Grade Short Story 860L

The Lion and the Mouse

In this classic fable by Aesop, the ancient Greek storyteller, a tiny mouse proves to a powerful lion that she is greater than she seems.

Pair “The Selfish Giant” and “The Lion and the Mouse” and ask students to compare the themes of friendship and selflessness. How does the friendship between the giant and the little boy compare to the mouse and the lion’s friendship? How do their friendships differ? How does friendship benefit us?

5th Grade Fable 880L

Robert Frost

In Robert Frost's poem "Dust of Snow," a speaker describes snow falling on them from a tree branch.

Pair “The Selfish Giant” with “Dust of Snow” and ask students to discuss how the characters’ moods are improved in the two texts. What role does nature play in improving the characters’ moods? Are the characters responsible for their own happiness? Why or why not?

Why the Sky Is Far Away

In the folktale "Why The Sky Is Far Away," Tina Tocco tells the story of how the sky used to feed all people, until the day it moved away.

Pair “The Selfish Giant” with “Why The Sky Is Far Away” and ask students to discuss how both texts explore selfishness. How is the Giant selfish with his garden? How does this compare to humans’ inability to think about the Sky in “Why The Sky Is Far Away”? How are the characters of the two stories disadvantaged by their selfishness?

4th Grade Folktale 660L

Everella's Wand

Marjorie R. Sheffer

In Marjorie R. Sheffer's short story "Everella's Wand," a fairy must work among humans to repair her broken wand.

Pair “The Selfish Giant” with “Everella’s Wand” and ask students to discuss show the fairy and the giant only think of themselves in the beginning of the two stories. What lesson do both stories share?

4th Grade Fiction - General 740L

On Winning the Coloring Contest in Second Grade

Anna Hodges

In Anna Hodges' poem "On Winning the Coloring Contest," a speaker describes winning a coloring contest.

Pair “The Selfish Giant” with “On Winning the Coloring Contest in the Second Grade” and ask students to discuss what it means to be selfish. In what ways is the Giant selfish? Do you think that the speaker in the poem is similarly selfish? Why or why not? How does the Giant feel after letting the children play in his garden? How do you think the speaker would feel if she allowed Brad to have the bike?