"Mister!" he said with a sawdusty sneeze,
"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.
I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.
And I'm asking you, sir, at the top of my lungs"
he was very upset as he shouted and puffed
"What's that THING you've made out of my Truffula tuft?"
"Look, Lorax," I said. "There's no cause for alarm.
I chopped just one tree. I'm doing no harm.
I'm being quite useful. This thing is a Thneed.
A Thneed's a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need!"
It is never too early and never too late to learn about ecology. The book The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel, Random House, 1971) is a great tool to use for all age groups. For the young int presents a story in a form with which they are familiar; for the adult it is a fable which retells the facts in a novel and nonthreatening way.
The Story
The Lorax is about a creature called a "Once-ler" who tells his story to anyone for a fee. His story recounts how he destroys a forest containing trees that grow beautiful tuffs that he uses to manufacture a useless but highly profitable article called a "Thneed." Immediately after cutting down the first Truffalo tree, a forest inhabitant called a Lorax appreas decrying the act in the words above. Once-ler's reply is:
"Look, Lorax," I said. "There's no cause for alarm.
I chopped just one tree. I am doing no harm.
I'm being quite useful. This thing is a Thneed.
A Thneed's a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need!"
The lorax replies:
"Sir! You are crazy with greed.
there is no one on earth
who would buy that fool Thneed!"
But to make more Thneeds and a bigger profit, Once-ler cuts down more trees to supply the raw materials. As more trees are cut down, more types of animals leave the forest. When the last Truffula tree is cut down the last inhabitant of the forest, the Lorax, leaves. At the end of the book, Once-ler recounts his tale with remorse to an unnamed person. There are no Truffula trees left, but Once-ler has the last Truffula seed which he gives to the listener with these words:
"You're in charge of the last of the Truffula seeds.
And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs.
Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.
Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.
Grow a froest. Protect it from axes that hack.
Then the Lorax
and all of his friends
may come back."
An Interpretation
The Lorax is a modern fable about the destruction of an eco-system and perhaps the world itself. It shows simply how unbridled greed can unleash such destruction. An industry can create its own market and/or the need for its own product; a fad can develop for unnneeded and useless items. Unregulated destruction of resources can occur when profits are involved. Yet hope is given at the end that even near total destruction of a species or eco-system may be reversed with dedication, hard work and diligence.
The Questions
You can use these questions to help lead a discussion. Alter the questions to fit the age group.
- Who is the Lorax? Who is the Once-ler? Is there a reason they are called by these names?
- What is implied by having to pay to hear Once-ler's story?
- What is so important about the trees? What do they represent?
- What is a Thneed? What does it represent
- At the end, what is the importance of the seed?
- Who is given the seed?
- Who is being told this story?
- What is the story telling us about our world?
