It was not at all unreasonable, then, that Geisel wove threads of social comment into his books of the 1950’s, ‘60’s and ‘70’s.
The Lorax was one of his later books. It is, seemingly, straight forward with the commentary about natural resources and commodities. But, you know there can be distractions from this story line when reading aloud to young audiences. Both reader and listeners get caught up anticipating the rhymes or visualizing very fictitious animals.
It is easy to get sidetracked from the themes when the tongue-twisted word play and wonderful Seuss-ian drawings are all so much fun.
But, read it to them again.
Why? Because our current 10-year-olds will need to be fully versed in precisely these themes. So many contemporary scenarios can already be explained using Seuss’s paradies. Worldwide. These scenarios (below) are scheduled to multiply and multiply as we are all forced to shirk oil and energy. We will be challenged to scale back our lives filled with “stuff” and adapt to the enveloping climate changes. The Lorax becomes more and more timely 40 years after its release. Theodor Geisel is still pointing the way.
Cast of Themes:
*Over-extraction of nonrenewable natural resources
*Pollution as a product of energy production
*Imbalance of ecological webs and cycles
*Bottom line economic growth
The Lorax Cast of Characters become metaphors for the world of our consumer culture.
Enter: Stage Right.
The Once-ler tells the whole story to a curious boy. He recounts his enthusiasm in the development of his Thneed industry. The Once-ler is never revealed: he is a faceless exploiter; reclusive; behind the scenes; a carpetbagger. His goal? Greedy richness. AKA, continued economic growth.
The truffula trees represent a natural resource with an untapped opportunity for exploitation. They are soft and colorful and inviting. They ”smelled of butterfly milk.” The truffulas are integral to the ecology of the land. The last tree is cut as the biosphere of the land is disappearing.
The thneed - the product of only one part of the truffula tree - the tuft- which appears to be a nonrenewable resource. This perfect product is adaptable to many uses: "You can use it for carpets. For pillows! For sheets! Or curtains! Or covers for bicycle seats!" It really doesn’t matter, in other words, what the product is, as long as it was a product. This was also a product which, being new to the market, would be purchased by those wishing to have something unique regardless of the usefulness or how it was made or resources used. (Enter gullible public)
The thneeds are mass-produced as the truffulas are chopped down. Mechanization takes over in the forest and now multiple trees are chopped at once. Faster and faster. The original home industry model gives way to a smokestacked factory with an assembly line pace.
Thneeds are then marketed further afield, using higher transportation costs and relying on further natural resource extraction.
"I went right on biggering...selling more Thneeds.
Money is the end-all. But when the last tree is cut the factory closes down. The workers simply move out of the region, leaving devestation behind.
Exit, Stage Left
Ecological components:
Swomee-Swans: Bird and sky representatives of the story; happy and singing; affected by smoke and smog in the industrial air. They were sent off by The Lorax to survive elsewhere.
Brown Bar-ba-loots: Animal/mammal representative of the story who were sustained by truffula fruits. They became hungry when trees disappeared and were sent off by The Lorax for food elsewhere.
Humming-Fish: Fish and water representatives of the story; happy at first; victims of water pollution from industrial sludge. ("their gills are all gummed") They were sent off by Lorax to find healthier waters elsewhere.
Lorax: Yes, finally, The Lorax. He responds early in the story to the cutting of trees and continues to protest the Once-ler at every step of the manufacturing operation. Yet, he, too, leaves in the end; banishing himself.
"I speak for the trees!"
Who is this guy, anyway? A political correctness? A collective global citizen consciousness? A nagging subconsciousness of industry? Mother Nature herself? The spotted owl?
The answer is linked to the one word The Lorax leaves behind: UNLESS. Unless what? Unless who? The boy! It's the curious young boy who is ready to catch the last truffula seed on Earth. The seed is thrown down to him by the faceless establishment that had too much momentum to halt its own destruction. Hindsight consciousness. Too much economic growth; too late for sustainability.
When Lorax was written back in 1972, it is said, Dr. Seuss was referencing the battle in the Northwest between loggers and those attempting to save habitat for the spotted owl. He was appealing then to the next generation to take the seed of preservation and plant it. That was two generations ago. Now the stakes are so much higher.
