Kaufusi Isaiah Kaufusi Mrs. Yee English 11B Honors 5/30/13 Dr.

Seuss, The Man Behind his Words. Dr. Seuss had more to his stories than a cat in a hat or some Truffula trees.

Theodore Seuss Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss was born on March 2, 1904. Growing up Geisels father and grandfather owned a Brewery. This brewery had been very successful and the Geisel family was financially fit. Prohibition and World War 1 had threatened their business and it steadily declined leaving them with financial difficulties. Due to their German background, Geisels family was targeted and prosecuted. Geisel then went off to college, and had attended Dartmouth and Oxford University. Here, he started going by Seuss. At Oxford, he had met his wife and she encouraged him to go into drawing. This is what sparked the idea of Dr. Seuss and his legacy. He has written hundreds of books, and won many awards. In these books he expresses the themes of individualism, rebellion against authority, and environmental morality. Individualism One major theme in Dr. Seusss poem is Individualism. The book I Am NOT Going To Get Up Today is about a young boy who shows his individuality by sleeping the whole day. He doesnt want to get up at all, and shows through his actions, that he has his agency. He makes his statement that he isnt going to get up that day. No body could make him wake up or stop sleeping. He was able to choose for himself and do what he wanted. The boy did what he wanted, and didnt care what anyone thought. In one of Dr.

Kaufusi Seusss poems, he says, You can steer in any direction you choose (Dr. Seuss Line 23). You control where you go, and you have the power to be an individual. You have the power to do what you want to do, when you want to do it, and where you want to do it. Seuss emphasizes Individualism in this line because you steer yourself. Not anyone else

but you! At the end of this poem, he states, you are the guy wholl decide where you go (4). No matter who comes into or leaves your life, you are the only individual who decides where you are going to go. You are the only person with the ability and power to dig deep inside yourself, and determine your destination. No matter what happens, how hard things get, you get to decide your attitude toward it, and what you do about it. The greatest people in the world are those who are individuals, seek for greatness, are selfmotivated, have a plan, and go after it. Rebellion Another one of Seusss themes is the theme of rebellion. The Cat in the Hat is a good example that promotes rebellion. Two childrens mother had gone to work, and left them home alone with a set of house rules. When a cat in the hat comes along to hangout with them. The cat wants to do many things, and have a little fun. He destroys things, and blows things up, and messes up the kitchen. A fish in the fish tank tells the cat in the hat that he couldnt be there. That he needed to go when his mother wasnt there. The cat in the hat didnt listen and stayed anyway. One of the rules that kids mother had said, was they werent allowed to jump on the couch. But being the cat in the hat, he did anyway. He influenced the children to do the same as he did, and the children had followed his example. They rebelled against what their mother had said just a few hours before. That specific incident had caused them to break more and more of their moms rules. In the

Kaufusi book I Am NOT Going To Get Up Today, the child that doesnt wake up is almost rebelling against society. Society today says its frown upon to sleep in all day, and be lazy. Although it happens all the time, it wont get you anywhere in life. The boy that is sleeping is rebelling against authority, which in this case is society. The fact that the boy doesnt get up doesnt eat breakfast, which his mother had made, or go to school which his mom had paid for, is an act of rebellion. Both The Cat In The Hat and I Am NOT Going To Get Up Today are great examples of rebelling against authority and rebellion in general. Environmental Awareness A controversial theme of Dr. Seusss work is the theme of environmental awareness. Dr. Seusss book The Lorax is all about the environment. This book is

about the Once-ler who came into this land and started cutting down Truffula Tufts so he could make Thneeds for the people. The Lorax said that he speaks for the trees and that he needed to stop. In many ways, this is about the environment. The Lorax is trying to protect the Truffula Tufts, so that the environment will be okay. The Once-ler had disregarded The lorax and still cut down the Tufts. Its only Tuft, he would say, or it wont do any harm (14, 17). Eventually towards the end, there werent any more Truffula Tufts around. The land was dark, and the grass wasnt green anymore, and the clouds were grey and black. This shows that that we need to be aware of our environment before we lose it and dont have it around anymore. Because the Once-ler is greedy to make money, he had cut down all of the Truffula Tufts and that had caused a disaster. The Lorax had tried to stop him and had given him many warnings but he didnt listen to him. His actions had caused huge consequences that affected everyone around him. The

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book The Lorax teaches many different things about the environment. The environment can be used for many great things such as making materials, supplies, etc. It helps for leisure, and the environment can be a fun thing. The Lorax has a mini lesson hidden behind its words. That lesson is that if we dont protect our environment, then we may eventually lose it. It could go, and then we wont be able to do anything about it. There are many advocates that are trying to warn us against doing exactly what the Once-ler had done. People all across the world, warm us of the dangerous of Global Warning. If we continue to cut down trees, our land could eventually end up like the land in The Lorax. This book helps children, who are the future, understand that this could happen and we need to put an end to it. Conclusion Dr. Seuss wrote many books with many different themes. These themes help express his views on politics, the environment, and many different beliefs he had. These themes are important because it helps us understand other peoples views and what they think. It may give us some help if were trying to figure out our standpoint on such problems. Expressing the themes of individualism, rebellion against authority, and environmental awareness in his works, he teaches children lessons of all ages. His secret themes and messages that are hidden in his text help children, as well as adults, understand and comprehend the real world. This is very important because the kids that are reading and learning are the future. They will grow up to be our lawyers, doctors, dentists, etc. Dr. Seusss books provide golden nuggets the foundation for life lessons. Dr. Seuss was an incredible man, who helped out many generations with his work and illustrations. Seuss wrote hundreds of books with different themes and messages. Some

Kaufusi of which were Individualism, rebellion against authority, and also the theme of Environmental awareness.