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Literary Analysis of Dr. Seuss Essay

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Literary Analysis of Dr. Seuss

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.

The animated life of Theodor Geisel is evident in his …show more content…

For example, his peculiar character names, such as Lorax and Thidwick the Moose, came from his childhood experiences at his father’s zoo (Kaplan). Growing up during World War I subjected Geisel to anti-German sentiment, isolating him from society. As a result, his family would often plot revenge and practical jokes against their neighbors; these plots generated laughter because they were never actually carried out. The family plots from Seuss’ childhood are tell-tale signs of his later works published in his adult life (Kaplan). Besides his immediate family, his first wife, Helen Geisel, was also one of Seuss’ literary influences; she was his severest critic and strongest editor (Kaplan). She was instrumental in the creative process and was as much a perfectionist as Seuss (Kaplan). Dr. Seuss’ literary influences were not just his family and wife – his publishers pushed him just as much. Theodor’s editor bet him fifty dollars that he could not write a children’s book using only fifty words. Taking on the bet, Dr. Seuss took months to write Green Eggs and Ham; the success of this book led to a new division of books called Beginner Books, with Ted appointed as President (Kaplan). Another publisher challenged Seuss to write a story using only a list of words first graders

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