Political, social and moral me
Political, social and moral meTheodore Seuss Geisel, better known to generations of readers all over the world as "Dr. Seuss," is the American author of many popular children’s books. Dr. Seuss’ "deft combination of easy words, swift rhymes and batty nonsense" (Horn 69) has convinced many children that reading does not have to be a boring chore, but instead can be fun and entertaining. Amidst these wacky drawings of zany characters spouting off crazy rhetoric, there is much hidden symbolism. Many of Dr. Seuss’ works contain political, social, and moral messages.
Political messages in Dr. Seuss’ works include war, economic and environmental themes. Two of Dr. Seuss’ later works, The Butter Battle Book and The Lorax, "take strong stands on the dangers of indifference to world affairs." (Horn 70) In The Butter Battle Book, Seuss takes nuclear war as his theme. Two groups of animals live on either side of a stone wall. One side eats their bread butter side up, while the other side eats their bread butter side down. Because of each group’s odd ways, neither side trusts the other. Each side sets up a border patrol with mild protection. Over the course of the book, the weapons get more complicated and powerful until each side invents "the bitsy big-boy boomeroo," a very powerful bomb. Each side is ready to destroy the other when the books ends. These groups could represent the nuclear opponents of the time, mainly the United States and Russia. "In this book Dr. Seuss turns didactic and calls up many moral arguments adults make against nuclear proliferation." (Lystad 1) This book "ends without resolution of the issues" (Lystad 2) and leaves it up to the reader to decide his or her own beliefs on nuclear war.
Political issues arise again in Green Eggs and Ham. In this book "Sam-I-Am’s persistence convinces a friend to try an unusual - but tasty - dish." (Horn 67) This confrontation between Sam-I-Am and his friend is "so obviously a parable about the struggle between capitalist and socialist ideologies." (Atkinson 132) It can be said that Sam-I-Am represents the capitalist United States trying to convince communist countries to try the new, strange and unusual dish of green eggs and ham, which represents capitalism.
Political messages can also be found in The Lorax, in which "the threat is environmental." (Lystad 4) In this book the Once-ler, an evil character, comes to the beautiful land where the Truffula trees grow. The Once-Ler sees the trees only as a commercial profit and chops them down to make products. The Lorax, the funny brown hero who wants to save the trees and animals, preaches against this, but the Once-Ler does not listen. He builds a giant factory which fills the air with smog. No one listens until all of the animals and fish die from...
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