The Lorax Essay

“The Lorax” is a poem written by Doctor Seuss was published in 1971 and is very popular among children. It takes place in a dystopian society in which greed takes over. Use of language is also important in this poem. The poem leaves an underlying message of how greed is bad. It also tackles issue such as environmental impacts.

The poem teaches how greed is bad in many ways. In the Lorax, it says “Then I chopped down a Truffula Tree with one chop./ And with great skillful skill and with great speedy speed,/ I took the soft tuft, and I knitted a Thneed!” This shows that he had greed and wanted the trees for himself to make the Thneeds. Then the poem goes on to say “And at that very moment, we heard a loud whack!/ From outside in the fields came a sickening smack/ of an axe on a tree. Then we heard the tree fall./ The very last Truffula Tree of them all!” This shows how he allowed his greed to continue and now he has no more trees to make Thneeds out of. Now he is sad and

realized he made a mistake. That is why this story is partly about why greed is bad.
Big issues in today’s world are also addressed in “The Lorax”.

These issues include environmental issues. In the book, it says “There’s not enought Truffula Fruit to go 'round./ And my poor Bar-ba-loots are all getting the crummies/ because they have gas, and no food, in their tummies!” This is showing how we can’t go around doing whatever we want to the environment because of our own greed because in the future it will lead to consequences such as animals having to relocate which decreases their likelihood of survival. More evidence of this demonstrated in “The Lorax” was when it said “They may have to fly for a month... or a year.../ To escape from the smog you've smogged up around here”. This is showing that not only is the cutting of the trees forcing animals to relocate, but it is also having more effects on the environment such as creating smog which can lead to worse future effects that can harm the health of animals and humans alike. That is why this story is partly about environmental

issues.
Language is also used in this book for a good purpose. He made up his own words and phrases because it’s a children’s book and he wants to make it less dark for the kids. This is evidenced when the poem says “He lurks in his Lerkim, cold under the roof,/ where he makes his own clothes/ out of miff-muffered moof”. These made up words make it seem like a story about greed and environmental issues is less dark than it actually is.
In conclusion, the purpose of this poem is to show us why greed is bad and to also show us environmental issues that are caused by the chopping down of trees. This is demonstrated when the book talks about the oncler’s greed when he chopped down all the trees and then afterwards he felt bad. It also talked about the environmental impacts of chopping down the trees such as animals having to relocate and smog forming which can lead to worse problems in the future. Language is also used to make it less dark for the kids that will read it since it’s a children’s book. That is why this poem is teaching us about greed and environmental issues and why language was an important factor in this book.