The Sneetches is a children’s book written by Theodor Seuss Geisel, Dr. Seuss, in 1961.
The story tells about a group of creatures that seem to be the same in appearance. All of the creatures are yellow, shaped similar to a large bowling pin and basically identical. There is one difference that separates the Sneetches, some have a green star on their bellies and some do not. This small physical difference ends up dividing the community of Sneetches. The group of Sneetches with star-bellies thinks they are better than the group with plain bellies. The star-bellied Sneetches brag about their stars. They feel and act superior to the plain bellied Sneetches. They tease the plain bellied Sneetches and treat them horribly. The star-bellied ones do not include them in any of their events or activities. They teach their children to treat the plain bellied children this way also. Basically the star-bellied Sneetches look down on the plain bellied Sneetches and do not think of them as equal.
This awful treatment makes the plain bellied Sneetches feel very sad and oppressed. They want to fit in and be included not made to feel inferior. It seems as if there is nothing they can do to change the situation. One day a stranger named Sylvester McMonkey McBean rides in with what he says is the answer to their problem. He has a contraption that can put stars on their bellies! He sells them easily on the idea since they are willing to do whatever they can to fit in. They pay a $3 fee, go through the machine and come out with a green star on their bellies. Now they were happy because they looked just like the other star-bellied Sneetches.
The original star-bellied Sneetches got really mad because they can no longer tell who is who. Mr. Monkey McB...
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...scrimination, racism and inequality are unjust and have no place in our society. People are people and should all be treated equal. Differences should not divide us. They should be accepted and used to bring us closer together. What a better place the world would be if everyone practiced this concept!
Dr. Seuss. The Sneetches and Other Stories. Random House. New York. 1961.
http://avondaleartworks.com/the_art_of_dr_seuss/dr_seuss_for_president
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143
http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2009/02/dr_seusss_political_books.htm
Works Cited
Dr. Seuss. The Sneetches and Other Stories. Random House. New York. 1961.
http://avondaleartworks.com/the_art_of_dr_seuss/dr_seuss_for_president
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143
http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2009/02/dr_seusss_political_books.htm
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Seuss in 1961, speaks of two different types of creatures who are divided by either having or not having stars printed on their bellies. These very stars, despite us “...[thinking] such a thing wouldn’t matter at all”, serve as the identifying mark and clear contrast between the Star-belly and Plain-belly Sneetches; this mark is what allows one group to discriminate against another. By the end of the story harmony amongst these two groups is only achieved once the Sneetches no longer remember who is who, and they realise that they are in fact all exactly the same creature. This is an issue that stems far beyond having or not having a star on a belly, and although it seems to be an absurd form of prejudice it is one nevertheless. Within this story lies a very important moral; one which helps children better understand the nature of prejudice and discrimination through the Star-Bellied and Plain-Bellied Sneetches treating each other with disrespect. It provides a message that we should not allow the dividing line in society to be ethnicity or race and that humans, much like the Sneetches, are able to coexist once we realise we are all
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