Flipped

The large sycamore tree is a complex symbol that supports the theme “Change as a Result of New Perspective.” Initially, the large sycamore represents timelessness and stability thanks to its size and longevity; Mrs. Baker once tells Juli it is a “testimony to endurance” (142). Soon, though, the reader realizes that the tree’s truest endurance is in the spirit and energy Juli feels when she climbs high in its branches and the new point of view she has as a result. These, with the help of her father’s gift of a painting of the tree, will last indefinitely. Juli keeps the painting near her bed so that, seeing its image when she awakens, she is reminded of “the day that my view of things around me started changing” (43). Her father says he hopes the tree’s spirit and impact will always be a part of her. In this way, the tree and Juli’s new perspective gained from it paradoxically represent both timelessness and change.

The young sycamore is a meaningful gift from Bryce to Juli. It represents his new view of their relationship and how change has brought a kind of rebirth and rekindling of spirit in him.