The Lorax is a well known children’s book written by Dr. Seuss with the first edition published in 1971. It tells the sad tale of the Truffula forest that has been cut down by the greedy Once-ler, who consistently ignored the warnings of a creature named the Lorax. As in most of Dr. Seuss s stories, most of the names of the creatures are original to the book, and full of allusions and hints. Numerous attempts have been made to uncover various hidden messages within the seemingly nonsensical, made up words in Dr. Seuss children s rhymes. The basic meaning of The Lorax is clear; its moral is explicit and self explanatory. The Lorax has been widely accepted as symbolic of the environmentalist movement and even spiked considerable controversy in recent years over these issues. The moral of the book does, however, extent beyond the basic motif of the tree cutting and the underlying theme of The Lorax has been characterized by Dr. Seuss himself as “anti pollution and anti greed,” not simply anti-logging. Wild Things Lessons
The Lorax Storyline
The Lorax is commonly recognized as a tale decrying the dangers that the industrialized society poses to nature. In the story, the industrial world is being personified by the Once-ler and to the environmental movement by the Lorax.
The story s plot is structured around a flashback as told by the faceless Once-ler, to a nameless young boy who is understood to represent the young reader or the audience. There is an illusion to the fact that the young boy represents the younger generation entrusted with the restoration of the damages the previous ones inflicted upon nature, as he is given the last remaining Truffula Tree seed to attempt to replant the forest, at the end of the book.
Catch! Calls the Once-ler. / He lets something fall. / It’s a Truffula Seed. / It’s the last one of all! / You’re in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds. / And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs. / Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. / Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air. /Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack. / Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back. R13; Dr. Seuss, The Lorax.
The story is set in a dark, gloomy landscape that resulted from the Once-ler s wholesale exploitation of the forest. As the tale unfolds, we get a glimpse of the old days, when the land was covered with the colorful Truffula trees and frolicking creatures such as Swomee Swans and Bar-ba-loots. Upon the arrival of the Once-ler, things begin to change at a rapid pace. Once he makes his first profit off the Thneed made out of the tuft of a Truffula tree, he is no longer able to restrain himself and goes on chopping down those trees until none is left standing, and the forest is gone. Despite the periodic warnings of the creature called the Lorax, Once-ler doesn t stop until the formerly paradisiacal landscape is turned into a desert of polluted water and air, and a depressing scene of Truffula tree stumps. After all of attempts to persuade Once-ler to stop had failed, the Lorax is mysteriously “lifted away into the clouds as the last tree falls.
Teaching The Lorax to Young Children
The Lorax has been put on required reading list of many schools. It is an entertaining and relatively simple to use book that can be utilized as an introduction to the environmental issues for school aged children. There have been a number of initiatives of environmental education and popularization based on this book. Lorax Coloring Page
Educational project on environmental awareness based on Lorax:
http://www.seussville.com/Educators/lorax_classroom/educatorlorax_discuss.php.
There is also a wealth of resources and materials available for teaching environmental awareness to children based on this book. Here you can find free lesson plans based on Lorax: http://www.homeschoolshare.com/lorax.php.
The Lessons of The Lorax
Parents can also introduce the ideas of taking responsibility for the surroundings, protecting natural resources, and so on, while reading and discussing the Lorax with their children. You can discuss the natural resources and how we use them. What were the natural recourses in the Lorax story, and how they were used? What was the outcome, and what could have been if the Once-ler had listened to the Lorax and acted responsibly? How can each individual contribute in his own way to the betterment of the surrounding environment? Gradually introduce the children to the ideas of conservation, preservation and recycling. It is important for the children to be taught not to waste things. Not to throw out something that is still usable.
The Importance of Not Wasting
In today s disposable generation the value of things is greatly diminished. Children grow up with abundance of stuff and food and quickly learn that it s easier to buy a new one that to fix the old one. By reading and discussing the ideas of the Lorax with your children, stress the importance of valuing things and the negative aspects of wasting. Goodnight Moon