For the first rhetorical essay, I wrote about the symbols used in the movie "The Lorax" based up the book by Dr. Seuss. When I originally wrote the essay, I went through a lot of editing and got a good grade on it so for the final version I only changed minor things. Some of the things that I changed are getting rid of unneeded phrases, condensed sentences, and I got rid of repeating words and replaced then with synonyms.
The Lorax- Our Future or Fable?
The movie The Lorax is a fictional story by Dr. Seuss that tells the tale of a man, The Oncler, and what happens when the environment suffers at the hands of big business. The story focuses on how industry and economics impact the environment along with the obstacles he deals with while becoming a major contributor to the dilapidation of the natural world. The moral of the movie is that we must stop the pollution of the earth and also take responsibility for the environment or else our world will be like the one depicted just outside the quaint city of Thneedville. Many symbols are used in the movie and each one represents a different thing and reinforces the moral of the story in some in a subliminal way.
One symbol used in the story is the Oncler’s green gloves. The child, Ted, then continues to imagine that the man wears green all over during the “flashbacks” the Oncler has. While it may just seem like a coincidence, the green gloves represent greed and jealousy. The greed relates to the story because the Oncler is all about making money and wants to stop at nothing to make it. He also represents jealousy because he wants to be appreciated and loved by his mother who favors his brother instead. The Oncler’s dreams are derailed in the beginning of the movie by his mother and is called useless making him chapfallen. Throughout the movie, the Oncler tries to regain reassurance and love from his mother yet she only uses him to make money for her own personal gain which makes him break his promise he made to the Lorax stating he wouldn’t cut down another tree. The Oncler continues to wear the gloves throughout the movie because it is a reminder to him that greed and jealousy destroys.
The Oncler himself also is a symbol and represents big business. Like corporations in the world, the Oncler is too concerned with profit instead of the damage that he has caused. The Oncler thrives on the income and wants to increase it at any cost, even if it hurts everyone and everything around him. In the beginning of the story, the Oncler just wants to make a decent living and sell his product. After his first thneed becomes a hit he brings his family into help him, which is like the corporations hiring staff to help create their product. While the Oncler and his staff first start off their mass production slowly yet in an environmentally safe manner, the Oncler’s mom suggests he chop down the trees to increase production and falsely gives him the idea that she would love him more if he does. The Oncler than breaks his promise and his clean operation becomes dirty which destroys the habitat that once was capable of sustaining the animals that had to flee because of the toxins and pollution.
Truffula trees also are a symbol in the movie. The thneeds that the Oncler sells are made up of the tuft of the trees which is sown together into a scarf-like object that can be used for anything. The trees represent animals and natural resources that are being depleted and injured because of big business with little care about environmental effects. In the story, the trees are beautiful to look at and have many uses yet the Oncler only sees them as raw material for his thneeds and does not consider how egregious clear cutting them would be. In the real world, many businesses do this with our natural resources and have destroyed habitats.
Another symbol often looked by is the Whisper-ma-phone. It is how the Oncler tells Ted his story and represents proper communication. The Lorax and the Oncler don’t properly communicate, which helps cause the destruction of the forest. Had they properly communicated, they could have come to a compromise and saved the animals and the forest, rather than ruining it. Instead of this, the Oncler listened to his family and fed into his greed rather than going about his thneed the preferred and sensible way. Often in the real world, improper communication is used and catastrophes take place which could have easily been avoided much like in The Lorax.
The last symbol in the story is Ted. Ted is the boy who saves Thneedville and represents hope and change. Originally, Ted goes to the Lorax because he wants a tree just to impress a girl, Audrey. Throughout the movie though, Ted visits the Lorax in order to learn more about trees for Audrey yet as the movie progresses he develops a conscience about the trees and how economic corruption caused the degradation the environment and Thneedville. Towards the end of the movie, Ted tells the citizens of Thneedville all about the wrong doings of Mr. O’Hare, the man in charge of Thneedville, and how trees are not as bad as they are claimed to be. Ted plants a seed which changes the outlook of the city and air is once again free because of trees. The seed that is planted is given to Ted by the Oncler and also represents hope and change because the planting of it changes the perspective of Thneedville.
As it can be seen, The Lorax is not just a silly children’s fable about a mystical place, yet instead a pro-environmentalist movie. The movie promotes taking care of the earth, conservation, and also teaches valuable lessons about life along with the environment. It’s important to remember that everyone impacts the environment and that nothing is as insignificant as it may seem. Remember what the Oncler says to Ted about the seed. “It's not about what it is. It's about what it can become. Just like... you're not just a boy.”
