Yertle The Turtle Analysis

Throughout the course of the last year, the political climate around the citizens of the United States – as well others around the world who were affected – became exceedingly politically charged. The country and its people were faced with a deep and complicated partition. Directly derived from the 2016 United States presidential election, political messages had become common place throughout all forms of media. From television shows, music, and the most apparent being news outlets, the population was continuously exposed to political ideals of different groups, as well as debates against their own. Even so, there have been countless times when political messages are not as apparent or as direct. During and after World War II, this was remarkably

The connection specifically connects the titular character to a key player in the war – Adolf Hitler. The war had ended three years prior to its publication and with the wounds of war still fresh, Seuss had written this story as a parallel to the rise of Hitler and his ultimate collapse. At the beginning of the tale, Yertle the Turtle is the king of the pond, but decides to increase his view in order to fulfill his desire to expand his kingdom further: "I'm ruler, of all that I see. But I don't see enough. That's the trouble with me." (Seuss 154). This is similar to another quote from a king who was virtuous and kind: “Everything the light touches is our kingdom,” but Yertle egotistically wants to expand. He orders the other turtles stack on top of one another and claims his new throne on top of them to gain a view beyond his pond. Still, he is not content with his new-found territory and commands even more turtles to stack underneath him, showing a never ending thirst for power. Despite the distress and pain this causes the turtle at the bottom, Yertle refuses to give him rest and pushes onward. This constant pain Eventually the lowest turtle, Mack, refuses to continue on any further with this treatment and burps, dropping Yertle from his thrown and freeing the rest of the turtles. While Adolf Hitler may be compared to Yertle’s story, it is also possible to compare the actions of

There can undoubtedly be a connection made between the two situations within the unequal balance of power, while Yertle focuses mainly on the unjust use of said power. Yertle, the king turtle, can be viewed as symbolic of an unjust higher power, while Mack and the other turtles the lower class and how they may eventually revolt against such treatment. Marx shares a similar view with John Stuart Mill in his book, On Liberty, with the two books placing an emphasis on the “tyranny of the majority” and the class system that oppresses the minority (Mill