“The Lorax,” first published in 1971, was banned for a time because certain factions felt it contained allegorical political propaganda. I’m a bit eager to peek inside and find out for myself. Shall we?
Up on a hill and down a long windy road lives a creature called the Once-ler. He doesn’t come out and associate much, but you can go visit him, if you want. And, if you pay him fifteen cents, and a nail and a snail shell, he’ll tell you his story.
The land where they lived was once a beautiful place. Truffula trees grew everywhere, their soft and colorful tufts blowing gently in the wind. Creatures of all kinds lived under the trees, and it was a happy, peaceful land. But the Once-ler got an idea. He chopped down a truffula tree and took the tuft off the end. He knitted it into a fine garment, somewhat resembling a union suit, and named it a thneed. Everyone would need one – he could get rich!
While basking in his intelligence, another creature popped up and introduced himself as the Lorax, the spokesperson for the trees. He asked the Once-ler to stop chopping the trees down, but the Once-ler didn’t listen. Along came a man who bought the thneed, and that made the Once-ler feel very good, indeed. He called all his family and told them to come quickly – he had a scheme that would make them all rich.
Soon, the Once-ler and all his family had a factory going. Tree-cutting machines were sent out to cut the trees, the knitters were kept busy knitting, and all of it sent a huge smog up into the air. Other pollutants were dumped out into the river, and soon all the animals who used to live there had to leave or face death. The Lorax kept trying to tell the Once-ler, but the Once-ler wouldn’t listen until the land was ruined.
This isn’t a subversive book – instead, Dr. Seuss was ahead of his time. How many environmental activists do we have now, and how many of them have said that if we only took care of it years ago, we wouldn’t be in such a polluted mess today?
Related Blogs:
Dr. Seuss Series: Hunches in Bunches
Dr. Suess Series: Happy Birthday to You!
Dr. Seuss Series: The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins