When we think about our accountability and our impact on the environment, a bold but underlying dichotomy of nature and nurture comes as a call into action and for the understanding towards the importance of ecological care, environmental literacy and education to shape future generations to make the best possible decisions for the restoration and conservation, and appreciation of our only home. In this essay I will analyze the rhetorical jeremiad and environmental melodramatic discourse in Dr. Seuss’s 1971 classic The Lorax. Its facilitation in understanding environmental issues and ecological complexities of caring for nature, natural resources is a framework for sustainability and an anti-profit perspective for the economy through mass industrialization …show more content…
It delves into the result of the environment facing extreme damage at the hands of the Once-ler’s corporate greed and disregard for conservation of the resource [the Truffula trees] he used for the all-encompassing and multipurpose product Thneed. The obstacle between the two reflects our society’s corruption due to economy, industry, and degradation of the environment rooted in greed and this is an issue we still face that is arguably one of the biggest contributors to destruction and natural resource …show more content…
Seuss 's The Lorax states that “the Lorax is a cautionary tale, taking the specific form of a jeremiad and adapting it to the ideology of early environmentalism and the format of the illustrated book” (pg. 9). In "Narratives, Rhetorical Genres, and Environmental Conflict: Responses to Schwarze 's “Environmental Melodrama”, Steve Schwarze defines environmental melodrama as a feature of environmental narratives that “frames situations as confrontations between the virtuous and the villainous, and encourages audiences to take sides in such confrontations in order to repair the moral order” (93). He continues stating that with the inclusion of “the use of villains to heighten moral awareness of environmental threats is “an enticing rhetorical strategy for environmental advocates. (93) Before analyzing environmental literature, I always assumed it had to follow this particular narrative in order to reach the audience. Philosophically, the idea of morality is questionable because morality in many ways is a social construction to uplift certain perspectives to keep the existence of civilization in order by ruling of royalty or by a higher power that coincides with religious dimension, which is very jeremiad in thought. One could argue that there is a gray area even within the Lorax’s perspective of solely caring about
Dr. Seuss, also known as Theodore Seuss, has written many poems as well as short stories, and is considered one of the greatest children’s author in history. His silly stories are able to excite children in ways that make them want read. His Wife says,” Ted doesn’t sit down to write for children. He writes to amuse himself;” Little do children know that often, in his stories, there is a lot of political undertone, a few examples include The Lorax, Yertle the Turtle, The Sneethces, and The Butter Battle Book. If you were to really critique some of his books or poems, you might see that some of his themes wouldn’t seem to pertain to children. But what he’s doing, is hoping that they will understand the main idea of the story enough that it challenges them to stand against the crowd of judgment and evil. Take notice of the issues around them, and make a change. He feels that they deserve to know about the issues, just as much as adults do. He is showing them early on, telling them that they do not need adults to make a difference.
In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, there are many themes, symbols, and motifs that are found throughout the novel. For my journal response, I have chosen to discuss nature as a prevalent symbol in the book. The main character, Montag, lives in a society where technology is overwhelmingly popular, and nature is regarded as an unpredictable variable that should be avoided. Technology is used to repress the citizens, but the oppression is disguised as entertainment, like the TV parlour. On the opposite end of the spectrum, nature is viewed as boring and dull, but it is a way to escape the brainwashing that technology brings. People who enjoy nature are deemed insane and are forced to go into therapy. Clarisse says “My psychiatrist wants to know why I go out and hike around in the forests and watch the birds and collect butterflies,” (Bradbury 23) which shows she is a threat to the control that the government has put upon the people by enjoying nature.
Dr. Seuss 's Go, Dog. Go, was a book I remember reading a lot (probably because I loved dogs so much). When I was younger I used to go to my aunt 's house during the summer, and my grandmother would always be there. She enjoyed reading, so she made me read a book a week, whether it was from the library or from the books on the shelves at my aunt 's house. I did not enjoy going over there to read, especially since it was summer, but I did get rewarded after finishing a book with a game of Guess Who? with my grandmother.
The lessons that come out of children's picture books has a way bigger impact than some might expect. Dr. Seuss shows us different habits of mind, heart, and work, but between Horton in Horton Hears a Who, The Lorax, and Thidwick, Horton showed the most persistence in his generosity and actions. Horton throughout the whole story showed his generosity and kindness to the Who's even while he was being persecuted for what he believed in. On the other hand, The Lorax didn't show any generosity at all (at least towards the Once-Ler) and Thidwick was persistent at being generous to the animals, but in the end his generosity came to a stop.
