...Archetypes In Children’s Literature Children’s books have always shown the reader obvious signification to how the reader should feel towards the setting and characters. Looking at different colors and settings characters sparks a feeling in a persons mind. Dr. Seuss constantly used vibrate colors and settings to portray a magical world where things are different and almost anything could happen. In his book The Lorax, Dr. Seuss introduces a desolate wasteland with dark skies, dead vegetation and wind that, “smells slow-and-sour when it blows” (1). The archetype for a wasteland is often used for a sense for it to be cleansed. The reader can assume that at one time the area flourished, having bloomed with life, and might be returned to that...
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...The Life And Death Of Dr. Seuss The life, accomplishments, and death of the American children's book author, known best by the pen name, Dr. Seuss. Theodor Seuss Geisel, was an American author, poet, political cartoonist, animator, book publisher and artist. He was best known for his authoring of over 60 children’s books. Dr. Seuss was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He died September 24, 1991 in La Jolla California. His father owned a brewery up until prohibition times, in the 20’s. His father then took a position as a superintendent of city parks which also included the local zoo. At the zoo, Dr. Seuss spent many of his days drawing the various animals. Developing his own unique style from his imagination, he came up...
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...Dr. Seuss’ poem, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, exemplifies the features of a Marxist structure. The Marxist lens examines the social-economic factors and how it impacts the character’s beliefs, values, attitudes and ideas. The protagonist is Grinch, who lives isolated in a snow cave north of Whoville, where the majority of the townspeople live. Grinch “prefers” to be alienated from the community because he despises the ‘Whos’ and their annual Christmas traditions. However, it is not his preference that motivates him to resent Christmas, but his financial struggles that do not correlate to the ‘Whos’. As a result, in the celebration of Christmas, Grinch does not receive nor is able to afford gifts for others, thus, provoking him to despise the festivity of Christmas and the people who celebrate it. One example would be how the Grinch describes into great detail of the materialistic gifts the ‘Whos’ receive on Christmas, “they’d rush for their toys”, which is an example of the Grinch’s interest and observation into the activities on Christmas. From a Marxist point of view that conflicts are a result of social-economic factors, the apparent idea of the poem is made clear: money makes the world go around. In the quote, “then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, around the room, and he took every present”, the reader is made aware that since the Grinch does not have these lavish items in comparison to the ‘Whos’, his actions signify his belief of how materialistic...
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...Dr. Seuss Autobiography The date was March 2nd, 1904. And the frost was finally falling off the trees when I came into the world in Springfield, Massachusetts. Growing up in my family was always a fun and imaginative experience for me. Whenever my family did something new, or went on a trip, I loved to doodle the things I saw, or what I thought I could've seen. My imagination was so large as a child, and still is to this day, but I used to love to make up silly stories and tell them to my parents, I now wonder if they could’ve ever made since of them. When I was older and a tad more mature to better understand the world around me, this fancy thing called the 18th amendment rolled around in 1919, which meant that people could no longer sell alcohol. But the part that mattered to me was that my family's brewery shop was shut down and we no longer could make money from it. But shortly after that, I went off to college and became an independent man. I attended a college called Dartmouth college in 1921 but years to come, I transferred to Oxford college. My goal then was to become an English professor, but after graduating and returning to the US I was still illustrating and I successfully published my first cartoon. Just months after returning to the US and publishing my first cartoon, I...
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...Dr. Seuss: Stories For All Ages Known primarily for his children’s books, Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the public as Dr. Seuss, has become more than a renowned author throughout his lifetime. He has become an icon and still continues his legacy thereafter with a very well known name around the house. Using his creative imagination and his own personal life experiences in his stories, Dr. Seuss made it very attainable for both children and adults alike to become interested in his writings. Along with his love for writing to a children’s audience, Geisel was known for his political cartoons and advertising designs, as well as directing films. With his keen knack for reaching out to a wide array of viewers and readers, Dr. Seuss will forever remain a legend in the minds of both children and adults. Geisel had a talent, a talent unlike many, he had the ability to incorporate numerous intriguing ideas, rhymes and lessons into his stories and he knew how to precisely use this talent to catch the attention of his spectators. He once said, “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope, which is what I do. And that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.” (Best Sayings from Theodore Seuss Geisel) Children have always been mesmerized at his stories because of how unreal they seem. The idea of places existing where there are unknown types of creatures...
