The Lorax written by Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr.
Seuss™ , isa dystopian illustrative children’s book that highlights the importance ofenvironmental consideration and care. In an unnamed town, there is apollution problem. This is described by the “grickle-grass”, the ‘slow-and –sour’ wind indicating the air-pollution and there are no animals except forold crows. This all indicates that the land is barren and that there are notrees, flowers, luscious vegetation nor animals in sight. There is a youngboy as illustrated in the book that walks down the ‘Street of the Lifted Lorax’,on his quest to the Once -ler’s house to investigate who/what the Lorax wasand why the Lorax disappeared on a particular day. The Once -ler, for a smallfee, tells the boy of a time when there was an abundance of ‘Truffula’ trees,’Bar-ba-loots’ (type of mammal); ‘Swomee-Swans’ and ‘Humming-Fish’ in awell-balanced and functioning eco -system. This was all compromised whenthe Once-ler set up his shop and chopped a ‘Truffula’ tree down to make a’Thneed’.
The Once-ler describes a ‘Thneed’ as woven material that canvirtually be used for anything (i.e. gloves, socks, hat, curtains, blankets,carpets etc .) which he then sells to a passerby . The Lorax appears from thestump of the tree and begins to warn the Once-ler about his actions. TheOnce-ler ignores the Lorax and recruits his family for this businessopportunity.
The factory gets bigger, machines are then used and more treesget chopped down until there are none left leading to all the animals le avingas a result of the air- and water pollution and deforestation. The Loraxdisappears on a pile of stones with the word ‘UNLESS’ scribed into them.The Once-ler does not know what the Lorax meant by this word until the boyhad appeared. The Once-ler then gives the boy the last truffula tree seed toplant so that there may be a whole forest of truffula trees hoping that theenvironment may be restored again (Seuss 1971).
