The Star-Bellied Sneetches Analysis

The Star-Bellied Sneetches Analysis

From television to magazines the mass media is all around us, silently shaping society. Many people do not realize how much media can influence how they view the world. Children are the most vulnerable to the media’s influence. Through their daily consumption of television, literature, and culture, their cultural lens is being formed. Some influences the media have are unintentional however; many individuals are using the influence of media to shape generations. An example of an individual is the world-renown author Dr. Seuss. This man did more than write books that purely entertained children. When looking into his stories one can find that he addressed a social issue in most of his stories. He used his creative and unusual style of writing to slyly influence the life of children for generations. One of his more blatantly sociological books was The Star-Bellied Sneetches and Other Stories. Later becoming a movie, this story told a tale of seemingly naive creatures that learned tolerance. However, when taking a closer look, one can there is so much more being revealed. In Dr. Seuss’ The Star-Bellied Sneetches and Other Stories he addresses the issue of social stratification and unknowingly reinforces its importance to the flow of a society. The Star-Bellied Sneetches and Other Stories is a great sociology piece. The story consists of two groups, the star-bellied sneetches and the plain-bellied sneetches. The star-bellied sneetches are depicted as the elite in sneetch society. The plain-bellied sneetches are viewed as the foulest of sneetch society. This idealism is consistently reinforced throughout the story. The star-bellied sneetches can be seen turning up their nose and isolating the “plain-bellied sort.” The distinction was clear between these two creatures until an unusual man appeared in the story. He was a "fix-it-up chappie" named Sylvester McMonkey McBean. (Seuss p. 20) With his “star-on machine” McBean, for a small fee, provides a way for the plain-bellied sneetches to step up in their society. (Seuss p. 20 Unable to tell the difference the original star-bellied sneetches are outraged. When along comes McBean with his “star-off” machine. For a small fee their stars could be removed and the balance restored. This sets up for a profitable gain for McBean. A cycle had begun to restore the balance of sneetch society. One side wished to be different and the other wished to be the same. Each sneetch passed in and out of each machine until all their money was spent. Then McBean packed up and left. His pockets were full of the sneetches money. “You can’t teach them sneetches,” he said as he drove away. (Seuss p. 22) The Sneetches however did learn that day. It no longer mattered if a sneetch had a “star upon thar.” They were in that moment united as a one common people whether or not they had a star. (Seuss, 1961)
Now this book can be assessed through three different sociological approaches; the structural-functional, social-conflict, or symbolic-interaction approach. This analysis will focus on the structural-functional lens. The structural-functional approach is focused on the idea “that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.” (Macionis, 2010) This approach states that all parts are needed to make society work. Without one piece the whole system will be sent into chaos.
When first looking at the text one can see how the sneetches sort each other by the “star” trait. Those who have a star are viewed as ‘better’ in the sneetch society. This is a prime example of social stratification. Social stratification is “a system by which a society ranks and categorizes people in a hierarchy.” (Macionis, 2010)There are two types of systems related to stratification; an open or a closed-caste system. (Burciaga, 2012) The sneetch system represents a closed-caste system. This system does not allow for a sneetch to move up in sneetch society because it was impossible for them to obtain a star. (Burciaga, 2012) This was until Sylvester McMonkey McBean arrived on the scene. He used the plain-bellied sneetches drive to be better in society to promote his personal gain. After he gave stars to the plain-bellied sneetches there was uproar by the original star-bellied sneetches. The sneetches could not handle every sneetch being equal. Their nature drove them to spend all their money on being distinct. They had to prove they were better and set themselves apart from the other sneetches. This proves the need in their society to be better than the other. The institutional prejudice was to far instilled in there simple society. An institutional prejudice is a “bias built into the operation of society.” (Macionis, 2010). Without the distinction between sneetches, the whole system would collapse as it did.
These ideas are relevant even in today’s society. Though the stratification isn’t as simple as having a star or not, it is still very real. Dr. Seuss was able to break down this complex social system in a way that allowed the public to relate. What was even more shocking is the date of publication. This text was published in 1961 which was during the heat of the civil rights movement. During this time the social system of classification based on race was being challenged.(Karson, 2005) Dr. Seuss further more challenged this in this text. The irony is that his work only justifies society’s need to classify people. This may be a strange concept at first because the text suggests equality is the right social standing. However, when one holds up the sneetch society with our own, uncanny similarities becomes obvious. One example is the after segregation was abolished African Americans were still discriminated against. To this day many individuals still harvest prejudice attitudes against African Americans. Individual’s drive to classify each other cannot be snuffed out that easily. People have always been continually ranking individuals. It is present in the past, present, and will continue in the future.
Society needs inequality. We take strides in becoming equal only to find another group to discriminate against. Even though Dr. Seuss may have had different intentions, his book The Star-Bellied Sneetches and Other Stories only emphasizes the importance of social stratification in society. This can be seen over and over again in history. It doesn’t matter if it is race, wealth, ethnicity, political party, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, society will naturally find a way to segregate and rank individuals. Classes will always been formed despite efforts to accomplish an equal society.

Bibliography

Burciaga, B. (2012, November 28). Retrieved April 17, 2013, from Prezi: http://prezi.com/srou4jqrs8e9/sociology-the-sneetches-project/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=prezi_landing_related&utm_campaign=prezi_landing_related_author

Haslam, J. (2011). The Cold War As History. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Karson, J. (2005). The Civil Rights Movement. Detroit: Thomson Gale.

Macionis, J. J. (2010). Sociology Thirteenth Edition. Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Seuss, D. (1961). The Sneetches and Other Stories. Random House .

Bibliography: Burciaga, B. (2012, November 28). Retrieved April 17, 2013, from Prezi: http://prezi.com/srou4jqrs8e9/sociology-the-sneetches-project/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=prezi_landing_related&utm_campaign=prezi_landing_related_author Haslam, J. (2011). The Cold War As History. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Karson, J. (2005). The Civil Rights Movement. Detroit: Thomson Gale. Macionis, J. J. (2010). Sociology Thirteenth Edition. Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice Hall. Seuss, D. (1961). The Sneetches and Other Stories. Random House .