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Can Books Save the Earth?: A digital anthology of green literature

Article Summary by Laura P.

          Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax is perhaps one of the most well known environmentalist stories to date. Thanks to its iconic characters, bright colors and unique names for each character and plant in this story, Dr. Seuss creates an argument that is appealing to all ages. In her article “Rethinking Human Need: Seuss’s The Lorax”, Lebduska uses a variety of articles that have been written in this classic story to emphasize Seuss’ main point; The Lorax shows to its readers that “any non-living thing on this planet has just as much right to existence as humanity” (Lebduska). Through evidence with the images of the novel, the character of the Once-ler, showing anthropocentrism’s role in children’s literature with examples from major critics such as Bruce Ronda, the time period in which the book was published, and much more, Lebduska exemplifies the idea that The Lorax shows that trees have just as much right as any human being, and it is our job to “speak for them.”
          Lebduska begins with introducing the fact that most people do not see The Lorax as trying to show that consumerism can actually be harmful to the environment. She uses an excerpt from The Library Journal and also quotes by Al Leopold and Dr. Seuss himself to prove to this claim. Lebduska’s quote by Dr. Seuss shows that he wrote this as a way to make a stand against things he felt were evil. All of these sources show the ideas of the Once-ler and the artwork of the book as a way of protesting this statement. These specific elements are mentioned later in this article, and are explained one by one. This is a very short portion of the article, and serves only as an introduction. Her next section is much larger, and deals with anthropocentrism and how it has been shown in children’s literature.
          Lebduska’s next bit of evidence pointed out is anthropocentrism and how children’s literature exemplifies treatment of nature in a positive light instead of the way adults view nature as simply something that is to be defeated or isolated. This anthropocentric argument also argues that nature is needed in order for a child to figure out their place in this world. This theme is central to the story of The Lorax because it brings forth a whole new generation of environmentalists. By having children learn about the environment in a way that is bright, colorful, and amusing, it helps portray nature as something every single person should care about, and also shows our role in nature as humans. The Lorax teaches us that sometimes we have to sacrifice certain things in order to keep the environment thriving. This point is emphasized by this anthropocentrism argument, which Lebduska begins with.
          The Lorax was one of the first tales that prompted Americans to think about the effects that an expanding economy could have on the environment. The character of the Once-ler brings up this idea in the story. The Once-ler is one of the most important characters, besides the Lorax himself. He is essentially the person who causes all of the problems that force the Lorax to appear in the first place by him cutting down Truffula Trees in order to start a Thneed business. Lebudska uses an article written by Ruth MacDonald that reveals that the Once-ler is actually meant to symbolize a bureaucracy through his portrayal in the images created and also with his constant need to actually work. By having a thriving business and helping out the economy, the Once-ler thinks he is being beneficial to society, but is actually harming the environment and his fellow citizens by creating his factory.
          The Once-ler serves as all of the examples Dr. Seuss uses to show all of the things we as consumers do that is harmful to the environment. Seuss wants all of his readers, old and young, that we need to be the voice for the silent, much like the Lorax, who “speaks for the trees.” When we “speak for the trees” we are making it easier for those who are non-human to be treated the same; this point shown through many different articles about The Lorax that Lebduska observed is what I think she wants us to get out of this novel. The Lorax has affected many people around the world, including myself, and will forever and always inspire young children and their parents to “speak for the trees.”


Lebduska, Lisa. "Rethinking Human Need: Seuss's The Lorax." Children's Literature Association Quarterly 19.4 (1994): 170-76. Web. 20 Feb. 2016.

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