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...the corporations of the world. In fact, the Santa Claus we know today was shaped by the multi-billion dollar corporation, Coca-Cola (Staff, 2012). As we all know, when Dr. Seuss wrote his books, he most often included a theme, or ‘moral of the story’ as a guide for young children to help them learn important values. In his work, “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”, Dr. Seuss openly protested the commercialization of Christmas. Seuss’s work is very obviously Marxist-based, as it spoke clearly on issues of discrimination, ostracism and misplaced values. Marxism is different than ‘other progressive movements because Marxists always struggle to overcome the manifold forms of domination and exploitation in and through the self-emancipation of the working class’ (Marxists.org). Dr. Seuss could be interpreted as protesting against this exploitation of the public by the capitalists and corporations, by creating a work that states that ““Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”” (Geisel, 1957). Seuss, it seems, was of the opinion that the version of Christmas we know now, based on giving and receiving expensive purchases, was little more than an incredibly clever marketing gimmick by major corporations, which is essentially the upper class. In his work, Dr. Seuss outlined the difference between the upper class (the Whos) and the lower class (the Grinch). I think that Seuss’s characterization of the Grinch and the Whos is more...
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...Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax (1971) is argued as one of the most important pieces of environmental children’s literature, with educators expressing the work, “as a powerful story for teaching and learning, as a story that can promote transformational ideas in educational practice,” (Henderson, 2004). This high praise begs the question: why is The Lorax so successful at reaching out to the child reader? This essay will indentify the use of certain literary characteristics that Seuss incorporated in The Lorax, which stemmed from successful environmental children’s literature from the late seventeenth century to the twentieth century. It will establish the success of each work due to the theme or agenda it had that reflected the social and environmental issues of its time, and will then establish to what extent Seuss’s The Lorax stands as a strong example for ecocritics and educators alike, of an environmental children’s story and its impact on the child reader. To further understand the position of this paper, it is important to identify the nature of ecocentricism and the development of the interdisciplinary field. Ecocentricism is an ethical practice that “decenters humanity’s importance in nonhuman nature and nature writing and instead explores the complex interrelationships between the human and the nonhuman,” (Buell, 2011). The practice, in the last twenty years, has become a field of inquiry in response to “growing academic concern about the response of literature and literary theory...
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...VCDD 290 Unit 1: Forms of Art Discussion Board Lisa McAlpine Art, much like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. Whether or not a piece may be considered “art” depends on how the viewer interprets the piece. For example, many do not find architecture or illustration to be “art”, because they are not traditional forms of art. They are perhaps the most unorthodox forms of art available. However, some find nontraditional forms of art more appealing due to the nonconventional nature of such pieces. Architecture is the most controversial art form, because many see it more as a science than an art form. However, there is a certain viewpoint that makes architecture artistic. Architecture is a visual art in the form of building, an art form that is larger than life, larger than the biggest sculpture. Architecture is not only art, but art that is not only visually appealing, but also has a useful purpose, unlike many other forms of art (ArchiteacherTM – Architecture and Aesthetics, 2002). There are a few timeless architectural pieces that have inspired the public for generations, and will continue for lifetimes to come. One such architectural masterpiece is the Roman Pantheon. The Roman Pantheon was constructed as a temple to the Romanian pagan gods, such as Diana (goddess of the Moon) and Apollo (God of the Sun) (Edkins, 1999). Though no one is completely sure when the Pantheon was built, brick stamps upon the side of the building suggest that the Pantheon was built between...
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...sought guidance from his mother and mine for ideas, he still refused different refreshments, until I read to him and his kid sister Green Eggs and Ham and several others by Dr. Seuss. It happened by mistake when I realized that many of Dr. Seuss books teach children helpful lessons that most parents are feeble to because he uses fun graphics, rhyme, and entertains their imagination. When you actually analyze these books written by Dr. Seuss, it is not hard to see the main ideas of his stories through the pictures alone. Before I even open the book of Green Eggs and Ham, I see similarities of Amauri and the main character, The Black Hatter. They are wide eyed, with their nose up, and careful not to get too close to anything out of the normal, but yet curious enough to examine the beasty looking cuisine. On page twenty-three, there is a picture of Sam-I-Am enticing “The Black Hatter” into a box with a fox to try the green eggs and ham. This is an ironic metaphor of how parents try to get their children to eat their veggies. “I will let you watch TV with Daddy during dinner if you eat your green beans”. However, the bribe is not enough to get them interested. As I read this story to Amauir and his sister, I saw his expression felt the same as the poor Black Hatter. Rhyming is another key element Dr. Seuss uses to keep children interested in the lessons being taught. Although there is rhyme throughout the entire story, I noticed by page thirty-one Amauri and Aubrey were really...
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...The Butter Battle Book, by Dr. Seuss, the alternative perspective suggests that the story is attempting to represent the conflicts between the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War. To begin, there is clear evidence of tension between the Yooks and the Zooks due to their differences. The dispute between the two sides is that the Yooks eat their bread with the butter side up: “But we Yooks…honest way!” (Seuss. 6), while the Zooks consume their bread with butter side down: “It’s high time…side down!” (Seuss. 5). This relates to the tension built up between the US and USSR during the Cold War due to their different ideologies. The US was capitalist and had a democratic government, while the Soviet...
