Blog 6

I Speak For the Truffula Trees

Noah Breslauer

As a four year-old, brushing my teeth was not my favorite activity. I whined, screamed, and rebelled as much as I could, but when my mother said, “Brush… or no Dr. Seuss”, I instantly caved. Brushing turned into a relay race that I constructed as I aimed for a faster time every night just to gaze at the book for a brief moment longer before my lights went out. I studied the books, stared at the mesmerizing art, and after a while the pages in a way started to become reality. I was in the books, a blade of grass perhaps, that watched it all go by. The most popular book that put me to sleep was The Lorax. This was ironic as I soon realized because the book is somewhat depressing; a company cuts down trees and uses their products for money. The end of the book however, is uplifting, as the Lorax, the creature that protected the trees, passes on the seed of the truffula tree to a young boy. It left me in deep thought that turned into a deeper slumber.

Dr. Seuss was a nonconformist, a real maverick. He had his own ideas, his own life that he made for himself. In his hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts everyone was in a family business; some owned jewelry stores, while others managed family restaurants. His family owned a local brewery, but he had no interest. After graduating high school he attended Dartmouth University and later moved on to creating political cartoons for The U.S. government during World War Two, but ended his career as the author we know today. He had created a substantial revolution in writing. Wild animation and settings in these books created a fantasy land that children could become lost in. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the lessons as well as the social justice issues that he brought up, some of them very mature were not what you would think of as a children’s book. His genius to me was creating books and stories that could resonate with adults and children. Although I realize most people do not think a whole lot after reading Dr. Seuss’ books, as I have grown up I have noticed many people use his writing style to create rhythm. I have also noticed in my own life that I recall his books when facing a moral or ethical issue.

Dr. Seuss had a way of getting inside of my head; the way he wrote, the cartoons that he created, made me think about life at young age. I started with thinking simply about the book, not my analysis in any way, but re-experiencing and replaying the stories in my head. The thoughts later evolved into social justice including; food ethics, bullying, homelessness, and even water conservation. The stories he created are so iconic to our idea of basic morality and ethics, but yet so many people aren’t moral or ethical. What I realize now is that he tried to bring back these morals into our daily lives and into our kids’ lives. At a young age the brain is like a sponge, it absorbs ideas and concepts and usually doesn’t let them go. The morals that were used in every one of his books were engraved into my brain and I still hold them intact to this day.