The first two acts of this film are truly inspiring because they capture the "fire" of the environmental movement. It chronologically begins by discussing the origins of conservative environmentalists, to documenting the details of successful environmental movements, and concluding by explaining the merging of civil rights with environmentalists. Ultimately, “A Fierce Green Fire “serves as a dynamic call for the continuing action of protecting and conserving our biosphere.
From the lone hiker on the Appalachian Trail to the environmental lobby groups in Washington D.C., nature evokes strong feelings in each and every one of us. We often struggle with and are ultimately shaped by our relationship with nature. The relationship we forge with nature reflects our fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. The works of timeless authors, including Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard, are centered around their relationship to nature.
After reading both passages, the most prevalent taste left in the reader's mouth is one of "irony". The intention of Wilson's work is to show two views. One is of environmentalists who are upset with the critics because they are not conserving enough and are only inte...
Since the rise of the American environmental romanticism the idea of preservation and conservation have been seen as competing ideologies. Literary scholars such as Thoreau and Muir have all spoke to the defense of our natural lands in a pristine, untouched form. These pro-preservation thinkers believed in the protecting of American lands to not only ensure that future generations will get to experiences these lands, but to protect the heavily rooted early American nationalism in our natural expanses. Muir was one of the most outspoken supports of the preservation ideology, yet his stylistic writing style and rhetoric resulted in conservation being an adopted practice in the early 20th century
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.” (Seuss 1 pg. 58) In our world today, the environment is not taken care of properly. Most anyone can look outside, or look in a stream, and finds garbage or pollution littering the landscape. Dr. Seuss knew and despised this fact. For this reason, he wrote a children’s book titled “The Lorax.”
Seuss focus on in “The Lorax”? It is s a tale of environmental responsibility, corporate greed and sustainability.
Steinbeck develops the theme of power through his depiction of the foreshadowing natural world. Nature remains the only constant in a world of sporadic variables and power is accentuated in its duplicity. Externally nature appears mellifluous, tranquil and unperturbed, internally however lies something far more sinister. The clearing into which George and Lennie stumble may resemble The Garden of Eden, but is in fact a place with dangers lurking at every turn. The rabbits that sit like ‘grey sculptured stones’ ‘hurry noiselessly’ for cover at the sound of footsteps, hinting at the predatory world that will inevitable destroy George and Lennie. Through this, Steinbeck exposes nature as a powerful but vicious symbol of the cruelties of life, as its external beauty establishes a sense of purity which the world cannot sustain.
“Thoughts in the Presence of Fear” is a manifesto written by Wendell Berry, dated October 11, 2001. It is a post-September 11 manifesto for environmentalists. Berry uses terms such as “we” and “they” as he expresses his ideas, regarding how our optimism for a “new economy” was founded upon the labors of poor people all over the world. I will conduct a rhetorical analysis of four sections of Berry’s manifesto; Sections XI, XII, XIII, and XIV; and discuss his use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Berry uses pathos more often in his paper, to instill feelings of guilt and fear in his readers. While many areas of his paper can be thought of as logos, Berry makes little use of ethos.
Gersdorf, Catrin and Mayer, Sylvia. Nature in Literary and Cultural Studies: Transatlantic Conversations on Ecocriticism. Rodopi, 2006. Print
Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, is perhaps one of the most beloved children’s authors of the twentieth century. Although he is most famous as an author of children’s books, Geisel was also a political cartoonist, advertisement designer, and film director (Kaplan). He used the power of imagination to produce unforgettable children’s books and helped solve the problem of illiteracy among America’s children. By using his experiences in life as a foundation for most of his books, Theodor Geisel created a unique writing style that incorporated various elements and techniques, enabling his books to appeal to people of all ages.
Ecologists formulate their scientific theories influenced by ethical values, and in turn, environmental ethicists value nature based on scientific theories. Darwinian evolutionary theory provides clear examples of these complex links, illustrating how these reciprocal relationships do not constitute a closed system, but are undetermined and open to the influences of two broader worlds: the sociocultural and the natural environment. On the one hand, the Darwinian conception of a common evolutionary origin and ecological connectedness has promoted a respect for all forms of life. On the other hand, the metaphors of struggle for existence and natural selection appear as problematic because they foist onto nature the Hobbesian model of a liberal state, a Malthusian model of the economy, and the productive practice of artificial selection, all of which reaffirm modern individualism and the profit motive that are at the roots of our current environmental crisis. These metaphors were included in the original definitions of ecology and environmental ethics by Haeckel and Leopold respectively, and are still pervasive among both ecologists and ethicists. To suppose that these Darwinian notions, derived from a modern-liberal worldview, are a fact of nature constitutes a misleading interpretation. Such supposition represents a serious impediment to our aim of transforming our relationship with the natural world in order to overcome the environmental crisis. To achieve a radical transformation in environmental ethics, we need a new vision of nature.