The Lorax

by Dr. Seuss

Summary

On the far end of town there used to be a Lorax, and to find out what it was the boy must ask the Once-ler, who lived next door. He never leaves his house, but sometimes he tells stories from inside. His story costs fifteen cents, but once it is paid we are taken "way back in the days when the grass was still green and the pond was still wet and the clouds were still clean." Once-ler decided to set up a shop and chop down a Truffula Tree to take the soft tuft and knit a Thneed. From the stump a Lorax popped out. He said he spoke for the trees and asked what he had made out of the tree. He was quite concerned for the trees, but Once-ler explained that he had only chopped down one. However, he continues to chop down trees, and the Lorax stopped coming to warn him. He came back to warn him again that the swans could not breathe in the air because of all of the smoke from the factory, so they were leaving town. He also says the fish have to leave because all of the waste from the factory is polluting the water. When the last tree fell, everyone left except the Once-ler. The Lorax left a small pile of rocks with one word: UNLESS. He never understood the meaning until the boy came, and the Once-ler stated: "UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

Discussion

This book is deemed controversial because of its environmental message. When taking the story for what it is, many people do not appreciate that the blame of the pollution and destruction of this planet is on our shoulders, though that is the case. People prefer to live in false blindness, enjoying their apathy and pretending they don't see the problems in the world. This book urges readers, especially children, to take an environmental stance and protect the planet from harmful pollution before all the animals leave and everything becomes deserted. The illustrations and writing style are very typical of Dr. Seuss. This book was written in the early 1970s, when environmental consciousness just had begun. There is also much controversy about the book because many feel it has an unfair look on the logging industry. By writing a children's book with such a difficult topic for children to grasp, Dr. Seuss hopes that they will look for justice and fairness for our planet instead of the complacency that has become the norm in so many areas, especially throughout the United States.

Additional Information

On the Dr. Seuss website I found a Save the Trees game for children to play: (http://www.seussville.com//games/lorax/).

Geisel, T. S., & Seuss, D. (1971). The Lorax (Classic Seuss). New York: Random House Books for Young Readers.