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Montana MayApril 24, 2015Ashley HumphriesENC 1101What is there to Really SeeMost know Dr. Seuss for his rhymes and creative children scenarios, but has anyone ever really looked at his books through an adult eye, one that turns his childrens books into real world lessons and scenarios? Some have, and what they discover being subconsciously transmitted into childrens brains is astounding. When creating the Sneetch species, using small yet noticeable differences in the pictures and the selective word-choice Dr. Seuss creates a message that neither pictures nor words, could deliver on its own. These differences allow us to make connections with existing racism and non-acceptance between culture groups during the 1960s and World War II, which is the time the story was created.In his childrens book The Sneetches Dr. Seuss shows how a tiny green star on the round of a stomach can alter the social inclusion and wellbeing of another group or individual. With this small difference Seuss shows his audience how they acceptance can influence someones self-esteem, because he describes how the treatment is prolonged over time of years, and the plain Sneetches crave to change themselves to show equality between groups. As the children read farther in the book they see how the colors are very similar from page to page and not much has changed until another character arrives proposing a solution to the long-term problem. This is the introduction of the character Sylvester McMonkey McBean who attempts to solve the plain Sneetches wish to have a star. McBean introduces them to a machine named the Fix-it-Up Chappie which can place a star on their tummy for three dollars per Sneetch. With this the process begins and as the original Star bellies see what is occurring they ae dissatisfied and then go to get their stars removed at a higher price to show that they ae still the best. As the Sneetches travel from one way in the machine to the other, placing and removing stars constantly they become disorganized and run out of money at which point Sylvester McBean leaves with his machine. Laughing he thinks they will never change but the Sneetches learn to appreciate each other for who they are not how many or how little stars they have.For his books Dr. Seuss primarily focused on illustrations, and purposely forced them to utilize the entire page though he only used a strict amount of color to show details, but, though he used minimal coloring the message was still clearly relayed. He then incorporated text to explain what was occurring, and for his target age group this was a meaningful tactic to use because, When illustrations reflect people, objects, and situations familiar to children, the images help validate their emotions and experiences. The process of making an emotional connection can help a child learn empathy and compassion for others says Reading Is Fundamental, RIF, Parenting. By Seuss creating a book around the illustrations he allows children to make connections and judge what they like and do not agree with inside the book as shown by RIF Parenting who also states that A childs first impression of a book is usually shaped by the pictures.In comparison to the pictures, the text offers many interpretations including racism and segregation during the 1960s, additionally Seuss incorporates a sense of irony, because he states that the stars were relatively small in comparison to the Sneetches themselves and they should not matter in the life of a Sneetch, but the population does in fact make it a great ordeal in their lives. Supported with, Those stars werent so big. They were really so small. You might think such a thing wouldnt matter at all, as quoted from page two of his book. This is where he begins to connect this book to the real world; Skin is relatively small in comparison to a humans entire body, and we are all the same except for our color, yet in the 1960s segregation was a huge part in our lives because the white people felt they were superior to the other races that were currently emigrating to the United States.To transition from the adult situation to the children, he then incorporates what children like to do most, play outside with friends. When the little Sneetches went out to play, You could only play if your bellies had stars, and the Plain-Belly children had none upon thars. The emphasis between the two groups is not only shown by the star but distinctly in the facial expressions from the look of hurt and humility from the plain-bellies to the aura of superiority from the star-bellies shown on page two. The instant comparison between the star and plain-bellies are astounding because it is such a minute difference yet they allow it to manage their lives as if nothing else matters. As you continue on to the following page the comparison becomes more abrupt. There are more Star-Bellies having fun while the Plain ones simply look miserable. But the most prominent sign is in their eyes, supported with textual support from page five, They kept them away. Never let them come near. And thats how they treated them year after year. With patterns of behavior established Dr. Seuss goes on describing the physical aspect of the segregation, he connects the exhaustion and despair in the Plain-Belly Sneetches eyes to the text around it, the Plain-Belly Sneetches were moping and doping alone on the beaches, Just sitting there wishing their bellies had stars With this he sets the ultimate mood by showing how the plain-bellies spent their days wishing they were like the others because they felt like less of a Sneetch due to not having a star. This demonstrates a desperation for equality that the other group refuses to help organize within the Sneetch population. Resulting in Seuss further demonstrating the sadness and loss of hope the plain-Belly Sneetches have about being equal to their neighbors. A character named, Sylvester McMonkey McBean then arrives with an apparent solution to the Sneetches problem, and he tries to persuade the Sneetches to use his machine, which Seuss makes a vibrant red against all other washed-out colors in the book. This causes the machine to promptly stand out and to assume power in the community of the Sneetches. Ironically, though, he makes Sylvester McMonkey McBean the same color as the Sneetch, but instead of having a little green star he has a little green hat (Geisel). This resembles how humanity can be shaped, we are all a little different but overall the same in the most generic ways. But McBeans intentions for why he wants to help are questionable. Ive come here to help you. I have what you need. And my prices are low. And I work at great speed. And my work is on hundred percent guaranteed! says Mr. McBean on page eight of the book. The Sneetches obviously went with the idea and paid to go through the machine allowing themselves to finally be equal with the Star-Bellies. Now resulting in the used-to-be plain-bellies to think they are better because of a little tummy star, indirectly suggesting that in order to be considered equal to