The Lorax's Message

By Cailin Reedy

Since the Industrial Revolution, big industry has effectively steamrolled the natural environment - sometimes literally. Though activist groups sometimes try to fight back against the forces of industry, their efforts to protect the natural environment aren’t always given a chance to succeed.

In Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax,” a cautionary tale about the dangers of overindustrialization, a sad old man called the Once-ler tells the tale of the Lorax, the guardian of the forest. The Once-ler was an industrialist who, by chopping down the trees, gained a material he could use to produce any item humanity could want for. But his ambition became toxic to the environment, and he didn’t stop until the last tree was cut down and the forest had become a barren wasteland. The Once-ler then gives his listener the last tree seed and tells him to plant it.

In the 2012 film of the same name, the Once-ler and the Lorax have a more complicated relationship. The Once-ler had tried to harvest the trees sustainably, but the process was slow and production was limited by the harvest times of the trees. His family pressured him to produce more, and dispite a promise to the Lorax and a friendship with the forest guardian, he gave in to his family’s pressure. When the forest was used up, his family disowned him for his failure to continue producing materials, and the Lorax led the forest animals away. But thanks to a boy (Ted in the movie, named for Dr. Seuss), the Once-ler is able to pass on the last tree seed and have it planted. Eventually the Lorax and his animal friends return, and the Once-ler is redeemed.

The film has a happier ending than the original book, which leaves readers with an uncertain future: Will the boy plant the seed, or will the land continue to rot because of its exploitation? This uncertainty about the future is more realistic.

However, “The Lorax” has become an emblem of environmentalism since its creation in 1971. It serves not only as a cautionary tale, but also as a catalyst for people to do more for the environment. However bleak the future may seem in the book, the film shows viewers that there might always be a chance for recovery. We can only hope that society doesn’t take the damage of the environment to such an extreme before taking action to reverse it. An ounce of prevention is, after all, worth a pound of cure.