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...Grinch Stole Christmas" using the Marxist school of criticism. This school is based on the theories of Karl Marx and is mostly about class differences along with economic conditions. In "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss , the differences in classes can be spotted easily. To begin with it should be pointed out that Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, was of middle class. He was the son of a successful brewmaster and was successful himself in his occupation of cartoonist and author. The Grinch on the other hand was of the lower class, he lived in the middle of nowhere and is an outcast. While the Grinch was all sad, the Whos were within Whoville living comfortably and celebrating Christmas. The Grinch hates Christmas because the presents and the food show that the Whos have money that they can spend without worry. Also all the Whos are happy and the Grinch doesn't think that is fair, which is why he tries to ruin Christmas for them, he feels that they should suffer just like he does. He steals all their food and presents, as well as ruined all their Christmas decorations and the trees. The Grinch is shown that Christmas isn't just about materialistic things, " Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,/Was singing! Without any presents at all!"(Seuss), and is also accepted by the Whos of Whoville and all his original standings of Christmas...
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...In "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss , the differences in classes can be spotted easily. To begin with it should be pointed out will be analyzing the poem "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" using the Marxist school of criticism. This school is based on the theories of Karl Marx and is mostly about class differences along with economic conditions. In "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss , the differences in classes can be spotted easily. To begin with it should be pointed out that Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, was of middle class. He was the son of a successful brewmaster and was successful himself in his occupation of cartoonist and author. The Grinch on the other hand was of the lower class, he lived in the middle of nowhere and is an outcast. While the Grinch was all sad, the Whos were within Whoville living comfortably and celebrating Christmas. The Grinch hates Christmas because the presents and the food show that the Whos have money that they can spend without worry. Also all the Whos are happy and the Grinch doesn't think that is fair, which is why he tries to ruin Christmas for them, he feels that they should suffer just like he does. He steals all their food and presents, as well as ruined all their Christmas decorations and the trees. The Grinch is shown that Christmas isn't just about materialistic things, " Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,/Was singing! Without any presents at all!"(Seuss), and is also accepted by the Whos of...
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...because it happened.” said Theodore Geisel ("Dr. Seuss Quotes." BrainyQuote). Geisel made the unhappy, happy. He never gave up when it got bad. Theodore Geisel is an inspirational author for kids. Geisel is a great American author, mostly known for his humorous poems. After taking a look at the life and work of Theodore Geisel, it is apparent that this writer deserves recognition as a profound American author. Geisel was born during WW1, 2 March, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts (Bio.com. A&E Networks Television). When he was old enough, he went to Dartmouth College in 1926, but during that time it was the Prohibition Era and he got caught having a drinking party. After he was caught, he got his editorship taken away of the Jack-O-Lantern, a comedy magazine at his college (Dr. Seuss | Seussville.com.). That was when he started using his middle name Seuss to hide his identity and published his writings with the name Dr. Seuss. After he graduated, he went to Oxford University in England (Theodor Seuss Geisel - "Dr. Seuss" Biography). After he left Oxford he published his first book, And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street in 1973 (Theodor Seuss Geisel - "Dr. Seuss"...
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...I will be analyzing the poem "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Suess using the Marxist critic school of thought. Marxist Criticism is based on the theories of Karl Marx and is looked at the assembly of literary texts which is mostly about class differences along with socio-economic conditions. In the poem "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" if you take a look at it and analyze it carefully, you can see the differences in classes can be spotted easily. To begin with, it should be obvious that Dr. Seuss, was of middle class himself. He was the son of a successful brewmaster and was successful himself in his occupation of cartoonist and author. The Grinch on the other hand was of the lower class, he lived in the middle of nowhere and is an outcast to everyone else around him. While the Grinch was all upset, the Whos were within Whoville living pleasantly and celebrating Christmas. The Grinch hates the idea of Christmas because the presents and the food show that the Whos have money that they can spend without worry. Also all the Whos are happy and the Grinch doesn't think that it's fair, which is why he tries to ruin Christmas for them, he feels that they should suffer jbecause his life is miserable and he's suffering himself. He steals all their food and presents, as well and destroyed their Christmas decorations and the Christmas trees in Whoville. Later on in the poem, the Grinch is shown that Christmas isn't just about materialistic things, he stated that "Every Who down in...
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...Although it is seen as a “children’s book,” nothing more that literature for the undeveloped mind, The Lorax is a piece of work that is perfect for this discussion. Through the amusing (and sometimes downright silly) diction of Dr. Seuss, the tale of the little boy listening to the Once Ler not only gives an environmentalist message but, it also gives insight into the bullying issue. Within the story, in a similar way to how fracking companies work, the Once Ler continues to abuse the resources around him (which are the truffula trees) despite what it does to the residents of the forest. Why does he do this? This question leads to the theme of greed. Like the Once Ler, many corporate CEOs have been blinded by greed and ambition, resulting...
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