Dr. Seuss's Political Education:
During a career that spanned much of the last century, Dr. Seuss wrote over forty books, many of which involve a young protagonist on a quest. The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1937), Bartholomew and the Oobleck (1949), Scrambled Eggs Super! (1953), Horton Hears a Who! (1954), I Had Trouble in Getting To Solla Sollew (1965), The Lorax (1971), and Oh, the Places You Go! (1991) all present versions of an episodic narrative, in which the main character strives towards a goal -- be it the perfect dish of scrambled eggs in Scrambled Eggs Super!, or stopping dangerous pollution in The Lorax and Bartholomew and the Oobleck. As the previous sentence suggests, the implications of this journey change during the 50-odd years that Seuss wrote books for children. Taking three of these tales as representative, we can see that the changing nature of the "quest" narrative in Dr. Seuss's work shows an increasingly political engagement with real-world issues: from a fairly mild indictment of a temporarily unjust king, Seuss's concerns grow to include threats of annihilation and environmental catastrophe.
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins represents an early stage in Seuss's interests in quests, and the moral of this particular tale does address power, but fairly gingerly, without much substance to its lesson. On the way to its message, the book presents two quests: Bartholomew's journey to prove his innocence and King Derwin's goal to remove Bartholomew's hat. Though a dictator, the King behaves in a way that is more misguided than mean. Early in the book, he stares out over the Kingdom of Didd, his nose in the air and an armed guard at his side, an image which reinforces his power ...
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...est to make a better world for ourselves and our children should begin when we are still children.
This essay, written under the pseudonym "Ann A. Student," offers a simplified version of some points made in my essay, "'Said a Bird in the Midst of a Blitz...': How World War II Created Dr. Seuss," which was published in Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature 34.2 (June 2001): 65-85.
<http://www.umanitoba.ca/publications/mosaic/backlist/2001/June/nelessay34-2.html>.
Works Cited
Seuss, Dr. Bartholomew and the Oobleck. 1949. New York: Random House, 1977.
---. The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. 1937. New York: Random House, 1964.
---. Horton Hears a Who! 1954. New York: Random House, 1982.
---. The Lorax. New York: Random House, 1971.
---. The Sneetches and Other Stories. New York: Random House, 1961.
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.
Throughout McCarthy’s political journey, panic that arose from the witch hunt and fear of communism became very well known. That feeling became known as McCarthyism (Senator Joseph McCarthy 2). Communism wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for Joseph McCarthy.
Wood, Karen and Charles. “The Vonnegut Effect: Science Fiction and Beyond.” The Vonnegut Statement. Vol. 5. 1937. 133-57. The GaleGroup. Web. 10 March. 2014.
Known today as two of the most prominent American satirists, Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut both served time as soldiers during World War II, Heller serving as a bombardier in Italy (Scoggins) and Vonnegut as a soldier and prisoner of war in Germany (Parr). Not coincidentally, both Heller’s 1961 novel Catch-22 and Vonnegut’s 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death follow the journeys of young men in combat during the Second World War – Captain John Yossarian of the US Army Air Forces and soldier Billy Pilgrim, respectively. While it is evident that these fictional novels are both set during the World War II era and convey bleak images of war, closer inspection of both texts brings to light the common
Vonnegut uses irony very often to strengthen the readers’ contempt for war. Edgar Derby, the well-liked high sc...
“Waiting for the Signal From Home…”, PM Magazine, February 13,1942, Dr. Seuss ddndn Collection, MSS230, Special Collections and Archives, UC San Diego Library.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was an ordinary man, a great father and an extraordinary writer. He was born in indianapolis Indiana. As a fourth generation German-American, he would later serve in the Second World War. He had the capability to include spaceships,vulgarity, and childish characteristics while still causing his readers to learn crucial life lessons. Yet the most interesting thing is what was behind his curtain. It is what captivated, intrigued, and how he analyzed the Midwestern region that would eventually differentiate him from other authors. Kurt Vonnegut was inspired by technological advances, the effects of WWII, and humanity.
