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Libby Dearden
Yee
English 11B Honors
April 4,2014
Dr. Seuss
Weve lost the finest talent in the history of childrens books, and well probably never
see one like him again (Obituary- Mr. Harrison). Dr. Seuss is known for being one of the most
beloved childrens author of all time. His books were creative and appealing, Dr. Seuss has
written 60 childrens books, which have all been successful and continue to sell today. He was a
very rare, unique writer and continues to influence many authors today. Many events had an
impact on Dr. Seuss, but three main factors that contributed to his work were environmentalism,
totalitarianism/ racial inequality, and Individualism/ the war.
Environmentalism had an impact on Dr.Seuss and his work, According to drseussart
the author states that overall Ted was concerned about the environment as a whole. It says He
wanted businesses, manufacturers, and individuals to take responsibility for their actions. In
huskiesinwonderland Mazzei gives you the idea that Dr. Seuss wrote about the selfishness of
human nature and their lack of will to preserve nature. Seuss focuses on the faceless big
corporation managers who hide their face in shame. According to Salisbury in relevantmagazine
he states that Seuss shows the fragility of nature and the consequences of reckless human
industry. Animal species are being extinct and moderation is thrown to the wind by the greedy
business managers who disregard the subtle yet obvious warning.
Environmentalism affected Seuss when writing The Lorax.In this book Dr. Seuss
writes I chopped just one tree. I am doing no harm.Im being quite useful. This thing is a
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Thneed.A Thneeds a Fine- Something-That-All-People-Need!(103-105).The Lorax is about a
Once-ler who makes money by cutting down trees called Truffula Trees, and making them into
Thneeds. They can be made for multiple things, and started to sell very well. However the
Once-ler didnt realize what he was destroying around him. Dr. Seuss wrote this to relate to the
faceless business men who unaware of the impact their businesses are having on the
environment. They thrive off of their business and the money they make from it. They dont
care what is best, as long as it is successful with the buyers. They are oblivious to the harm they
are doing to the environment. Another example shown in The Lorax is
Now, chopping one tree at a time was too slow From outside in
the fields came a sickening smack of an aze on a tree. Then we
heard the tree fall. The very last Truffula Tree of them all! (139-
142, 218-220).
The Once-ler being so caught up in his business didnt realize that he would run out of trees and
eventually have to shut down his business and start somewhere else. The story goes on to tell
how the factory had also created really bad air quality and smoke in the air, but all that mattered
to the Once-ler is his business and the success it had. This is criticism that the big corporations
will take whatever they want, when they want it no matter how it might affect the planet. They
dont recognize the consequences of their actions and what it can do to the air quality. Nature
seems to be decreasing all around us, and yet the business corporations could care less. The last
example written in The Lorax is UNLESS someone like you/ cares a whole awful lot,/ nothing
is going to get better./ Its not.(250-253). After the Once-ler destroyed every Truffulla Tree
around him he found a rock left by the Lorax (which spoke for the trees when all the damage was
being done.) that said UNLESS. At first he didnt know what it meant, but then realized only he
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can make the difference and fix the damage he has caused. Dr. Seuss managed to shame the
current generation and challenge the next generation by demonstrating the pitfall of progress
(Salisbury). Business are so caught up in their success, they are destroying everything around
them. We are given a planet to live no and take care of, and we are the only ones that can make
a change if we want to. We have to be the ones to care enough to make a difference and change
the circumstances around us.
Totalitarianism and racial inequalities had an impact on Dr. Seuss writing.According
to huskiesinwonderland Mazzei relates the book Yertle the Turtle to Hitler and the kind of power
he had. Yertle was very manipulative and rude which set him apart from the other turtles. She
believes that Yertle cared for no one, but himself and only what benefited him According to the
Ashweetha humanities blog, Seuss wrote Yertle the Turtle as a representation of Hitler, but adds
on that it also represents the nazi regime during World War II. She makes a connection to Yertle
wanting more land to Hitlers belief in Germanys need for lebensraum.According to The Art
of Dr. Seuss written by Stephen. She strongly feels that Yertle the Turtle displays how Dr. Seuss
felt about the before and after the U.S entered into WWII. She believes the story draws attention
to the Holocaust and the discrimination against Jews. He urged americans to oppose fascism.
