Heterodox Readings of Dr. Seuss
Yertle the Turtle: An allegory for the Kennedy assassination. When the arrogant leader King Yertle the Turtle (Kennedy) attempts to reach higher than the moon, a small turtle named Mack (Lee Harvey Oswald) topples his regime.
Gertrude McFuzz: Reactionary anti-trans propaganda. In a sexually dimorphic species of bird, where females have one tail feather and males two, Gertude McFuzz identifies as male. After being prescribed HRT in the form of Pillberry Bush Berries, he overdoses, his so-called hubris is exposed. If medical ethics guidelines were followed, Doctor Dake should have discussed proper dosing and the side effect profile of Pillberry bush berries. No evidence is presented that proper dosing of Pillberry bush berries is dangerous.
The Cat in the Hat: a mentally-ill criminal breaks in to a house while parents are away. While there was some property damage, thankfully no one was hurt.
Green Eggs and Ham: a horror story, in which Sam-I-Am tortures the unnamed protagonist, exposing him to increasingly dangerous situations insisting that it can all end if the protagonist would just eat an obviously suspect and oddly-colored meal. It ends with either Stockholm syndrome or an attempt to feign interest in the meal to end the horror. The hauntingly ambiguous ending leaves open the possibility that the cycle may repeat again.
The Lorax: A business school case study, showcasing that while marketing can create demand and temporary success, without good forestry management, critical supply chains can be negatively impacted. Furthermore, the revenue opportunities of truffula fruit and juice were not explored, despite being arguably higher than thneed revenue.
The Butter Battle Book: An argument in favor of mutually assured destruction (MAD). Despite unreconcilable ideological differences and an escalation of military skirmishes, all-out war is avoided due to the development of weapons of mass destruction.
Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book: Describes the progression of a global pandemic, involving an airborne disease that causes extreme sleepiness. Escalation of case counts are carefully tracked by an epidemiological case-tracking bureaucracy that is unable to stop the disease. They didn’t discuss whether the disease causes any long-term symptoms related to encephalitis or what the fatality rate is, but it is a children’s book.