So, recently I've become interested in the life and work of Theodore Geisel.
To be honest, I was not a huge fan of most of his work as a kid. I did enjoy the "Beginner Books" series, but aside from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" my favorites from that line of books were "Are You My Mother?", and "Go, Dog Go!", both of which were written by P.D Eastman.
These stories resonated with my younger self because of their entertaining and resonating messages on self-worth and identity. These stories stimulate the imagination while simultaneously teaching the fundamentals of language, as well as interpersonal and spacial relationships.
So what was wrong with Dr. Seuss when I was a kid and what has changed my perception of him as an adult?
Read on:
I'll start with Dr. Seuss' most popular work for children.
("The Cat in the Hat" or as I like to call it: "The Creepy Dude Who Breaks Into Your House When Your Parents Aren't Home.")
Exhibit A: The Cat
What's wrong with "The Cat" in the hat? Well, first of all, he's not a cat. Nope.
He's tall, cats aren't tall. He walks on two legs, cats walk on four. He has hands, cats don't have hands. He talks, cats don't talk. And, perhaps most importantly, he breaks into your house when your parents are away and cats....well...you get the picture.
The "Cat in the Hat" is a
man. A man who was, apparently, waiting for your mom to leave so he could invite himself into your house and take liberties with all your stuff.
Now, I know what you thinking... "Oh, silly Mormonhippie, you have no imagination. This is creative. Isn't that what a cat would do? If he were a humanoid cat, he would pretend like he owned everything in the house."
No, and no.
Firstly, my imagination works fine (This is the stuff nightmares are made of. The cat is a serial killer! I swear I will one day find him on Megan's List.) Secondly, it's clear, even to my 3-7 year-old self, that the only reason he's a "cat" is because Dr. Seuss needed to find a word that rhymed with "hat".
Want more proof he's a man?
( I rest my case.)
Exhibit B: The Story-line's Freudian elements
A few years ago, while doing research for some random, unrelated project. I found this:
http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~norm/CatInHat.html
(Yes, I did get funny looks in the library when I laughed uncontrollably about this.)
The bottom line for me is that while other people see Dr. Seuss' work as purely a creative and spontaneous expression, I see it as deliberately psudo-psychedelic. And the research I have done on his life and work so far has only confirmed that perception.
Q: So what changed my perception of Dr. Seuss' books?
A: Dr. Seuss Movies, (
not the live action ones!).
Not only do they make the stories more accessible, they also highlight the themes that to often (I am ashamed to admit) went over my head as a kid.
They encouraged me to read up on more of Dr. Seuss' work (You know, outside of his "Begginer Books") So I rented all the Dr. Seuss books I could find at my local library and did research. And you know what? That dude wrote about some pretty deep stuff!
I'll break down the one's I found most interesting here:
US Foreign Policy: "Horton Hears a Who" and "Horton Hatches an Egg".
Yes, Horton is the "Republican" so to speak. (Theodore Gessil was a Democrat) These two stories depict how America should behave toward the less fortunate in the world.
(I entertain myself wondering how "Horton Hatches an Egg" would fare in a movie adaption, I would particularly like a literal explanation of how *Spoiler alert: Mazie's baby became an elephant: END Spoiler Alert*)
Healthcare Accessibility: "You're Only Old Once"
This one was especially endearing to me, as I work in the health care industry and share some of the frustration depicted by the elderly Mr. Geisel as he tries to navigate the confusing world of western medicine.
My favorite quote from that book, I hope you enjoy:
They'll start questionnairing!
They will ask you point blank, how your parts are all fairing.
And your grandfather's parts. And Please try to recall if your grandma hurt most in spring or fall. Did your cousins have dreadful wild nightmares at night? Did they suffer such ailments as Bus Driver's Blight, Chimney Sweep's Stupor, or Prune Picker's Plight? And describe the main cause of your uncle's collapse. Too much alphabet soup? Or martinis. perhaps?
Environmentalism and the Consumerist Mentality: The Lorax
Before watching the movie, all I remembered from this story was that there was a really creepy guy with green hands who lived in a tower.
(With an imagination, this story automatically becomes PG-13)
Turns out the story is, like, a parable about the unwise use of environmental resources. The creepy dude seen above is "The Once-Ler". He is a 'Once'-ler because he insists on depleting the resources around him
instead of using them more then once (i,e. in a sustainable way).
Even more interesting to me, is that the story (while largely about environmental impact and personal responsibility) presents the allegorical 'enviornmentalist' vs. 'businessman' in an intelligent and non-condescending manner.
The Lorax is not a wise, all-knowing figure. In fact, he is quite an annoying character (Not un-like the stereotypical environmentalist!), he also doesn't actively do anything (aside from provide the voice of warning to the consumer/businessman) and he does
NOT at any point in the original story present any compromise or solution to the dilemma
WHATSOEVER!
In contrast, "The Once-Ler" as a character (aside from having a 'tude with The Lorax, and the whole creepy-hands thing) seems fairly benign.
(*Until he blindly chops down every last one of the exotic truffula trees.)
Every time The Lorax comes to speak with the Once-ler he's doing something I would consider useful.
One time the Lorax visits he's working in his office, the next he's fixing something in his pipe-shed, etc.
The Once-Ler is intelligent, and doesn't shy away from doing hard work. He's "being quite useful". He's not intentionally trying to hurt anyone, he's just living his life and trying to be successful at what he's good at. He resentfully ignores the warnings of the Lorax because, in his perception, the Lorax is just a jerk who doesn't want him to be successful. The same way some well meaning people whom I have respect for (I'm looking at
you Rush Limbaugh) often discount what environmentalists without analytically assessing the environmental situation and their role in it.
My favorite quote in "The Lorax" touches on the misguided intentions of the protagonist.
I meant no harm. I most truly did not. But I had to grow bigger. So bigger I got. I biggered my factory. I biggered my roads. I biggered my wagons. I biggered the loads...I went right on biggering ... selling more Thneeds. And I biggered my money, which everyone needs.
So, guess what I appreciate most about Dr. Seuss work is his insight into human nature. Horton teaches us that we have the capacity to be kind (both collectively and individually), and that our kindness does make a difference. Dr. Seuss knew that we all like to feel in control of our lives and bodies, the loss of control can be humiliating, but he found a way to see humor in this situation and so can we. The Lorax and, perhaps more importantly, The Once-Ler teach us that greed can take creativity and hard-work and turn them into a destructive force.
These are the types of topics most people would write an essay or a research paper about. They are important, they elicit thoughtful consideration, and the solutions are not easy. He could have written an article, a research paper etc. But he chose to write a story, a children's story. Something short, concise, and accessible to children (and as it turns out, adults as well) yet thought provoking enough that people are still wonder about it twenty years after his death.
But that cat? Ugh, still not sure what he was on about. ;-)
