Dr. Seuss and WWII

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the political themes exposed in the WWII political cartoons of Dr. Seuss, or Theodor Seuss Geisel, influenced a number of his later works of children's literature. It looks at the themes of these political cartoons and the impact they had on his future writings and drawings.

I. Introduction
II. Seuss' Editorial Cartoons in WWII
A. PM Magazine
B. Seuss and Japanese Americans
C. First PM Magazine Cartoon, Virgino Gayda
D. May 19, 1941 Hitler Cartoon
E. July 16, 1941 Isolationist Cartoon
F. The Influence of Seuss' Editorial Cartoons
III. Political Aspects of Seuss' Children's Literature
A. Recreation of PM Magazine Characters in Children's Literature
B. Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories and Totalitarianism
C. The Sneetches and Other Stories and Tolerance and Racism
D. The Butter Battle Book and the Cold War
E. Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now! and Richard Nixon
F. The Influence of the Political and Social Content of Seuss' Children's Literature
IV. Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The political themes exposed in the WWII political cartoons of Dr. Seuss, or Theodor Seuss Geisel, influenced a number of his later works of children's literature. Known primarily for his children's books, Seuss wrote a series of over 400 political cartoons for PM Magazine that explored a variety of subjects, including Hitler, Fascist Italian publicist Virgino Gayda and Mussolini and fascism, American Isolationism, and racism. May of these themes were later explored in his children's books, including Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now!, The Butter Battle Book, The Sneetches and Other Stories, and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now! reveals Seuss' feelings that President Nixon should resign, while The Butter Battle Book clearly shows that the political and social conscience that Seuss honed during his time at PM Magazine, was active well into his old age. In his children's book, The Sneetches and Other Stories, Seuss again expanded on the theme of tolerance and the attacks on racism that he incorporated into many of his editorial cartoons from PM Magazine. Similarly, Seuss's Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories is deeply reminiscent of the dislike of fascism and totalitarianism seen in his PM Magazine cartoons. Overall, Seuss' contributions to the political landscape, while commonly overlooked in favor of his contributions to children's literature, were significant and important in shaping public opinion, both in an overt form seen in his editorial cartoons, and in the more subtle political messages seen in his children's books."

More papers on Dr. Seuss and WWII:

• Analytical Essay # 117953 : "The Stories of Dr. Seuss"
• Analytical Essay # 67106 : " Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geissel) "
• Book Review # 106530 : "Dr. Seuss"

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