AWA: Academic Writing at Auckland

Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! (1954), in addressing themes of equality, social security, and the overall mechanics of a democratic system of government, captures a political consciousness typical of Seussian narrative. A contributor to the US military’s propaganda machine during WW2, Seuss’ background afforded him a great niche to observe and commentate on post-war international relations – specifically between Japan, the USA, and the Soviet Union. It is no surprise then that further to its exploration of democratic ideology, Horton Hears a Who! contains an underlying allegorical thread, which amongst other things deals with the experiences of the Japanese in the wake of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. A close-reading of the passage beginning “From down on the speck came the voice of the mayor” (Seuss 38-39), lends strong support to this theory, while also providing a springboard for analysis of more universal concepts. Taking into consideration the utilisation of language, layout and accompanying artwork, this passage invites such interpretations both of its own merit, and when examined in relation to the rest of the text. This exercise in turn facilitates a conversation as to how Seuss’ manipulation of the medium of children’s literature allows scope for learning and enjoyment across a diverse readership.

The passage in question focuses on what the Mayor of Whoville describes rather understatedly as the “troubles” (38) of the Whos, following an ordeal that has left their habitat more-or-less resembling a post-apocalyptic site of demolition and social instability. The carnage inflicted upon Whoville, which in literary criticism has been likened to that of a Japanese war-zone (Duggan 2002), is captured most effectively in lines 3-6 of the passage, wherein the Mayor rattles off a brief stock-take of damaged items. Amongst the casualties are said to have been clocks, tea-pots, rocking chairs and bicycle tires, at first glance a rather unassuming selection of goods indeed. Once their individual implications are regarded however, much significance is afforded to each item, and in fact we discover that together they represent the cornerstones of a functioning society.

Imagine for instance, a world without clocks – it would be nothing short of anarchical, and it only gets worse. As a symbol of hospitality and social-etiquette, few items convey the sentiment of ‘keeping a lid on things’ better than a tea-pot. In another nod to the Hiroshima theory, it is poignant to consider the heightened role of tea ceremonies in Japanese culture, but even on a universal level we can attribute the broken tea-pots of Whoville to the break-down in Whoville’s social-stratification. Not shown to have had merely generic consequences however, the impact of the Whos’ harrowing ordeal upon the most vulnerable members of society is an inference we can draw based on the rocking-chair and its connotations of women, children and the elderly. Perhaps though, it is the damaged bicycle tyres that best communicate the absolute direness of the Whos’ situation. Representing a means of transportation upon which people, goods and services are dependant, the damaged bicycle tires pose a barrier to industry, engineering and enterprise, and therefore denote what could be a crippling standstill of progress for the Whos.

Despite their predicament the Whos are not portrayed as defeated or defeatist, but instead as courageous, resourceful and above all as having a strong teamwork ethic. Seuss’ illustrations visually inform us of the extent of the wreckage, with Whos teetering on ladders, dangling from hanging platforms, and fitting makeshift supports beneath crumbling architecture in every corner of the four-page spread. But while their grave, wide-eyed facial expressions indicate a collective awareness of the precariousness of their situation, what also comes across is a feeling of unity, solidarity, and commitment to rebuilding their flattened universe from the ground up. This attitude is also reflected in the Mayor’s appeal to Horton to “stick by us Whos while we’re making repairs” (38). The suggestion is that the self-sufficient Whos are not looking for a handout – they pledge to make the necessary repairs independently of outsourced labour – what they require is more-so the security of having Horton as an ally.

Horton’s allegiance to the Whos arises from his chance discovery of their microscopic world. With the audio-sensory prowess afforded to him by his large ears, Horton hears a Who’s cry for help despite not being able to see him. As an elephant of utmost integrity though, Horton offers to protect the Whos from the perils of their environs, an offer met with much animosity from other co-habitants of Horton’s jungle society who, unlike him, have not been blessed with such acute hearing capabilities and therefore have no reason to believe in the existence of the Whos. The tension between the Who-believers and Who-sceptics forms the backbone of the story.

As readers, when our insider-knowledge of the reality of Whoville is faced-off against the disbelief of the gang of antagonists, it invokes a kind of dramatic irony that makes us horrified witnesses to the undue persecution that ensues. What is interesting to note however, is the degree of sensitivity paid to the Who-sceptics by the narrator. Refraining from addressing the Mayor of Whoville as indeed “the Mayor”, the narrator instead uses the more abstract “voice of the Mayor” (38), seemingly undermining the Mayor’s legitimacy as a humanesque individual, and demoting him to more abstract realms of being. Raising questions as to what constitutes ‘being’ in general, this dehumanising of the Whos restricts our capacity as readers to relate to them as a race – a feeling we might expect to be shared by the antagonists of the text.

