The Lorax is a fairly grim tale compared to Green Eggs and Ham or The Cat in the Hat, for sure. Seuss (Photo Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division) If we, as consumers, are so easily swayed by the next big thing, without regard for how it's made, then this is the world we'll end up with. Seuss goes easy on us in his story, but our complicity is heavily implied.

So on a certain level, we're all responsible for the fate of the environment. Industry will only produce what it thinks consumers will buy. But industry isn't the sole culprit in this cautionary tale. The Lorax sounds the warning siren, but is ignored, as environmental groups often are, until it's too late.

Seuss personifies industry as a whole with the Once-ler, to draw interest and attention to unchecked corporate greed as a threat to nature. The fable isn't subtle, nor should it be. Even the Lorax, whose persistent warnings went unheeded, takes off in search of someplace better. The book ends, back in the present, with the Once-ler giving the boy the last remaining Truffula Tree seed, in the hope that he can bring back the beautiful trees. With the last Truffula tree chopped down, Thneed production stops, workers leave, the factory closes up and the Once-ler is left in a grim, desolate world of his own creation. Soon the Bar-ba-loots and then the fish are driven off, because they can't survive in a habitat with so few trees. The Lorax pleads with him to keep the trees alive, but the Once-ler, driven by money, pays no attention. The Once-ler cranks up Thneed production, building a factory and expanding capacity to meet the needs of consumers. Yes, far beyond that.' The Lorax, who speaks for the trees, protests. 'A Thneed's A Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need! It's a shirt. The trees were of particular interest, since they could be made into a garment called a Thneed. In The Lorax, a boy ventures off to the far end of town '.where the Grickle-grass grows, and the wind smells slow-and-sour when it blows.' He finds the old house of the evil Once-ler and hears the story of how his world came to be so gray and polluted.Īs the Once-ler tells it, he discovered this colorful place long ago, teeming with Brown Bar-ba-loots, Humming-Fish and luscious, beautiful Truffula Trees. (Photo Credit: Random House Books for Young Readers)

With Earth Day nearly upon us, it's worth taking a closer look at the children's book that spawned the movie. But the message - that the environment must be protected against those who would profit from it - is important. Hollywood expands upon the classic environmental tale but loses the simplicity of the message in updating the story for a modern audience. The recent movie adaptation of The Lorax was a smash hit at theaters, drawing viewers into a 3-D version of the world Dr.

The lorax story