27 Baird, Robert M. and Stuart E Rosenbaum. Pornography - Private Right or Public Menace Pg. 52
Since the 1950s, most Americans have condemned the McCarthyite witch-hunts and show trials. By large majorities, Americans oppose firing communists from their jobs or banning communist speakers or books.[2] But over the past several years, increasing numbers of historians, writers and intellectuals have sought to minimize, explain away and justify McCarthyism. A spate of books and articles touting new historical evidence has tried to demonstrate that communism posed a real danger to American society in the 1940s and 1950s. They argue that even if some innocent people suffered and McCarthy was reckless, he was responding to a real threat.[3] As a result, Joe McCarthy doesn't look so irresponsible in hindsight.
Power is a strong ability that can influence the behavior of people or current events. Those who have power in their everyday life have an advantage over those who don’t. In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men his message is that characters who have power demonstrate an advantage over other characters.
In the 1997 article, “On The Uses of a Liberal Education: As a Weapon In the Hands of the Restless Poor,” published by Harper’s Magazine, the social critic Earl Shorris described how political power could be achieved by a rather non-vocational educational discipline, the humanities. He emphasizes on how the knowledge of a liberal Education can be used as a form of weapon within the lives for the poor.
Contemporary Writers No Longer Feel Duty Bound To Follow Major Historical And Social Changes The world after 1930’s has witnessed a number of changes and upheavals. World’s rich history gives plethora of details on such changes due to a number of factors including World War, scientific break-through, invention of scads of unbelievable sophisticated machines, mass genocide through nuclear bombings and all that. In fact, the sky is the limit. Despite such innumerable changes that took place after 1930’s, a number of literary masterpieces and best-selling written material seem as if they have no concern with the changes occurred in such periods. The famous authors and writers who are behind such writings seem to be quite callous with the prevailing miseries all over the world. In fact, they are just confined into shells of their own ego. As our thesis statement, “Contemporary writers no longer feel duty bound to follow major historical and social changes”, this paper reviews Cat’s Cradle written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s Cat's Cradle demonstrates the particular effectiveness of the genre as an instrument of social criticism. A close study of Kurt Vonnegut's fiction reveals his interest in the epistemological question of mankind's ability to distinguish between reality and illusion. In Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut's attempt to resolve this question is basically pragmatic and pluralistic. Vonnegut's novel, Cat's Cradle, is his most detailed treatment of the epistemological problem, and in it he once again appears to be presenting a pragmatic approach to a pluralistic universe. Its very title suggests the difficulty in distinguishing between reality and illusion. Since Cat's Cradle is narrated by John, Kurt Vonnegutist, deal...
Joseph McCarthy followed strict, right-wing republican rules and is considered to this day to be an extremist. Revealing that the communists, who all of America greatly feared, were working so close created a sense of fear. Americans felt uneasy and unsafe at the thought of the enemy working in their government. Part of McCarthy’s plan was to use the fears and feelings of peril to create an outright war against the communists. He w...
In conclusion Berlin Wall was an important milestone in the growth of the Cold War. It was the expansion that represented the thinking of a determined Communist system. Western Capitalism, which was more powerful, eventually defeated the system. The massive wall that did so much harm to a country was finally destroyed, and the people of Germany could now live the way they all wanted to live. They could live the life of freedom. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall East Germany has went through a lot of changes, and it still is not easy for all of the people in East Germany. But no matter how hard it is for the people of East Germany now, it is better than being alone and separated from their families, friends and rest of Europe.
The Movie “good night good luck” is incredibly historically accurate. The Movie uses authentic clips that show McCarthy and many speeches Murrow used. World War ended in 1945 leaving a broken Europe and a communist block behind. The United States quickly receded back to the red scare that had existed before WWII. The United States quickly set an anti-communist stance and prepared for a war against the communists. While the war never came some enterprising individuals placed themselves in powerful positions using the paranoia created. Among these individuals one came forward and began one of the most controversial historical programs. Joe McCarthy a nobody Wisconsin’s junior senator made his name when he gave a speech claiming his empty briefcase held the names of 205 communists. The movie “Good Night and Good Luck” tells the story how media ended Joseph McCarthy’s commy hunt and his political career.