Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American author and illustrator, better known to the world by his pen name of "Dr. Seuss." Acclaimed for several of the most popular children 's books of all time, Dr. Seuss 's works have sold millions of copies, and have been translated into numerous languages. To many, Dr. Seuss was "the Walt Disney to art and literature" ("Introduction"). Much of his work reflects his critique of human values, and sometimes responds to social and political issues. Specifically, The Butter Battle Book, directly criticizes the nuclear arms race taken place during the Cold War. The story tells the tale of the Yooks and the Zooks who are societies that do everything completely different. The Yooks eat their bread butter-side up while …show more content…
The Yooks and Zooks are separated by a long curving wall with the Yooks living to its right and the Zooks living to its left (Seuss 4). Beginning as a barbed wired fence only to evolve into a more permanent structure made out of concrete blocks, topped with barbed wire, the Berlin Wall served as a symbol of the Cold War. It stood as a barrier to separate the democratic/capitalist West Germany supported by the United States from the communist East Germany supported by the Soviet Union ("All About The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall"). Similar to the Berlin Wall, the wall in Seuss 's tale began not being "so high, low enough to look an Zook square in the eye" (Seuss 8). This structure later emerges into an immensely large wall (Seuss 4) pointed out at the beginning of Grandfather 's tale. Even though both the Berlin Wall and the wall in the Butter Batter Battle Book stood physically to separate two groups of people, mentally it served as a method to prevent the exposure of beliefs felt by both …show more content…
"An arms race denotes a rapid, competitive increase in the quantity or quality of instruments of military by rival states in peacetime" ("Arms Race"). Central to the Cold War, the nuclear arms race was yet another way for both nations to exert their dominance and power. Both nations spent billions and billions of dollars to build up stockpiles of nuclear devices and weapons of mass destruction. The United States and the Soviet Union competed in a "tit-to-tat" manner to see who could generate the better weapon. Similarly the Yooks creation of the Snick-Berry Switch, Triple-Sling Jigger, Kick-a-Poo Kid, and Utterly Sputter, is outmatched with the Zooks creation of the Sling Shot, Jigger-Rock Snatchem, Eight-Nozzeled, Elephant-Toted Boom Blitz, and Blue Gooer (Seuss 10-30). Perhaps the use of such names in Seuss 's behalf was to downplay the Cold War as a "childish" game, that could have been handled in a brief manner. As soon as one nation developed one the thing, the other was right behind with their creation to out do the other. During the Cold War, this led to the production of both the atomic bomb, and the even more deadly thermonuclear bomb. In The Butter Battle Book this "arms race" leads to a stand off when both nations produce the "Bitsy Big Boy Boomero", reflecting the United States and Soviet Union 's stand off with the possession of nuclear weapons.
Dr. Seuss is an important figure in the lives of children everywhere. His stories are children’s classics that are fun to read and also tackle some real life issues. Dr. Seuss’s political views are very apparent in his some of his books like The Butter Battle Book, which discusses the issues of the Cold War.
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.
Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union began with mutual distrust in World War II, intense rivalry, and conflicting ideologies. Cold War was fought with four major weapons. The weapons were propaganda, economic and military aid to devastated nations after World War II, arms race, and the alliances. Propagandas were used for containment and to raise the people’s morale and patriotism. Economic aid of the devastated nations was also used as a method of containment, as it prevented the desperate nations from falling under communism. Arms race was one way of representing the nation’s military pride and the ability to retaliate when attacked, although the arms were not developed to dominate world power. Finally, alliances were created and its scale was compared to verify the superior side of the Cold War.