Philosophy For Children
The Lorax Project
Dr. Seuss
“…And with great skillful skill and with great speedy speed, I took the soft tuft. And I knitted a Thneed!”
“You’re glumping the pond where the Humming-Fish hummed! No more can they hum, for their gills are all gummed.”
It is easy to get sidetracked from the themes when the tongue-twisted word play and wonderful Seuss-ian drawings are all so much fun.
But, read it to them again.
Why? Because our current 10-year-olds will need to be fully versed in precisely these themes. So many contemporary scenarios can already be explained using Seuss’s paradies. Worldwide. These scenarios (below) are scheduled to multiply and multiply as we are all forced to shirk oil and energy. We will be challenged to scale back our lives filled with “stuff” and adapt to the enveloping climate changes. The Lorax becomes more and more timely 40 years after its release. Theodor Geisel is still pointing the way.
Cast of Themes:
*Over-extraction of nonrenewable natural resources
*Pollution as a product of energy production
*Imbalance of ecological webs and cycles
*Bottom line economic growth
The Lorax Cast of Characters become metaphors for the world of our consumer culture.
Enter: Stage Right.
The Once-ler tells the whole story to a curious boy. He recounts his enthusiasm in the development of his Thneed industry. The Once-ler is never revealed: he is a faceless exploiter; reclusive; behind the scenes; a carpetbagger. His goal? Greedy richness. AKA, continued economic growth.
The truffula trees represent a natural resource with an untapped opportunity for exploitation. They are soft and colorful and inviting. They ”smelled of butterfly milk.” The truffulas are integral to the ecology of the land. The last tree is cut as the biosphere of the land is disappearing.
The thneed - the product of only one part of the truffula tree - the tuft- which appears to be a nonrenewable resource. This perfect product is adaptable to many uses: "You can use it for carpets. For pillows! For sheets! Or curtains! Or covers for bicycle seats!" It really doesn’t matter, in other words, what the product is, as long as it was a product. This was also a product which, being new to the market, would be purchased by those wishing to have something unique regardless of the usefulness or how it was made or resources used. (Enter gullible public)
The thneeds are mass-produced as the truffulas are chopped down. Mechanization takes over in the forest and now multiple trees are chopped at once. Faster and faster. The original home industry model gives way to a smokestacked factory with an assembly line pace.
Thneeds are then marketed further afield, using higher transportation costs and relying on further natural resource extraction.
"I went right on biggering...selling more Thneeds.
And I biggered my money, which everyone needs."
Exit, Stage Left
Ecological components:
Swomee-Swans: Bird and sky representatives of the story; happy and singing; affected by smoke and smog in the industrial air. They were sent off by The Lorax to survive elsewhere.
Brown Bar-ba-loots: Animal/mammal representative of the story who were sustained by truffula fruits. They became hungry when trees disappeared and were sent off by The Lorax for food elsewhere.
Humming-Fish: Fish and water representatives of the story; happy at first; victims of water pollution from industrial sludge. ("their gills are all gummed") They were sent off by Lorax to find healthier waters elsewhere.
Lorax: Yes, finally, The Lorax. He responds early in the story to the cutting of trees and continues to protest the Once-ler at every step of the manufacturing operation. Yet, he, too, leaves in the end; banishing himself.
"I speak for the trees!" Who is this guy, anyway? A political correctness? A collective global citizen consciousness? A nagging subconsciousness of industry? Mother Nature herself? The spotted owl?
The answer is linked to the one word The Lorax leaves behind: UNLESS. Unless what? Unless who? The boy! It's the curious young boy who is ready to catch the last truffula seed on Earth. The seed is thrown down to him by the faceless establishment that had too much momentum to halt its own destruction. Hindsight consciousness. Too much economic growth; too late for sustainability.
When Lorax was written back in 1972, it is said, Dr. Seuss was referencing the battle in the Northwest between loggers and those attempting to save habitat for the spotted owl. He was appealing then to the next generation to take the seed of preservation and plant it. That was two generations ago. Now the stakes are so much higher.
Philosophy For Children
The Lorax Project
Dr. Seuss
