The Life of Dr. Seuss
“Why fit in when you were born to stand out” - Dr. Suess. Theodor Geisel grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. Geisel’s creative drawings and literature started when he was just a boy. Vanderbilt children’s literature expert Ann Neely (Vanderbilt News) says Dr. Seuss holds a special place in the hearts of many because he wrote with the joy, concern and passion a child carries.” Geisel’s books even though filled with crazy cartoon characters are great political messages. Geisel’s books are filled with many important lessons that children should learn early in life. The rhymes in Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel’s) books make it very helpful and a creative way to remember the important life lessons.
The author’s story begins,
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Seuss(Theodor Geisel) is trying to portray is that the world is very corrupt. He, even in children’s books is trying to show the kids/readers in fun, rhyming cartoons that people can be evil and nothing is perfect/right. For example, in the book “Yertle the Turtle” the overall picture, even though you may not realize it is that Yertle is portrayed as Hitler. Yertle is the king of the pond but he still wants more, just like how Hitler had a lot of power over Germany that wasn’t good enough for him. Hitler keeps pushing and gaining more power, because his overall goal is to rule the world. In this children’s book it’s the same thing, just put in different words/different characters. In the end of course Hitler and Yertle’s plans fail. Another example is in the book “The Lorax” plays a role from Theodor’s perspective of environmentalism. This book is trying to make known that us humans today are destroying wildlife/nature. We should be more aware of how we treat the earth. For example, throwing our garbage in trash cans instead of in the ocean or on the street. Theodor got his inspiration mostly from everyday life when he was a boy. After he became known as the pseudonym “Dr. Seuss”, his childhood continued to motivate his fantastical landscapes, and exotic creatures. “Why write about Never-Never Lands that you’ve never seen — when all around — you have a real Never-Never Land that you know about and understand,” Seuss said of his hometown. (bostonglobe.com) For instance, one of the poems Theodor Geisel wrote was, “Horton Hears A Who!”. This poem is about an elephant; horton, trying to find his friends on a speck of dust located on a flower. The speaker; Horton, is speaking to everyone around, including the readers. This scene takes place in a field of flowers. Horton is trying to vocalize that you should always look out for people no matter how small or unimportant they seem. “A person is a person, no matter how small”. - Dr. seuss’s “Horton
Seuss’s works, The Lorax and The Sneetches, both speak of important messages. In The Lorax the setting is a world where almost all of the planets trees had been chopped down. Where the protector of the trees, the Lorax, was created from the first Truffula tree being cut down. The character of the Lorax represents the voice and life force of the Truffula trees. He’s a static character, commanding, perspective, and relentless just like nature, yet falls at the hands of the greedy humans. The character of Ted represents change and the comprehension of human’s mistakes. Ted’s curiosity of the Truffula trees leads him on an adventure to finding out what happened to all of the trees only to realize the mistakes that humans made. He learns the importance of trees to the in their lives and learns that if no one cares nothing will ever get better in their polluted world. Overall the story speaks of mindless human consumption and environmental
Theodor Seuss Geisel, or as he is more commonly known Dr. Seuss, was an American writer and illustrator for some of the most popular children's’ books in existence. He sold over 600 millions copies and had his book translated into 20 languages by his death. Geisel adopted the pseudonym Dr. Seuss after college when he started animating and illustrating. He worked as political cartoonist for the New York Newspaper and he also made cartoons for Vanity Fair and Life. After WWII, Geisel started making children's books. Some of his most notable books were, If I Ran the Zoo, Horton Hears a Who!, The Cat in the Hat, and Green Eggs and Ham. Dr. Seuss always kept his eyes open and never let an opportunity pass by him.
Seuss was still able to make reading fun and enjoyable to children. Along the lines of his illustrations, Theodor Geisel was among the first authors to put illustrations equal with text, enabling his readers to follow the action and the story simultaneously. True to his eccentric character and unique perspective, Seuss basically drew things as he saw them. Surprisingly, he had strict guidelines on how to write children's books. There was only one illustration per page and nothing could describe anything pictured. That way, children can work out the story from the illustrations. In addition, his characters are unique. Although his characters may seem simplistic, Seuss' illustrations are inimitable. Through his drawings, word selection, and rhythm, Seuss created subliminal messages for his readers.
Born on March 2,1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts Theodore Seuss Geisel made his way into the world. His mother Henrietta and Theodore were very busy people. His father managed the
Dr. Suess knew he wanted to help out in the fight against Hitler, but he was older than the draft age limit. The only way he knew he could help was by using his artistic skills. Dr. Seuss began to draw political cartoons, annimated training films, and other political propaganda that was being used outside of the liberal magazienes. In his political cartoons, he strongly encouraged points that he felt would help win the war. For example, he encouraged the public to buy U.S war savings bonds and stmaps, for the government to use both white and black races in the war work, and many more points that he felt thte public needed to hear, if America was expected to win the war. By doing this, he put a spirit into the general public that helped them through the rough time of WWII. Without his inspiring art, the public may not have known what they could do to help the fight, without enlisting in the war themselves.
