The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

The Lorax

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss is a children's book about greed and destruction. The book is set in the forest of Truffula Trees. The Once-ler was riding through the country in his wagon one day and discovers the beautiful forest of Truffula Trees.

Way back in the day when the grass was still green

And the pond was still wet

And the clouds were still clean,

And the song of the Swomee-Swans rang out in space…

One morning I came to this glorious place.

And I first saw the trees!

The Truffula Trees!

The bright colored tufts of the Truffula Trees!

Mile after mile in the fresh morning breeze.

The forest of the Truffula Trees was very lush and full of life. The Brown Bar-ba-loots were playing in their Bar-ba-loot suits and the Humming-Fish were humming. It was a utopia, a heaven on Earth. The Once-ler was greedy though and didn't see the natural beauty of the Truffula Trees. Instead, the Once-ler saw the trees and thought of all the money he could make by chopping them down and knitting their tufts into Thneeds. When he chopped down the first Truffula Tree the Lorax came to his office to speak for the trees. He begged the Once-ler to not chop down the Truffula Trees, but the Once-ler was convinced that his Thneeds were the things that everyone needs.

A Thneed's a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need!

It's a shirt. It's a sock. It's a glove. It's a hat.

But it has other uses. Yes, far beyond that.

So the Once-ler sold his first Thneed and he was in business. Here was the chance for the Once-ler and his family to be rich so he called them all up and started a business. The Once-ler built a factory and his business was in full tilt. He chopped as many Truffula Trees as he could and kept making more and more Thneeds. He expanded and used super ax hackers that could cut down four trees at once. The Lorax came back and had more complaints for the Once-ler.

NOW… thanks to your hacking my trees to the ground,

There's not enough 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!

BUT…

Business is business!

And business must grow

Regardless of crummies in tummies, you know.

The Once-ler did not care about the environment. As he said, "Business is business". All he cared about was profits and not the b...

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...ho can save the world and make the future a better place. The boy receives the Truffula seeds and is put into action. Dr. Seuss undoubtedly hoped that kids who read the Lorax would be see this and take action on half of the environment. Planting seeds is a small gesture and it is something that children can accomplish. It stands as a simple way to restore a damaged environment. The Lorax is a role model for the reader. The Lorax shows that anyone can speak out and oppose the actions of polluters. The power and passion with which the Lorax argues indicates the tone that one should use when protesting actions that are destructive to the environment. Showing the stupidity of consumers, as they thoughtlessly purchase Thneeds tells the reader that they can refuse to buy products that are wasteful and bad for the environment. Raising awareness of pollution, and giving children some specific action to take against it is an important message. In writing the Lorax, Dr. Suess produced a masterpiece that both entertained and informed the reader. Standing against ecological destruction and raising environmental awareness are lessons that through the Lorax, Dr. Seuss teaches us all.