Truman and the general have many similarities. Such as they were both "determined" ("Cold War.") and made tough decisions with their "heads held up high" (The butter battle book). Another comparison can be when Truman had all of a "suddenly become president" (Mcdougal and Hought 603) during the war and how the general, had all of a sudden been "voted and made... a general" (the butter battle book) during the war. Lastly, both Truman and the general were doubted by their people that they could win the war. Soviet leader Joesph Stalin and VanItch both have many similarities. Firstly, both are represented as "a very rude" (the butter battle book) and "distrusting" (Mcdougal and Hought 604) person. Another comparison can be that Stalin and VanItch were determined to vanquish their enemies with much force. Lastly, Stalin and VanItch both have "boys in their back room" (the butter battle book) to invent and to keep up with the latest inventions. One last invention that caused major conflict in the war was the atomic bomb in the cold war and the Big-boy boomeroo in the Butter Battle Book. Both the atomic bomb and the Big-boomeroo can cause lots of damage that can kill "millions of civilians" (Mcdougal and Hought 623) and both are filled with "tons of TNT" (623) or "mysterious Moe-hacka-moo" (the butter Battle Book). Major conflicts should not be expressed through
Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, wrote the Butter Battle Book in 1984. At this time, the US was in the midst of a Cold War escalation. Since the Nixon and Ford administrations of the early 1970s, US-Soviet relations had been in a period of détente. However, soon after being elected in 1981, President Reagan took a hardline stance against Communist Soviet Union. Reagan began the deployment of missiles, such as the Pershing missiles in West Germany and initiated the famous Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), popularly known as Star Wars, in 1983. These developments perhaps influenced Geisel to present an allegory for US-Soviet relations in Butter Battle Book. Zooks and Yooks represent the Soviets and Americans during the height of cold war. Using the butter battle as a representation of US-Soviet Relations, Geisel highlights the flawed leadership of both the superpowers.
A cold war is an ideological conflict with military standoffs while keeping diplomatic relations open. The Cold War consisted of two sides (or Superpowers); the first was the United States, who believed in and practiced capitalism, the opposing side was the Soviet Union, who believed in and practiced the idea of communism. Many historians dispute the start time of the conflict; however, it began some time after World War II and dragged on until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. The Cold War Project Group Online claims “the advancement of technology during the Cold War was greater than that of any one time period” (“The Arms Race”). The war developed nuclear missiles and many other technological advancements taking the world into a new era, the Nuclear Era. It was estimated at one time the United States and the Soviet Union could nuke the world seven times over; the governments realized the pointlessness of so many nuclear missiles and turned their attention toward other ways to get an upper hand in the conflict. Tensions ran high during this time; without military confrontation, research and resources were redirected towards other fields of technology such as detection systems, surveillance equipment, and underwater technologies.
Seuss with a hidden meaning would be The Butter Battle Book. This book was written in reference to the Cold War. In this story, the Zooks and the Yooks are living in two completely different societies. The Zooks live in a place where bread is eaten with the butter-side down, but as for the Yooks, they eat their bread butter-side up. Clearly, both societies think they are correct and the other is in the wrong. They begin to try to one-up the other, building different types of weapons and bombs. As the book comes to a close, neither side launches their ultimate bomb, just like during the Cold War, both sides were too afraid to launch a nuclear
Not all children may know his real name, but they do know what they like. And what they like is the author Theodor Geisel, or better known as the beloved Dr. Seuss. During the years of my early childhood I fondly remember my parents reading me the whimsical words of Dr. Seuss. His books were filled with imagination and humor which made them very enjoyable for me to listen to. As I got older I started to read Dr. Seuss books all by myself. All of his books are constructed with simple words that make it easy for children to learn how to read. With the pages full of colourful pictures and very little text his books were never overwhelming for a young reader. The simplicity of his books always encouraged me on my path to learning how to read because I never felt like I had to give up. The themes that can be found within his books may be viewed as nonsensical to some, but to most children they are very amusing. The text that Dr. Seuss uses in all of his books consists of words that are important for all children to have in their early and developing vocabulary. I decided to pick Dr. Seuss for my ISP in this course because I find his writing to be educational and very entertaining at the same.