A poet, a teacher, an activist – These are all the things that Theodor Seuss Geisel managed to be. Geisel was born into the German family of Theodor Robert Geisel and Henrietta Seuss Geisel on March 2, 1904. He grew up having pride in his German background, but it all changed to shame after he experienced the torment of living through WWI. Despite the discouraging experiences he had during those times, they were not enough to stop the very talented “Dr. Seuss”. Geisel showed many that there were no boundaries to the imagination. Because of the hardships he had to overcome, the impact he left on young children, and the criticism he received from others, Theodor Seuss Geisel will always be remembered as the
It was March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. A baby boy was born; a boy that one day changed the world for all children. That boy was Theodor Seuss Geisel, mostly known as Dr. Seuss. His mother and father, Henrietta and Theodore Geisel, called him Ted. Theodor became a writer, poet, and cartoonist. His work had a revolutionary impact on children’s literature and changed the way children learned to read.
Dr. Seuss is probably the American writer who has so far had the greatest impact on children's literature. The intelligent usage of vivid illustrations, imaginative characters, and catchy rhymes made it easy for people who grew up reading these stories to recognize them. However, although the author worked tirelessly at his craft, he is not well-known since he did not seek after personal fame. Most of the fans to his literary materials are not well conversant with the details of his private life. For instance, most people are not aware that Dr. Seuss was not a doctor, but simply added the prefix to his pseudonym to provide credibility to the menagerie of characters in his works (Thompson 21). He worked as a writer and a cartoonist, publishing nearly more than sixty books. Some of the most famous pieces of his work include “Green Eggs and Ham” and the “The Cat in the Hat.”
Theodor Seuss Geisel also known as Dr. Seuss, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 2, 1904 (“Grahame-Smith” 7). Dr. Seuss is the son of Theodor Robert Geisel and Henrietta Seuss Geisel (“Dr. Seuss” Biography). Seuss has one older sister named Margareth Christine (“Grahame-Smith” 7). At the age of fourteen Dr. Seuss joined the war effort in hopes to make a difference. Being part of the war effort was a major part of Seuss’ life as a child (“Grahame-Smith” 10). Dr.
Dr. Seuss I took an unconventional approach in the topic I chose for my reading assignment – whereas most groups selected single novels, my partner and I opted to read a collection of short stories by none other than the notorious Dr. Seuss. Were I writing this essay on a “normal” book, I would be able to pose a question about the book itself and answer it in an ordinary sort of way. However, given the subject matter I have chosen, an essay on an individual book, though possible, would be a very tricky thing to do. It would be wiser, and probably easier, to respond to the man himself. My decision to respond to the man himself makes many more choices – what facet of Dr. Seuss shall I ask myself questions about? I think
Dr. Seuss greatly impacted children’s books. He changed the way that children’s books are written and illustrated with his original style. Many people consider Dr. Seuss’s unique style to be one of his greatest achievements (“Contemporary Authors”). Before Dr. Seuss’s books, children’s books were very bland and uncreative. After the release of his books, many authors follow his example when writing their books (“Theodor
Seuss was not always called Dr. Seuss. He had used pen names before, such as “Oo-La-La-McCarty” and “Theo LeSieg,” but it was not until he got into some serious trouble in college before he became known as “Seuss” (Pascal, 2011). One night Theodor threw a party while attending Dartmouth, where he was the editor-in-chief of the humor magazine (Klein, 2012). After being caught with bootleg gin, with prohibition still active, Geisel lost his job in the magazine, but had to figure out another way to get his works into it; thus began his pseudonym “Seuss” (Klein, 2012). He later added the “Dr.” to it after disappointing his father for not completing his studies at Oxford (Pascal,
Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, is perhaps one of the most beloved children’s authors of the twentieth century. Although he is most famous as an author of children’s books, Geisel was also a political cartoonist, advertisement designer, and film director (Kaplan). He used the power of imagination to produce unforgettable children’s books and helped solve the problem of illiteracy among America’s children. By using his experiences in life as a foundation for most of his books, Theodor Geisel created a unique writing style that incorporated various elements and techniques, enabling his books to appeal to people of all ages.
Children’s literature is a key component to their development of character, society and the world they live in. Growing up books were my teacher of concepts within the world I wasn’t aware of yet, or escapes into fantasy stories. The lessons or stories I read about have stayed with me throughout not only my academic but personal life, therefore I am aware of how impactful and important these literature pieces can be. Dr. Seuss is a great example of an early children’s author leaving impacts through his subtle yet meaningful messages. His book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish holds a great social issues lesson and can make children more aware of differences and accepting.
As a noted perfectionist, he would work hours on his children's books. He once stated, "The creative process boiled down to two things time and sweat (qtd. in Krull 39)." His writing style remained unchanged throughout his lifetime; the way he wrote in general was a fill-in-the-blank approach and used whimsical language coupled with artless drawings (Kaplan). In several of his children's books, Geisel adds more and more tension, building up to the climax only to end in an anticlimactic way. For example, in The Cat in the Hat, suspense increases as the mess the Cat makes becomes unmanageable. The illustrations add to this tension as the children's mother is set to arrive. However, just before she enters the door, the mess is cleaned and sparkling new (Hurst). Although his writing style has remained unchanged in his years of writing, Dr. Seuss was still able to make reading fun and enjoyable to children.