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.