Theodor Seuss Geisel died a hero among children and adults alike. He accomplished a task that would be impossible to most- he was able to incorporate not only the simple difference between good and bad, but the realities of social injustice and the power of the oppressed, into children’s books. Clifton Fadiman, writer for The New Yorker, may have most accurately described Dr. Seuss in an article following his death- “[He is] the most useful children’s author of our time. He has helped dispel a lot of the nonsense that children are taught and… his books always maintained their universal cry for wonder, fairness, and love (Morgan 291).” Geisel used his political knowledge and passion to open the eyes of all people, no matter how young, and no matter how small.
When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.
Born and raised in Springfield Massachusetts, Theodor Geisel was born on March 2nd 1904. Under the pen-name Dr. Seuss, Ted was able to accomplish his dream of becoming a writer after attending Dartmouth College and wrote for the school paper – the Jack-O-Lantern. Upon graduation, Geisel went to Oxford in which he received a PhD in English Literature and was inspired to become an English teacher and writer. Some of Dr. Seuss’s works include Horton Hears a Who, Green Eggs and Ham, The Lorax, and The Cat in the Hat. Throughout his lifetime, Dr. Seuss earned three Academy Awards and a Pulitzer Prize, as well as numerous degrees and other awards. Dr. Seuss was not only a highly acclaimed children’s book writer as he is popularly known to be, but also, Ted Geisel is known for his work during the WWII era. He created hundreds of political cartoons in which he gave a voice to his views on topics such as war bonds and the war itself. Ted Geisel is an author who successfully revolutionized the way children read books through the creation of new “seussical” words, interesting rhyme scheme, as well as stories with meanings far beyond what they seem to represent at first glance. Geisel was able to enlist the help of the majority of the United States in WWII through the publication of cartoons and movies.
What kid hasn’t heard of Dr. Seuss? From “One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish” to “A person’s a person, no matter how small” to “From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere”, Dr. Seuss has filled the lives of children with whimsical stories and ideas. (8) Using casual dialect and everyday objects, he was able to spark the imagination of others. All the while, he instilled lessons into his writings. It is not a surprise that Dr. Seuss received an award for a “Lifetime of Contribution to Children’s Literature”. His work will be read and enjoyed for decades to come. All in all, no matter which Dr. Seuss story that the reader might select, his or her imagination will be sparked, and the reader will surely be entertained.
The Berlin Wall, built in August of 1961, was s physical symbol of the political and emotional divisions of Germany. The Wall was built because of a long lasting suspicion between the Soviet Union on one side and Western Europe and the United States on the other. For 28 years the Berlin Wall separated friends, families, and a nation. After WWII was over Germany was divided into four parts. The United States, Great Britain, and France controlled the three divisions that were formed in the Western half and the Eastern half was controlled by the Soviet Republic. The Western sections eventually united to make a federal republic, while the Eastern half became communist.
Seuss, was surrounded by rhymes and rhythm ever since his mother would chant songs she remembered from her childhood, to sing him to sleep. Seuss started out his writing and drawing career in college at Dartmouth for the school paper, and ended up being one of the most successful writers to this day. One of the many things that landed him a job in the industry was drawing advertisement cartoons, which he did during the great depression to support him and his wife. He became a well known name for his cartoons about an insecticide called Flit by writing the catchphrase “Quick, Henry, the Flit!” During his advertising career, Seuss drew cartoons for Standard Oil, General Electric, Narragansett Brewing Company, NBC and many more. During WWII Suess joined the United States Army, but not to fight. He became the first commander of the first ever Motion Picture Unit of the United States Armed Forces. His job was to create animated war propaganda films/drawings to ridicule the United States opponents, but also to write promotional films for the American citizens and troops at war. Some of his famous pieces include “Yertle the Turtle”, in which he pokes fun at Hitler, and “The Butter Battle Book”, where Suess where he presents what went on in the Cold War and the Arms race then taking place between America and Russia.
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.