Totalitarianism and racial inequalities affected Seuss when Writing Yertle the Turtle In this book
Dr. Seuss writes, Im ruler, said Yertle, of all that I see./ But I dont see enough. Thats the
trouble with me.(9-10).Yertle was king of the turtles, but didnt feel he had enough. He wanted
more. He wanted to be higher and look at the places beyond. He though his stone for a rock
was too small because all he could see was the pond. This displays how Hitler was. He was very
rude, loud, demanding, and extremely selfish. He was never satisfied with what he had. He
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would do whatever it took to get what he wanted too. He was disrespectful and could care less
what the other turtles thought. Another example is shown when Seuss writes,
Your majesty, please I dont like to complain, But down here
below, we are feeling great pain. I know, up on top you are seeing
great sights, But down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.
(68-72).
The turtles that were being stacked underneath Yertle to make his throne higher, and his view
greater were starting to get uncomfortable. There was so much weight the turtles had to bear of
one another to hold Yertle up and not have the throne collapse. This relates to the German
society speaking up against Hitler. They didnt like Hitler being in power. He completely
disregarded their health and wellbeing. They were treated very poorly and unfair. Many just
followed Hitlers beleifs and rules out of fear that they might be punished if they dont obey. The
last example of totalitarianism/ racial inequality is shown when Seuss writes, Youve no right to
talk to the worlds highest turtle. / I rule from the clouds! Over land! Over sea! / Theres nothing,
no, NOTHING, thats higher than me! (77-79).Yertle believes there is nothing better than him.
He believes he is the highest and will punish anyone who dares to be higher than him. Yertle
doesnt want anyone to have more power than him, he just wont allow it.\This relates to Hitler
believing he was higher than the German society. He believed that nothing could ever bring him
down. He was very self conceided. When he didnt like something or a situation he would
demand someone to fix it. It really illustrates the kind of power Hitler believed he had.
Individualism and the War had an impact on Dr. Seuss and his work.Dr. Seuss being
too old to be drafted in the war, wanted to contribute in some way. He made multiple training
videos for the U.S. army relative to the war effort. He contributed anywhere from three to five
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urgent political cartoons each week. After WWII he made a documentary film focusing on
Hitler called Hitler Lives.According to huskiesinwonderland written by Mazzei she believes
you can relate The Sneetches to the Nazis requiring the Jews to wear yellow star patches in
order to symbolize they were lesser than everyone else. The Nazis always wanted to feel
superior.
Individualism had an impact on Dr. Seuss writing. Dr. Seuss writes, The stars
werent so big; they were really quite small. You would think such a thing wouldnt matter at all.
But because they had stars, all the Star-bellied Sneetches would brag, Were the best kind of
Sneetch on the beaches. (3-6).In this book you read about two types of sneetches who are all
the same, but one group of sneetches has a star printed on them. They constantly are removing
and making new stars in desperation to fit in.The sneetches with starts always believed they were
better than everyone else. It symbolized power and triumph. Although the Jews to wear stars,
they wore them to show they were lower than the Nazis and had no power. Another example is
shown when Seuss writes Belly stars are no longer in style, said McBean. What you need is a
trip through my stars-off machine.From all the sneetches complaing, along came a young man
who told the sneetches he could give remove stars if they were unhappy. So that Sneetches being
upset that everyone now had stars on their bellies, decided to get theirs removed.This can relate
to Dr, Seuss idea on individualism, and how we were meant to be different. Just because we
might look the same, doesnt mean our personalities are the same. We are all our own individual.
The last example is shown when Seuss writes, That day, they decided that Sneetches are
Sneetches, and no kind of Sneetch is the BEST on the beaches. That day, all the Sneetches forgot
about stars, and whether they had one or not upon thars.The sneetches when through the
machine made by Mc. Bean multiple times removing and adding a star to their bellies. They had
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changed their bellies so many times that they couldnt tell each other apart. They came to the
realization that they are all equal no matter what they look like.This is relatable to society and
how Dr. Seuss believed we were all equal, no matter what race or color. All Seuss wanted was
Racial equality and for us to stop changing who we are and be confident about ourselves.
Dr. Seuss went through many influential experiences that had an impact on him
when writing his books. Many things contributed to his writings, but a couple of the main ones
that had an impact were: environmentalism, totalitarianism/ racial inequality, and Individualism/
the war. Today many children still enjoy the creative writing of Dr. Seuss.