Dr Seuss and the wolf chewed up the children

The political messages of American children's author and cartoonist

Theodor Seuss Geisel Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
''

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and a

moralist Moralism is any philosophy with the central focus of applying moral judgements. The term is commonly used as a pejorative to mean "being overly concerned with making moral judgments or being illiberal in the judgments one makes". Moralism has s ...

who expressed his views in his books through the use of ridicule,

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

, wordplay, nonsense words, and wild drawings to take aim at bullies, hypocrites, and demagogues. Earlier in his career, Seuss created

political cartoon A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine ...

s (which ironically promote both

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

and anti-fascism). Seuss's political ideas can also be found in books such as: ''

The Lorax ''The Lorax'' is a children's book written by Dr. Seuss and published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, the titular character, who "speaks for the trees" and confronts the Once-ler, a business magnate who cause ...

'', ''

Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! ''Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!'' is a 1972 children's book by Dr. Seuss. Written as a book for early beginning readers, it is suitable for children who can not yet read at the level of more advanced beginning books such as ''The Cat in ...

'', ''

The Cat in the Hat ''The Cat in the Hat'' is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by the American author Theodor Geisel, using the pen name Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red b ...

'', ''

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 Whovi ...

'', '' Yertle the Turtle'', '' The Sneetches'', and ''

The Butter Battle Book ''The Butter Battle Book'' is a rhyming story written by Dr. Seuss and published by Random House on January 12, 1984. It is an anti-war story; specifically, a parable about arms races in general, mutually assured destruction and nuclear wea ...

''. Although his books commonly contain anti-fascist and

anti-racist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

themes, they also commonly utilize racial stereotypes when depicting non-white individuals.

Editorial cartoons

While a student at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

in the 1920s, Theodor Seuss Geisel drew cartoons for the campus's humor magazine, the '' Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern'', some of which contain anti-black racist and anti-Semitic elements. His first work signed as "Dr. Seuss", published in 1928, features East Asian stereotypes lampooning

Japanese people The are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago."人類学上は，旧石器時代あるいは縄文時代以来，現在の北海道〜沖縄諸島（南西諸島）に住んだ集団を祖先にもつ人々。" () Jap ...

. From the late 1920s until the early 1940s, Seuss's cartoons (some made for advertisements) variously featured racist depictions of East Asians, Arabs and Muslims, black people, Mexicans, and Native Americans—in addition to

misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced f ...

themes. A 1929 cartoon for ''Judge'' magazine depicts white men browsing a department store, where they examine a crowd of stereotyped black people labeled as "

nigger In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...

s" for sale as high-grade firewood. Seuss drew over 400

s for the New York newspaper '' PM'', two years of which he was the chief editorial cartoonist (1941–1943). The cartoons ranged from the topics of opposition to the nationalist " America First" policy, support for U.S. involvement in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, and criticizing both

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and Japan. In particular, after the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, he made anti-Japanese cartoons, some of which took aim at

Japanese Americans are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

, and Seuss explicitly stated his support for the killing of " Japs". Over 200 of these cartoons have been republished, most of which had not been published anywhere since their original debut. Seuss reportedly later regretted his anti-Japanese sentiment.

Politics in his children's books

''The Cat in the Hat''

'' was written as a challenge in 1954 in response to an article in ''Life'' magazine that claimed that widespread

illiteracy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in Writing, written form in some specific context of use. In other wo ...

was caused by children being bored with books. The book had an underlying theme that endorsed rebellion in children. According to H. Burdorff in ''Subversive Seuss'', Dr. Seuss continued to champion progressive ideals in the sequel to ''The Cat in the Hat'', titled ''

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back ''The Cat in the Hat Comes Back'' is a 1958 children's book written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss and published by Random House. In this book, a sequel to ''The Cat in the Hat'' (1957), the chaos-causing title character leaves a pink stain in the ...

'', in which the Cat may represent colonial or absolute

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...

ial power. The Cat tries to clean up a mess he made with a dress that was not his, but ends up making things worse. When the Cat realizes that he can't do it all by himself, he brings in helpers, which Burdorff suggests may represent the working public, the underclass, or the democratic citizenry. When the Cat recognizes the potential of the working people, he sees the need for democracy.

