The Lorax By Dr. Seuss
The Lorax, is a whimsical children’s book that raises awareness about how we treat the Earth and how we treat each other and future generations.
The story opens up in a dark and barren land where we meet the Once-ler who tells us his story and how he came to live in such a desolate place. The Once-ler talks of a time when the grass was green, there was fresh water and air, and the animals were safe to live there. The Once-ler decided to make this new land his home because of the beautiful trees that filled the place. The trees provided shade, fruit, and the necessary products for the Once-ler to knit ‘Thneeds,’ the Theeds become a wild success and so he opened up shop. He continued to cut down trees in order for his business to survive. As the trees went down the factories went up. Soon, the animals had to leave for there was no longer clean air, water, shade, or food. Throughout the story we have the Lorax who is trying to warn the Once-ler about his actions but soon the Lorax must leave his home as well and when he does he leaves just one word behind: Unless. As the Once-ler tells us this story he has an epiphany as to what the word Unless stood for. He tells us,
“UNLESS someone like you
cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better.
It’s not.
After the Once-ler taught us a lesson with his mistakes he leaves it up to us to change the world and encourage his friends to come back.
The Lorax is a good example of “We are all one on this planet” and “The means are the ends in the making.” Dr. Seuss does an excellent job of showing us how dependent we are each other and that the actions of one can and will affect the good of the whole. Also, we can see through this story how what we do today can destroy the future if we are not careful and responsible.
Although this book does represent two principles of the Beyond War organization, I do not think it is a good fit for the book list. The book is fantastic and should be read by all, however the book is about environmental health and social responsibility not shifting paradigms to an attitude of living beyond war.
Questions
In my own life, do I identify more with the Once-ler or the Lorax?
How important are my personal actions to the well-being of the whole? Or future generations?
The story opens up in a dark and barren land where we meet the Once-ler who tells us his story and how he came to live in such a desolate place. The Once-ler talks of a time when the grass was green, there was fresh water and air, and the animals were safe to live there. The Once-ler decided to make this new land his home because of the beautiful trees that filled the place. The trees provided shade, fruit, and the necessary products for the Once-ler to knit ‘Thneeds,’ the Theeds become a wild success and so he opened up shop. He continued to cut down trees in order for his business to survive. As the trees went down the factories went up. Soon, the animals had to leave for there was no longer clean air, water, shade, or food. Throughout the story we have the Lorax who is trying to warn the Once-ler about his actions but soon the Lorax must leave his home as well and when he does he leaves just one word behind: Unless. As the Once-ler tells us this story he has an epiphany as to what the word Unless stood for. He tells us,
“UNLESS someone like you
cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better.
It’s not.
After the Once-ler taught us a lesson with his mistakes he leaves it up to us to change the world and encourage his friends to come back.
The Lorax is a good example of “We are all one on this planet” and “The means are the ends in the making.” Dr. Seuss does an excellent job of showing us how dependent we are each other and that the actions of one can and will affect the good of the whole. Also, we can see through this story how what we do today can destroy the future if we are not careful and responsible.
Although this book does represent two principles of the Beyond War organization, I do not think it is a good fit for the book list. The book is fantastic and should be read by all, however the book is about environmental health and social responsibility not shifting paradigms to an attitude of living beyond war.
Questions
In my own life, do I identify more with the Once-ler or the Lorax?
How important are my personal actions to the well-being of the whole? Or future generations?
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