someone, all parts of the body have to be the same otherwise there was a superiority. In this situation the original star-bellies had a difficult time letting go of, because in their own minds they knew they were the originals and therefore superior. Which the statement Were still the best Sneetches and they are the worst, demonstrates the narrow-mindedness of the group, and since there is a demand expressed for a particular outcome it can be satisfied by Mr. McBean and his machine. Inadvertently McBean proposes star-bellies are no longer in and it will cost each ten dollars to become the new best Sneetch again. In contrast to the original star-bellies, when the enduring process begins to make the plain- bellies better you can see the transformation in their eyes from when they enter with exhaustion from being rejected to when they pop out with pure confidence. This immediate transformation can be related to how segregation was first affecting people and then their transformation happens when World War II is not quite at its peak in the 1960s and some countries think they have more power than others, which would be taking place when Seuss wrote this book (Sneetches).The Sneetches chaos continues, and it becomes more evident that they want to keep separate groups and are willing to pay almost anything to keep it that way. Maybe the prejudice isn't based on how the Sneetches look, but on what they own.In a way, Seuss might be warning us that these types of prejudicesbased on classare just as diabolical as others. Maybe more so since they can be harder to spot, (The Sneetches Stars). Continuing off of this theory, what if it is what we own and not who we are? This is simple to spot in Sneetch world but what about people? How can we repair discrimination based on wealth properly and efficiently? Unfortunately, these are difficult to spot due to everyone having their own views of wealth and values. People are not as clean cut as Sneetches so unfortunately Seuss theory would not work with our society.Just as people, the original star-bellies will definitely not accept this sudden change in power and dominance, because they want to keep their place at the top, where everyone believes that they are superior. The picture does an amazing job at capturing this because once the new star- bellies appear their noses change. It becomes predominantly pointed and angles upward much sharper in comparison to before, which consequently matches what the original star- bellies noses, looked like (Geisel). But, Seuss does not stop there, he continues by also altering the original star- bellies noses to appear more like the use-to-be plain- bellies, which was more rounded and literally bent out of shape.As for McBean, on pages 22 and 23 of the Seuss book, he is illustrated as quite content and driving away on his Fix-it-Up Chappie, which is now loaded with the Sneetches money. Where in comparison the Sneetches he is leaving behind appear to be completely devastated at the sight. But, as the Chappie drives away, could that have been the representation of capitalism within the Sneetches society? If so then through McBean's machines, we get a nice little view of how Seuss sees capitalism. The Sneetches think they have a problem, so McBean constructs a machine to fix said problem. The Sneetches then keep paying to fix the problemwhich may not have been there to begin with if not for McBean, McBeans Machine. Finally, something does click in the Sneetches and they realize the absurdity of it all and come to accept the other as they are (considering they also lost track of who was who throughout the entire process). This page is especially important because it is the first time we see the interaction between the two types without hostility (Geisel), and if you look closely you will also see how their noses are now different but some are the same, like the stars that some have and others do not. Repercussions surely followed the Sneetches to this point because the plain-bellies were trying to prove their equality to the plain-bellies, and from within the story you can relate Mr. McBean to the media who portrays what is in and what is not, or more bluntly what is accepted in society. Because in the story Mr. McBean serves as this force that controls what is accepted among the Sneetches and what is not, causing the hostility to continue between the groups. Relating back to World War II, when races did not accept others and used weapons, or in this case machines, to prove that they were better than other races, which is precisely what the original Star-Belly Sneetches were trying to accomplish, because they were using the, Fix-it-up Chappie to show that they were better than the original Plain-Belly Sneetches. Eventually it was out of control and both groups were constantly changing and spening money to stay ahead of the other group, similar to what happened when countries funded the war to help their own stay ahead in the fight. Consequently the Sneetches had no more money and no one knew who originally had a star or not. But, Mr. McBean was not around for this part, he simply left after all their money was collected, and concluded they would never get along because of how they were initiall and their reaction to the machine, which is relatable to how Hitler thought everyone would react to the Jews (hence the stars), but surprisingly the Sneetches learned to accept as did society learn to accept the difference among the varying cultures. At this point in the book Dr. Seuss concludes with, That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars And whether they had one, or not, upon thars. The end.Though both elements of the book are completely separate, without the other neither would be able to deliver the entire message Seuss wanted to portray. The textual support helps to better define the reason behind the picture, while the visuals help the reader to imagine what is occurring. Seuss further eliminates confusion with how discrimination is presented because he demonstrates more in pictures instead of stating it in text, but the text enables readers to think about what is happening behind the illustration. Therefore, allowing the little green stars to be shown as the huge discrepancy they are to Sneetches, demonstrating to younger children the absurdness of racism and discrimination present in our society. As, we reread through the book with this in the back of our minds the connection increasingly becomes more real and astonishing as we see his message very clearly now.

Works Cited:Geisel, Theodor. Sneetches and Other Stories Written by Dr. Seuss. New York: Random House, 1961. Print. McBeans Machines. Shoomp. N.p, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.Parenting, RIF. Getting the Most out of Picture Books. Reading is Fundamental. Rif Parent Guide Brochure, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.The Political Dr. Seuss. Independent Lens. N.p, n.d. Web. 2 March 2015. Sneetches. Center for Civic Reflection. N.p, n.d. Web. 3 March 2015The Sneetches Stars. Shoomp. N.p, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.