''Horton Hears a Who!''

'' was published in 1954, and it was one of Seuss's most successful books. It is said to have many political and social messages, focusing on the powerless. It is sometimes said that Seuss wrote this book as a kind of atonement for his anti-Japanese editorial cartoons during World War II. Seuss visited Japan in 1953 and viewed the aftermath of the atomic bombs; he dedicated the book, published the next year, to a Japanese friend. The book is famous for the quote, "A person's a person, no matter how small". This quote has been co-opted by many anti-abortion groups. It is unlikely that Seuss intended a political message about abortion, since the book was written in the 1950s while abortion did not become legal (nationally) in the U.S. until the 1970s. He and his widow Audrey objected to the phrase being used in this way because "she doesn't like people to hijack Dr. Seuss characters or material to front their own points of view". Dr. Seuss also addresses other social issues, such as conformity. Throughout the book, Horton stands out from the rest of the jungle animals. He is very different, and Horton refuses to conform. The key political struggle in Dr. Seuss's lifetime was the struggle against fascism, where strict conformity was a cultural and political requisite.Wolosky, Shira. "Democracy in America: By Dr. Seuss". Southwest Review 85.2 (Spring 2000): 167-183. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 100. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center. Web. 30 October 2012.

''Yertle the Turtle''

'' Yertle the Turtle'' was published in 1958. There are many connections through the book to the rise and fall of

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. The book is about how all creatures should be free. Ultimately, the dictatorial leader, symbolizing Hitler, falls. The book was removed from many schools for being 'too political'. The quote from the book, "I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here on the bottom, we, too, should have rights" was one of the lines identified as a reason for removal of the book from schools, purportedly to protect the children.

''The Sneetches''

'' The Sneetches'', written in 1953, has many undertones of opposition to

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, along with opposition to racial and religious bigotry in general. The story of the Sneetches is about yellow,

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

-like creatures, with some who have green stars on their stomachs, and others without. The "in" crowd are those who have the stars, and they look down on those who do not have it. This discrimination even runs in their children. One day, a man named McBean comes to town with a machine to give those without a star, a star, with a "star-on machine" for the cost of three dollars. The original Sneetches with the stars are angered because they no longer have a way to show that they are better than those without. McBean comes up with the solution in the form of a star-off machine that will take the stars off the stomach of the Sneetches for the cost of ten dollars. This way, they can differentiate themselves once again and regain their superiority. But after the original plain-belly Sneetches go through the star-off machine too, it gets a little out of hand with all the Sneetches changing back and forth from having a star and not having a star to the point that, "until neither the Plain nor the Star-Bellies knew / Whether this one was that one or that one was this one / Or which one was what one or what one was who". Both groups quickly run out of money and McBean leaves town. After he leaves, the Sneetches come to realize that neither the "plain-belly" or "star belly" is superior over the other. There are clear lessons of anti-discrimination and anti-racism throughout the story, with even the star implying a political message. It was inspired by the yellow Star of David that the Jews were required to wear on their clothes to identify them to the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

''The Lorax''

Dr. Seuss's ''

'' appeared in the 1970s at the start of the

environmental movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists a ...

, just before the first anniversary of Earth Day. Dr. Seuss later called ''The Lorax'' straight propaganda, a polemic against

