Environmental issues are often found in literature, and children’s literature is no exception. Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax” and Terri Birkett’s “Truax” are two popular examples that will be examined for accuracy and consistency in their presentations of environmental issues. It will become apparent that they both address the need for environmental awareness and action but they differ on their approach and both have underlying inconsistencies in their messages. In “The Lorax” a child travels to a gray and barren land to hear from the Once-ler about how the land became bare. He pays the Once-ler fifteen cents, a nail and the shell of a great-great-great grandfather snail to hear how the land went from a brightly colored area covered in Truffula…show more content… As a result, he brought family in to help and developed a Super_axe_hacker that could cut down trees faster to keep up with the demand. He explains how the Lorax kept popping up to warn him to stop but the demand increased for his Thneeds and he continued his business until the last tree was cut. The Lorax had warned that the Truffula trees were the food source of the Brown Bar-ba-Loots and due to the food shortage and a disease called “the Crummies because of the gas and no food in their tummies” they were forced to move away. The Lorax had even warned that the factory was emitting “smogulous smoke” that was giving the Swomee Swans sore throats, preventing them from singing. He furthered warned that his machines were releasing by-products called “Gluppity Glup” and “Shloppity Shlop” into the ponds and endangering the Humming Fish. As a result both the Swans and fish were sent away. The Once-ler acknowledges that he felt sad but business was business and he had to make it grow. He…show more content… The Once-ler gives the impression that it is ok to hide from the mistakes that he has made. He shows no action to try and right the wrong that he has caused. In fact, he is hoarding the one seed that was left for “ a long, long time” instead of trying to grow it. It is as if the message is you can cause the problem and even feel bad about the effects but you do not have to exhibit any responsibility toward correcting it. The message is subliminally made that we can let the future generations worry about environmental damages that are occurring now. This is seen as a young boy is given the seed; the next generation is shouldering the responsibility. It may have been a better literary move to have the Once-ler give the seed to the Lorax so he could continue his activism instead of his message “UNLESS”. The Lorax shrugs and leaves this message signifying that the battle was lost. Another subliminal message is that of greed. The Once-ler’s greed caused the environment to become barren, yet he is still seeking money by charging for his “environmental message”. He is still profiting from the environmental abuse that he