It is clear based on our own second-guessings that the Whos’ miniscule size poses a liability to their own survival. But what the passage also highlights, particularly by way of the visual arrangement of the text, is the notion that strength lies in numbers. Seuss in an effort to emphasize the physical smallness of the Whos, alters font-size in accordance with the speaker; in this case, a reduced font-size distinguishes the voice of the Mayor from that of Horton and the narrator. Far from packing less impact however, the Mayor’s speech becomes the most dominant section of text, due to its making up seven of the verse’s total ten lines. The passage’s incorporation of the lesson that ‘every little bit counts’ reinforces a central theme of the narrative, and cleverly foreshadows a later crucial plot-point. In a last ditch effort to save their own lives, the Whos band together to generate as much noise as possible and subsequently make themselves known to their would-be executioners.

This series of events stresses the potential of the individual to make a lasting and worthwhile contribution to society, not just in spite of but as a result of their singularity. After all, it is one Who alone whose extra “YOPP” (38) raises the volume of the other Whos’ cry to an audible level, thereby making all the difference to their collective fate. And fittingly, difference is celebrated in the illustrations of the Whos, as can be seen in the artwork of pages 38-39. Although they share the common physical characteristics of large oval eyes and fine, feathery fur, each Who has been rendered as having some distinction of appearance. What’s more, every Who in the scene appears to be carrying out a specific role in the relief-effort, perhaps highlighting that a diversity of skills and personalities is advantageous for a society that wants to further itself. In contrast, the text’s depiction of the menacingly identical Wickersham monkeys magnifies the extent to which a ‘Lemming’ mentality becomes of those who operate as a regime and not as a convergence of unique and dynamic identities.

Of course, the repetitive and formulaic style in which the Wickershams are drawn could be due in part to a stipulation that Horton Hears a Who! be as clear and accessible as possible for beginner readers. Needing to accommodate for his young target audience’s needs, Seuss economised on design in favour of an abundance of patterning. Such patterning was necessary not only in an artistic sense, but in terms of rhythmic and linguistic devices, hence the consistent use of rhyming couplets and anapaestic tetrameter. In terms of the already familiar passage, the prevalence of verbs such as ‘crashed’ and ‘smashed’ comprises just the kind of “verbal pattern play” (Boyd 2008), that no doubt enhances the readability of the text.  But perhaps more significant is the idea that heavy use of onomatopoeia inevitably makes the passage more audibly compelling. This theory gains poignancy when we reflect that the Whos’ being heard and not seen was the ultimate factor in their imminent survival, and thus the tension between seeing and hearing in the story’s narrative presents itself as something of a motif.

Like every other title in Dr. Seuss’ vast library of works, Horton Hears a Who! demonstrates the author’s ability to address all the elements required of children’s literature, while at the same time entertaining equal measures of maturity and lunacy. In true Seussian fashion, the passage beginning “From down on the speck came the voice of the Mayor” (38-39), perfectly exemplifies this fusion of method, madness and meaning. Providing in just ten lines of text the raw material from which to conduct a complete behavioural analysis of the Whos, as well as an insight into inter-species power relations, this thought-provoking passage holds immense appeal and relevance for an older audience. Yet it does not disregard its responsibility to younger readers, and in delivering its narrative in such a way that is both engaging and educational, the passage in question – and indeed, Horton Hears a Who! as a whole – illuminates the extent to which Seuss was an innovator in his field. Whether fulfilling certain political agendas or not, Seuss’ works ultimately reflect one bottom-line: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go” (Seuss 1978).

Word Count: 1,645

Works Cited

Boyd, Brian. “The Art of Literature and the Science of Literature.” The American Scholar. 1 Mar. 2008. Web. 18 Aug. 2010.

Duggan, Anne. “Seuss, Dr.” The Oxford Companion to Fairytales. Oxford Reference Online. 2002. Web. 18 Aug. 2010.

Seuss, Dr. Horton Hears a Who!. London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, 1954. Print.

Seuss, Dr. I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!. London: HarperCollins Children’s Books. 1978. Print.