1. The Art of Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel’s
Use of Symbolism in Literary Works
Jay A. Starr
Mrs. Owens
ETROY Comp and Modern English II ENG-1102-XTIL 12/T3
February 25, 2012
2. When people say
communism, socialism, politics, environmentalist, and
anti-abortion, no one ever thinks of Theodor Seuss
Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss
Geisel often put his views in his books
The Art of Dr. Seuss
The Art of Dr. Seuss
3. In “Yertle The Tuttle”, Geisel depicts Hitler as Yertle
Yertle is the king of the pond and steps on others to get
ahead
Yertle wants to be in control of all the land and other
turtles
“Dr. Seuss actually said Yertle was a representation of
Hitler. Despite the political nature of the book, none of
that was disputed at Random House…” (Conradt)
Murphy
The Art of Dr. Seuss
=
4. “The Butter Battle Book” “…was written in response to
the arms buildup and nuclear war threat during the
Reagan administration.” (The Art of Dr. Seuss)
The Yooks and Zooks live on opposite sides of the wall
The Yooks and Zooks disagree on how to eat their
bread, butter side up or butter side down
The Yooks build a weapon, the Zooks build the same
type of weapon
Each side produces a weapon so powerful and
destructive that the people must go underground for
The Art of Dr. Seuss
protection Whittle
=
5. Never proven that Seuss‟ book "Marvin K. Mooney Will
You Please Go Now!” was written directly about
Watergate and President Richard M. Nixon
“The book came out only two months after the whole
Watergate scandal. It's unlikely that the book could have
been conceived of, written, edited and mass produced in
such a short time” (Pease)
Geisel sent a copy of the book to friend Art Buchwald of
the Washington Post with Mooney‟s name crossed out
and replace with Nixon
Beschloss
=
The Art of Dr. Seuss
6. In the book “The Lorax”, the Lorax is the character the
speaks for the trees, animals, and the environment
The Once-lers chop down all the Truffula Trees to make
Thneeds forcing the Bar-ba-loots to leave
The Once-lers expand their factory causing more air
pollution driving the Swomee-Swans out
The liquid pollution the factor created is pumped into the
pond causing the Humming-Fish to leave
Seuss referenced the pollution in the pond to the
pollution in “Lake Erie” (The Lorax 47) The Art of Dr. Seuss
7. Geisel never admitted to being an anti-abortion activist, or
incorporating anti-abortion messages into his works
In the book “Horton Hears A Who”, Geisel states “Because,
after all, / A person‟s a person, no matter how small.” (Horton
Hears A Who 6)
“Some anti-abortion rights groups have interpreted the book
„Horton Hears A Who‟ as an anti-abortion parable.” (Baram)
Another account of Geisel‟s rhetorical of anti-abortion is used
in the book “Happy Birthday To You!”
If we didn‟t have birthdays, you wouldn‟t be you…you might
be a WASN‟T! A Wasn‟t has no fun at all. No, he doesn‟t. A
Wasn‟t just isn‟t. He just isn‟t present.” (Happy Birthday To
The Art of Dr. Seuss
You 10) The Art of Dr. Seuss
8. Whether Geisel intended to put his political agenda into
his writing or not, Geisel‟s
rhyming, whimsical, non-sense books promoted
children to read.
9. Baram, Marcus. "Horton's Who: The Unborn?". ABC News, 2008. Web. 21 Jan
2012.
Beschloss, M.. "Richard M. Nixon." White House. The White House, 2011. Web.
28 Feb 2012.
Conradt, Stacy. 10 Stories Behind Dr. Seuss Stories. CNN Living. 2009. Web.
21 Jan. 2012.
Murphy, J. "The Other Side of the Falsifield Genocide." Tall Arminian Zale. N.p.,
11 a. Web. 28 Feb 2012.
Pease, Donald E. Theodor Seuss Geisel Lives And Legacies. New York: Oxford
University Press, USA, 2010. Print.
Seuss, Dr. Happy Birthday To You!. New York: Random House, 1987. Print.
Seuss, Dr. Horton Hears A Who!. New York: Random House, 1954. Print.
Seuss, Dr. The Lorax. New York: Random House Books for Young Readers, 1971.
Print
"The Art of Dr. Seuss." Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss Enterprise, L.P., 2011. Web. 21 Feb
2012.
Whittle, Bill. " The Truth About The Atomic Bombs." PJ Media. N.p., 2009. Web.
28 Feb 2012.