The Lorax- Our Future or Fable?
The movie The Lorax is a fictional story by Dr. Seuss that tells the tale of a man, The Oncler, and what happens when the environment suffers at the hands of big business. The story focuses on how industry and economics impact the environment along with the obstacles he deals with while becoming a major contributor to the dilapidation of the natural world. The moral of the movie is that we must stop the pollution of the earth and also take responsibility for the environment or else our world will be like the one depicted just outside the quaint city of Thneedville. Many symbols are used in the movie and each one represents a different thing and reinforces the moral of the story in some in a subliminal way.
One symbol used in the story is the Oncler’s green gloves. The child, Ted, then continues to imagine that the man wears green all over during the “flashbacks” the Oncler has. While it may just seem like a coincidence, the green gloves represent greed and jealousy. The greed relates to the story because the Oncler is all about making money and wants to stop at nothing to make it. He also represents jealousy because he wants to be appreciated and loved by his mother who favors his brother instead. The Oncler’s dreams are derailed in the beginning of the movie by his mother and is called useless making him chapfallen. Throughout the movie, the Oncler tries to regain reassurance and love from his mother yet she only uses him to make money for her own personal gain which makes him break his promise he made to the Lorax stating he wouldn’t cut down another tree. The Oncler continues to wear the gloves throughout the movie because it is a reminder to him that greed and jealousy destroys.
The Oncler himself also is a symbol and represents big business. Like corporations in the world, the Oncler is too concerned with profit instead of the damage that he has caused. The Oncler thrives on the income and wants to increase it at any cost, even if it hurts everyone and everything around him. In the beginning of the story, the Oncler just wants to make a decent living and sell his product. After his first thneed becomes a hit he brings his family into help him, which is like the corporations hiring staff to help create their product. While the Oncler and his staff first start off their mass production slowly yet in an environmentally safe manner, the Oncler’s mom suggests he chop down the trees to increase production and falsely gives him the idea that she would love him more if he does. The Oncler than breaks his promise and his clean operation becomes dirty which destroys the habitat that once was capable of sustaining the animals that had to flee because of the toxins and pollution.
Truffula trees also are a symbol in the movie. The thneeds that the Oncler sells are made up of the tuft of the trees which is sown together into a scarf-like object that can be used for anything. The trees represent animals and natural resources that are being depleted and injured because of big business with little care about environmental effects. In the story, the trees are beautiful to look at and have many uses yet the Oncler only sees them as raw material for his thneeds and does not consider how egregious clear cutting them would be. In the real world, many businesses do this with our natural resources and have destroyed habitats.
Another symbol often looked by is the Whisper-ma-phone. It is how the Oncler tells Ted his story and represents proper communication. The Lorax and the Oncler don’t properly communicate, which helps cause the destruction of the forest. Had they properly communicated, they could have come to a compromise and saved the animals and the forest, rather than ruining it. Instead of this, the Oncler listened to his family and fed into his greed rather than going about his thneed the preferred and sensible way. Often in the real world, improper communication is used and catastrophes take place which could have easily been avoided much like in The Lorax.
The last symbol in the story is Ted. Ted is the boy who saves Thneedville and represents hope and change. Originally, Ted goes to the Lorax because he wants a tree just to impress a girl, Audrey. Throughout the movie though, Ted visits the Lorax in order to learn more about trees for Audrey yet as the movie progresses he develops a conscience about the trees and how economic corruption caused the degradation the environment and Thneedville. Towards the end of the movie, Ted tells the citizens of Thneedville all about the wrong doings of Mr. O’Hare, the man in charge of Thneedville, and how trees are not as bad as they are claimed to be. Ted plants a seed which changes the outlook of the city and air is once again free because of trees. The seed that is planted is given to Ted by the Oncler and also represents hope and change because the planting of it changes the perspective of Thneedville.
As it can be seen, The Lorax is not just a silly children’s fable about a mystical place, yet instead a pro-environmentalist movie. The movie promotes taking care of the earth, conservation, and also teaches valuable lessons about life along with the environment. It’s important to remember that everyone impacts the environment and that nothing is as insignificant as it may seem. Remember what the Oncler says to Ted about the seed. “It's not about what it is. It's about what it can become. Just like... you're not just a boy.”