Outline: Group undecided.

OUTLINE:

THEMES

Discovery, accepting that you are both unique and capable of great things but are also going to make mistakes, feel loneliness and all are normal and expected experiences in life. going down your own road, accepting reality, difficulty is normal, success means something different to everyone, learning from your experiences, getting up and trying again, having agency in your own life, satisfying the American Dream, having faith in yourself and your capabilities. The overarching message and task is resiliency.

 

HOW DOES DR. SEUSS COMMUNICATE THESE MESSAGES

The artist’s language and rhyming lends a light hearted feel throughout the book, even through the heavier topics, making them seem more normal and equal to the more pleasant topics; the rhyme almost creates something soothing, playful and manageable. The illustrations in this book are cartoonish and colorful so as to appeal to younger audiences, yet they abstractly illustrate many scenes of day to day life. The images appeal to both the realistic images in our minds as well as the fantastical ones; this allows young readers to better visualize the heavier concepts mentioned in the book.

Dr. Seuss illustrates a world full of different terrains, creatures, buildings and tasks for his main character to go through. A young person but not too young, his main character is featured having successful and happy parts of the adventure where the terrain is hospitable and the creatures are friendly, and then difficult parts where the area seems dangerous or the task has been failed. He uses light and dark elements of his illustrations sometimes to convey easy parts and difficult parts of the journey.

His poetic verses of language address the topic of the future life of the character quite directly, and general terms such as “Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.” Rather than couching the narrative about life in the metaphor of an air balloon ride, he keeps the reference general so that the reader may apply the story to whatever their own life looks like.The juxtaposition between whimsy and reality is effective at conveying messages in Oh, The Places You’ll Go. For example, in the passage below, Dr. Seuss plays with rhymes and the content of children’s stories (i.e. “wind to fly a kite”) while incorporating more adult issues like “waiting around for Friday night” (trying to complete the work week), “a Better Break” or “Another Chance” (missed or unfulfilled opportunities/hopes). These short phrases allude to greater, more complex philosophical ideas of adulthood in a way that is accessible for children.

Waiting for the fish to bite

or waiting for wind to fly a kite

or waiting around for Friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake

or a pot to boil, or a Better Break

or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants

or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting.

The artist uses light and pleasant words and rhymes to convey serious and realistic life experiences. The artist speaks of something as difficult as “not wanting to go on” as something normal and experienced when lonely or when things aren’t going your way. It is not expressed as a negative or horrible thing, but as something that happens to people and can pass.   

 

HOW DOES THIS STORY RELATE TO THE EXPECTATIONS SURROUNDING THE TRANSITION FROM CHILDHOOD TO ADULTHOOD

This story is a bit more deliberate in regard to its message, tasks and expectations related to transitioning into adulthood. The story is most specifically setting the child up for trial and error, learning from our mistakes and accepting the fact that while we are encourage to dream and reach those goals...we should also anticipate failure and learning to bounce back from it. It exposes the real life nature of making mistakes and not always achieving or getting what you want and the book normalizes this as a part of life, that there is no need to be discouraged by this, or afraid of the future. The story has very Western, egocentric view of personal development that focuses almost entirely on the individual. That has its merits since the power of the individual is very important to realize, but it could emphasize the power of teamwork and family and community more.

HOW DOES THIS STORY MIRRORING THE DISCOURSE AROUND GENDER, RACE, SES, SEXUALITY, OR DISABILITY

It was very apparent that the beginning referred to the reader as “guy”, making it seem that this story and its message are directed to boys. In this way, the text is completely heteronormative. also, the story speaks to the idea that we can all pull ourselves up from our bootstraps which is a problematic statement considering the multi-layers of systematic and institutionalized racism. So in a way, the message can be a bit that if you don’t bounce back and you continue to “wait” you are doing something “wrong” or “flawed”.

The race of the character is white, and this is the “unspoken” social assumption that reflects society’s tendency to identify all other races by name but to consider white to be the “standard”, “normal” that does not need to be mentioned.

One possible analysis of the character’s travelling alone throughout the story is that this indicates financial stability, such as a middle class person might have. The character does not ever rely on others for support or ask others for help. There never seems to be difficulty in acquiring one’s own air balloon or elephant to ride.

Disability is addressed by means of another silent assumption that our able-bodied main character is the “normal” standard, and that it would be others with different abilities who would be named and explained. This silent assumption in the text reflects our typical social discourse on the subject. However, it is more important to note that able-bodied isn’t assumed, unless you as the reader assumes it. Moreover, Dr. Seuss uses creatures or Who’s that look remarkably different. This imagery allows the characters to be more accessible to the reader and thus allowing the reader to better relate and imagine themselves in that role.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. how might someone who does not fit Western societal norms (abled, white, hetero, etc.) interpret the messages in this book?

2. Does the story’s meaning change as the reader ages? (an older reader/maybe someone who reads again later in life)