A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Book 'The Lorax' By Dr.

Dr. Seuss is a very smart man in terms of his poems and children stories. A quality of these rhymes, poems, and children’s stories is that we cannot get them out of our head. Maybe because it was particularly vivid or poignant, or just simply easy to remember. His writing has deep meaning behind what seems to be a simple story; which not only appeals to a younger audience, but to adults as well. “The Lorax” written by Dr. Seuss is one of his most explicitly rhetorical books. The story is set in a dark, murky, destroyed landscape caused by the Once-ler’s exploitation of the ecosystem, which was once supported by the Truffula trees.
However the Lorax is an advocate for the Truffula trees. The Lorax spoke for the trees because the trees could not speak for themselves. The Lorax felt like he needed to speak for the trees because they were being cut down and the Lorax believed that
is was wrong. Because the Truffula trees were being cut down for Thneed there was a lack of food for some species, no place to live, and multiple other problems associated with the clear cutting of the trees.
The Truffula, as said, were being clear cut; which did not give the area time to replenish itself.
Not only were the trees being affected but the population in the area was also affected. Three populations survival in particular was endangered by the Once-ler’s actions. One of the populations affected were the Humming fish. These fish were located in Lake Erie and were unable to breathe through their gills due to water pollution from the Thneed factory. Another population that was affected was the Brown Barbaloos. The Brown Barbaloos did not have enough of a food supply to sustain life. This was because the fruit off the Truffula trees were their source of food and since the trees were quickly disappearing so was the Barbaloos food source. The Swammy Swams were also affected. They were not able to sing/breathe due to the air pollution from the factory. This can be related to problems in society today. Big companies are a big cause of pollution in the air and water. Also there are companies that clear cut forests down. Dr. Seuss reminds of these people, and uses the Once-ler as an
example.
Through all the problems that were happening around the Lorax he still continued to speak for the trees. He confronted the Once-ler on multiple occasions trying to get him to stop what he was doing. The Lorax was simply doing what is right, for the right reasons. As in society today, when those who try to shine some light on problems or issues in the world, they usually are shut down, just as the Lorax was.
The Once-ler; who remained faceless/ anonymous throughout the entire movie can be compared to large companies, or CEO’s. The leaders of these big companies are hardly ever seen even though it is them who are making decisions that usually affect the ecosystems. It seems that these people who make all the bad decisions, but are not seen; for this I believe they feel guilty, or that they do not really care about the negative impact they make. As we see today, society values money and success over what it truly right. The Once-ler was only concerned with expanding and making money. These kinds of people are overwhelmed by their riches and don’t stop to think of the consequences to their actions. The actions that the Once-ler had made can be defined in today world as urban sprawl/expansion, media, consumerism and sustainability.
Although there were many problems in The Lorax, there were ways the Once-ler could of avoided them and still continue running the Thneed factory. The Once-ler could have used a more “green” approach in his factory. He could have had natural power sources (sun, wind, or water energy) to eliminate the smog issue. Also to produce the Thneed itself, the Once-ler could have used biodegradable materials, or materials that could be reused many times to eliminate the waste from the factory. Lastly, the Once-ler could have planted one tree for every tree that was cut down. If that was done the Truffula trees could have been repopulated, and in the end the Once-ler wouldn’t have had the problem of having no more trees.
I believe The Lorax was written and created for people to become aware about the environmental issues happening the in the world around them. The Lorax was written in the 70’s, which was the beginning of the environmental movement. It seems that Seuss was trying to have more Loraxs in the world (people who speak out for what’s right) as he hinted towards the end of The Lorax with his key word “unless”. I took the word “unless” as unless someone cares things will not improve, that there has to be people in the world willing to care and take action. Although you get what you expect from Seuss; fun rhymes, original creatures, and free moving illustrations there also contains a powerful message that he wants children and adults to act upon.