By Leigh Pendleton, Maggie Hamilton, Leila Mahdavi, and Ixchel Ramirez
It can be shocking to find racism in books we loved and revered as children. While the news of Dr. Seuss’s racist works continues to traverse the internet, many differing opinions are also being voiced about their impact. The majority of Dr. Seuss’s books are filled with lighthearted rhymes and whimsical illustrations that bring nothing but joy during story time with our little ones. However, some of his famous works contain implicit biases that are problematic in creating a more loving and accepting world for people of all backgrounds.
On March 2, 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced that it would discontinue the publication of six books due to “insensitive and racist imagery.” This decision was the company’s effort in making his books inclusive and enjoyable for everyone who reads them. A New York Times article titled “Dr. Seuss Books Are Pulled, and a ‘Cancel Culture’ Controversy Erupts” says, “Children’s publishers and literary estates are trying to walk a delicate line by preserving an author’s legacy, while recognizing and rejecting aspects of a writer’s work that are out of step with current social and cultural values.” While we can still celebrate Dr. Seuss’s legacy and appreciate his positive impact, it’s important to recognize the negative impact that his racism perpetuates.
Although “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” was not included in the list of books to no longer be published, many have began to recognize the anti-Semitic tropes hidden in the seams of the plot. Initially, the reader (or viewer) may not recognize the anti-Semitic tropes in the storyline, however, upon further investigation, it becomes more apparent that the depiction of the Grinch reflects medieval legends about Jews. The Grinch is the antagonist of the story. He is recognized by his green skin and infamous deep hatred for Christmas and all of its traditions: the singing, food, and overall joy for the season. He ransacks the homes of Who-ville around Christmas time, stealing families’ gifts, stockings, and Christmas trees. This coincides with the medieval stereotype that Jews are aggressive anti-Christians who steal and take pleasure in the destruction of Christian traditions and paraphernalia. The depiction of the Grinch as a thief who only acts during Christmas time mirrors the legend that Jews are actively seeking conflict with Christians. The Grinch is also a recluse, similar to how Jews were viewed as the “outcast” or “pariah.” To distance the community of Who-ville even further from the Grinch, he is the only character with green skin (the other characters are white). Villainizing the non-white character, the story book plays a dangerous game that portrays whiteness as “safe” and anything else as the “dangerous other.” Although“How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” is a classic American read, the storyline perpetuates prejudice against Jews and this must be recognized.
The Cat in the Hat is one of Dr. Seuss’s most popular books. While it is not one of the books being discontinued, The Cat in the Hat includes relevant racial dynamics. In the book, two well-behaved white children sit staring out the window, waiting for their mother to return. Their ability to wait in a house without adult supervision suggests their sense of safety; this paired with the separation of their house from other homes indicates they are in the suburbs. Penguin Random House LLC. published the book in 1957 when ‘white flight’—the movement of white families from the city to suburbs due to neighborhood integration—was in full swing. When the Cat enters the house, the fish says, “He should not be here.” People regularly adopt and care for stray cats, so why can’t they play with one? Is he a cat? Philip Nel, an English Professor at Kansas State University explores the race of the Cat, showing how the Cat’s personality and dress “borrow from blackface performance.” If the Cat is a minstrel, then the black body is a source of entertainment, specifically a source of entertainment for children to inflect with their imagination. Some might dismiss the racial undertones in The Cat in the Hat because it was made in the 1950s, but harm occurs when we intentionally ignore racism, whether explicit or subtle. In the 2003 film adaptation, the racist undertones play out disturbingly on screen. A man in the film acknowledges the Cat is not a cat when he tells the mother her children are running around with a “weird hairy man.” The man identifies the Cat’s species, but his “weirdness” suggests that whether he is a minstrel, black or multiracial man, his identity invokes fear of the “other.” The Cat in the Hat’s racist undertones continue into recent adaptations due to our inability to confront race.
It may come as a shock to people that Dr. Seuss, one of the best-known authors in the world, the man behind How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat and so many other beloved classics, was racist. Some may be hesitant to acknowledge this overt racism; they may push back that the books are “harmless fun” or a “symbol of American childhood.” Such defenses, however, are how institutionalized racism is perpetuated. The ‘man of his time’ narrative is not a great argument because Dr. Seuss’ works are harmful to people in the present.[1] Claiming that Dr. Seuss’ books are a part of history is a dangerous claim, because the fact of the matter is that history is filled with various forms of racism and discrimination. Shouldn’t we be teaching our children how to dream and pursue an equitable future rather than live in a racist past? At the same time, it is important to note that dreaming of the future doesn’t mean completely ignoring racism in the past; rather, we must have constructive conversations about why so much of our past is racist, what implications this has for the present, and how we can change our future to become anti-racist. The current push to acknowledge the racism and harm perpetuated in Dr. Seuss’ books represents a “culmination of decades of work arguing against books that caricature people of color.”[2] Diversity within books for young readers is a necessity and can be shown as a form of racial justice. Fostering children’s ability to dream of a new world requires acknowledging positive examples of diversity within children’s literature and calling out the negative ones, no matter how beloved.
[1] Taylor Weik, “Why Dr. Seuss Got Away with Anti-Asian Racism for so Long.”
[2] Ibid.
Further References
Alter, Alexandra, and Elizabeth Harris. “Dr. Seuss Books Are Pulled, and A ‘Cancel Culture’ Controversy Erupts.” New York Times, 4 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/03/04/books/dr-seuss-books.html.
Bale, Anthony. Representing and Misrepresenting Jews in Medieval Culture. The Getty, n.d., www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/outcasts/downloads/bale_misrepresenting_jews.pdf.
Pratt, Mark. “6 Dr. Seuss books won’t be published for racist images.” AP News, 2 Mar. 2021. https://apnews.com/article/dr-seuss-books-racist-images-d8ed18335c03319d72f443594c174513
Hammond, Brady. “Greenface: Exploring Green Skin in Contemporary Hollywood Cinema.” NECSUS, 3 June 2013, https://necsus-ejms.org/greenface-exploring-green-skin-in-contemporary-hollywood-cinema/.
Szpiech , Ryan. “The Anti-Jewish Tropes in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Daily Jstor, Jstor, 25 Dec. 2019, https://daily.jstor.org/the-anti-jewish-tropes-in-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas/.
Sawchuk, Stephen. “Is ‘The Cat in the Hat’ Racist?” Education Week, 4 Oct. 2017, https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/is-the-cat-in-the-hat-racist/2017/10
Nel, Philip. “Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: Exploring Dr. Seuss’s Racial Imagination.” Children’s Literature 42 (2014): 71-98, 342, https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.wellesley.edu/scholarly-journals/was-cat-hat-black-exploring-dr-seusss-racial/docview/1545865590/se-2?accountid=14953 (accessed 12 Mar. 2021).
*Image courtesy kardsunlimited, https://bit.ly/3rOnNE4.