''Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose'' is a 1948
children's book
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
by
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel (;["Seuss"](_blank)
'' moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
in a herd numbering approximately sixty who subsist mainly on moose-moss and live on the northern shore of Lake Winna-Bango, grants a small
bug's request to ride on his
antler
Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on male ...
s (mistakenly referred to in the book as
horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
s) free of charge. The bug takes advantage of the moose's kindness and settles in as a permanent resident, inviting various other animals to live on and in the moose's antlers.
The kind-hearted moose acquiesces to the unexpected living arrangements, treating the animals as 'guests' even though he never told them explicitly that they were allowed to live there. His passengers however are thoughtless and selfish, and the situation quickly gets out of control. When one of the guests, a woodpecker, begins drilling holes in Thidwick's antlers, the other moose give Thidwick an ultimatum: if he doesn't get rid of his guests then he will be forced to leave the herd.
When Thidwick's sense of decency compels him to forgo the comforts of herd life in favor of indulging his guests, his herd leaves him behind. Winter comes, and the herd swims across the lake to find fresh supplies of moose-moss. Thidwick wants to do the same, but his guests object, and insist that Thidwick must not take "their home to the far distant side of the lake". Even as he faces
starvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, dea ...
, Thidwick refuses to go against his guests' wishes, and he remains on the cold, northern shore of the lake, where his guests prefer to reside. Meanwhile, the heartless residents of Thidwick's antlers, who pay no regard to the increasing physical or psychological load that the moose is forced to endure, continue inviting other animals, including a
black bear
Black bear or Blackbear may refer to:
Animals
* American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species
* Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species
Music
* Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
, to live with them.
The situation comes to a head when a group of hunters spot Thidwick and pursue him, with the goal of shooting him and mounting his head on the wall of the
Harvard Club of New York City, a building well known in the 1930s and 1940s for its hunting trophies. Thidwick attempts to outrun the hunters, but the heavy load, including his passengers' refusal to permit him to travel across the lake, prevents him from escaping. Just before his capture, however, Thidwick remembers that it is time for him to shed his antlers. At the last moment, he drops his antlers, makes a snide comment to his former guests, and escapes by swimming across the lake to rejoin his herd. His former guests are captured by the
hunter
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
s and are
stuffed and mounted, still perched on his antlers, on the trophy wall of the Harvard Club.
Meaning
The story explores the limits of hospitality and sharing. Neil Reynolds has discussed it as a parable of immigration issues and the
social welfare state.
Aeon J. Skoble discusses Thidwick at length as an exemplification of the idea of property rights, and particularly of
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
's formulation of property rights.
[
]
Skoble argues that Thidwick is badly mistaken in viewing the other animals as "guests", and that the story demonstrates this.
In a later essay in the same volume, Henry Cribbs makes a similar point, considering whether "Thidwick" is a case of
squatter's rights
Adverse possession, sometimes colloquially described as "squatter's rights", is a legal principle in the Anglo-American common law under which a person who does not have legal title to a piece of property—usually land ( real property)—may ...
.
[
] According to critic David Dempsey: "A man of less consistency than Seuss would have let Thidwick be rescued by the creatures he is befriending ... but Seuss' logic is rooted in principle, rather than sentiment, and the sponging animals get what they deserve. Incidentally, this is also what the child expects".
Adaptations
* ''
Welcome
A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person.
In some context ...
'', a 1986 Soviet animated film
* ''Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose'', a 1992 direct-to-video short following ''
Horton Hears a Who!
''Horton Hears a Who!'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Seuss Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss. It was published in 1954 by Random House. This book tells the story of Horton the Elephant and his adventures saving Whovil ...
'' (part of the “Dr. Seuss Video Classics” series by Random House Home Video.
* ''Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose'', an upcoming animated special set for release on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
.
References
External links
''Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose''at Seuss Dude
at Google Books
{{Dr. Seuss
1948 children's books
American picture books
Children's fiction books
Books by Dr. Seuss
Fictional deer and moose
Children's books adapted into films
Random House books
Starvation
Children's books about deer and moose