The Lorax
 | |
| Author | Dr. Seuss |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | 1971 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and paperback) |
| ISBN | 0394823370 |
| Preceded by | I Can Write—By Me, Myself |
| Followed by | Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! |
The Lorax is a children's book, written by Dr. Seuss and first published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax (a tree spirit), who speaks for the trees against the greedy Once-ler. As in most of Dr. Seuss works, most of the creatures mentioned are original to the book.
The book is commonly recognized as a fable concerning industrialized society, using the literary element of personification to give life to industry as the Once-ler (whose face is never shown in all of the story's illustrations or in the film version) and to the environment as the Lorax. It has become a popular metaphor for those concerned about the human impact on the environment.
Plot overview
Setup
A boy comes to a desolate corner of town to visit a being called the Once-ler and learn about the Lorax. The Once-ler recounts how he first arrived where they now stand, then a beautiful forest of Truffula Trees, colorful woolly trees that were spread throughout the area and supported various fantastical creatures.
Flashback
Enamored by these gorgeous trees, the Once-ler chops one down and uses its foliage to knit a "Thneed," an odd-looking but versatile garment that he insists "everyone needs." A strange creature called the Lorax suddenly emerges from the stump and protests, but the Once-ler ignores him and, spurred by greed and the success of his first sale, begins a huge Thneed-making business, much to the Lorax's distress.
The skies and local waters gradually grow darker and more polluted, forcing the local animals to leave the area. The Once-ler, however, still dismisses the Lorax's pleadings until the last Truffula Tree gets chopped down. With no more resources to mine, the Thneed factories close and the Once-ler's fellows depart, leaving the ler alone with the Lorax, who picks himself up by the "seat of his pants" and floats away through a hole in the smog, leaving behind only a small pile of rocks with the word "UNLESS" inscribed into them.
The Once-ler alone remains, gazing upon the disintegrating ruins of his factories over the years and contemplating the meaning of this last message, perhaps with a sense of remorse.
Return to the present
He reveals to the boy that he has one last Truffula seed left, which he gives to him with instructions to start a new forest and protect it so that "the Lorax and all of his friends may come back."
Controversy
The Lorax has sparked significant controversy. In 1988, a small school district in California kept the book on a reading list for second graders, though some in the town claimed the book was unfair to the logging industry.[1] Several timber industry groups sponsored the creation of a book called The Truax,[2] offering a logging-friendly perspective to an anthropomorphic tree known as the Guardbark. Just as in The Lorax, the book consists of an argument between two people. The logging industry representative emphasizes their efficiency and re-seeding efforts whereas the Guardbark, a personification of the environmentalist movement much as the Once-ler is for big business, refuses to listen and repeatedly lashes out.
The line "I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie" was removed more than fourteen years after the story was published after two research associates from the Ohio Sea Grant Program wrote to Seuss about the clean-up of Lake Erie.[3] The line remains in the DVD release of the special.
Adaptations
The book was made into an animated musical television special,[4] directed by Hawley Pratt, produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and starring the voice talents of Eddie Albert and Bob Holt. It was first aired by CBS on February 14, 1972. The line about Lake Erie was spoken by one of the Humming-Fish as they marched out of the river at the foot of the Once-ler's factory. It remains in DVD releases of the show, even though the line was later removed from the book.
References