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

. The main point of the book is "the basic message of ''The Lorax'' deals with ecosystems and the interrelatedness of all parts - living and non-living - as a viable, functioning unit". Environmental impact is told from a simplistic yet environmentally accurate viewpoint, demonstrating the conflict between natural resources and man-made production. The story starts with a man named the Once-ler, telling the story of the local natural history and how it was once home to the Lorax, the one who speaks for the trees because trees have no tongues. This natural habitat, home to the Truffula Trees, was quickly taken advantage of by the greed of the Once-ler. The Once-ler cut down all of the Truffula Trees to make thneeds which he claims everyone needs (a marketing slogan). Through this deforestation and pursuit of economic growth by the Once-ler, the lakes, skies, and land in the area become polluted, all the creatures who inhabit them are forced to leave, and all of the Truffula Trees are cut down. The Once-ler is the sign of consumerism where he only cares about business and money. Dreier states: "The Once-ler cares only about making more things and more money. Once-ler says "business is business! / And business must grow". At the end however, surveying the devastation he has caused, the Once-ler shows remorse. He says to the young boy in the end that Truffula Trees (instead of thneeds) are what everyone needs, and that new ones should be grown, given clean water and fresh air, and should be protected. The book attacks corporate greed and excessive consumerism". Another message within the reading suggests that young children need to be taught about the environment and how to live in a sustainable way in order to preserve what we have. The children need to learn about how to live without degrading the environment, so that future generations have a clean place to live. This is shown in ''The Lorax'' by the Once-ler educating the small boy about the dangers of pollution and degradation of the environment, and by giving him the last Truffula seed so that new ones can be grown.

''Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!''

'' was written in 1972. On the surface, the story is one of Marvin K. Mooney, a young child who needs to go to bed and is asked to "go" in many ways. The book was turned into a political statement in July 1974 by a collaboration with political humorist

Art Buchwald Arthur Buchwald (October 20, 1925 – January 17, 2007) was an American humorist best known for his column in ''The Washington Post''. At the height of his popularity, it was published nationwide as a syndicated column in more than 500 newspaper ...

. Dr. Seuss crossed out "Marvin K. Mooney" wherever it occurred in a copy of his story, and replaced it with "Richard M. Nixon". With Dr. Seuss's approval, Buchwald and his editors reprinted the markup as a newspaper column, and it was published July 30 in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

resigned ten days later on August 9 as a result of the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...

''The Butter Battle Book''

'', written in 1984, was a thinly disguised allegory about the danger and implications of the Cold War, in particular the arms race. The book's premise is about a war that is fueled by the different viewpoints of how one should butter one's bread. The Yooks and Zooks constantly try to build better weaponry to scare the enemy. The book's message is that the arms race could be avoided if the trivial misunderstanding of "which side of bread is to be buttered", could just be let go, which would lead to each side not needing to increase the power of its arsenal.

''King Looie Katz''

''King Looie Katz'', which appears in ''

I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! and Other Stories ''I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! and Other Stories'' is a 1969 children's story book by Dr. Seuss. According to the inside cover, the stories concern The Cat in the Hat's son, daughter, and great-great-grandfather (as identified in the book's endpa ...

'', has a political theme of rebellion against hierarchy leading to democracy. In a town called Katzenstein inhabited by cats, King Looie Katz orders another cat, Fooie, to carry his tail so that it does not drag on the ground. In turn, Fooie becomes conscious of his own tail dragging and makes another cat carry it. This process continues, with each cat forced to carry another's tail, until "the last, last cat", Zooie Katzen-bein realises there is no-one to carry his tail and protests. "Poor Zooie got so awfully mad / so mad he could have spit. / but he did a far, far braver thing ... / he simply yelled, 'I QUIT!'"; and slams the tail he had been carrying on the ground. Each other cat in turn slams down the tail they were carrying, thus undermining the hierarchy. It concludes with each cat carrying its own tail. Unlike many other Dr. Seuss works, it includes the overt political message that Katzenstein is more "demo-catic" at the end. Readers may also draw lessons about equality and personal responsibility. King Looie is an apparent reference to the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, although Looie retains his crown, and his head.

Legacy

In the early 21st century, some of Seuss's work for children was criticized for containing racist themes and caricatures. A 2019 study found that a great majority of his depictions of non-white characters utilized racial stereotypes. On these grounds, in 2021, six of Seuss's books were pulled from publication.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seuss Dr. Seuss Political satire books American political satire American anti-fascists Anti-racism in the United States Ethnic and racial stereotypes in the United States Stereotypes of East Asian people Editorial cartooning

Editorial cartoons

Politics in his children's books

''The Cat in the Hat''

''Horton Hears a Who!''

''Yertle the Turtle''

''The Sneetches''

''The Lorax''

''Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!''

''The Butter Battle Book''

''King Looie Katz''

Legacy

See also

References