It allows readers their own vantage point, their own seat high above the chaos and cruelty of the novel. the characters fall further and further into madness, but you never do. You get to see the boys for what they truly are: scared little kids left without adult supervision for far too long..
Answer: nine years.
Explanation: according to the given prompt, the tree doubled its height each year, therefore we can also say that no matter what year we are in (in the ten years limit), the year before, the tree was half of its size. So, if the tree reaches its maximum height in ten years, that means that the year before that (year number nine), the tree was half of its maximum height. So the answer is nine years.
