I’m the Famous Dr. Seuss, You Silly Goose
Dr. Seuss was one of the most famous and controversial writers of children’s books ever. Children’s stories can be fascinating, with many layers of meaning. Believe it or not, authors can and do have agendas. However, it doesn’t matter what hidden messages there may or may not be. Remember that these stories are for children, and that is enough. Children will enjoy them if they are bright and colourful with funny, nonsensical words.
Who Was Dr. Seuss?
Theodor Seuss Geisel wrote and illustrated more than 60 children’s books under the pen name of Dr. Seuss. His books have sold over 600 million copies and have been translated into more than 20 languages. So, you could say he was and is pretty famous.
He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A., in 1904 and passed away in 1991, but his books are still in demand many years after his death. You may have had some Dr. Seuss’s books when you were a child, or maybe your children have some of these classics now.
The Big Controversy
Unfortunately, there has recently been controversy originating in the United States surrounding some of his books. This controversy has resulted in Dr. Seuss Enterprises cancelling future printings of six of his beloved books due to racist imagery. The six books in question are:
- “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street”
- “If I Ran the Zoo”
- “McElligot’s Pool”
- “On Beyond Zebra!”
- “Scrambled Eggs Super!”
- “The Cat’s Quizzer”
However, the most significant consequence of these cancellations, or bannings, if you will, is that the sales of these six books have increased substantially. The general public wants to know what all the fuss is about. Dr. Seuss Enterprises made a wise business decision.
Was Dr. Seuss a racist? Perhaps. Are racist views represented in the illustrations in his books for children? Again, perhaps. But would children recognize them as such? Highly unlikely.
The books are full of silly, made-up words that barely fit into the English language and colourful drawings of fictitious animals or characters. The visual presentation is too distracting for children to recognize any hidden meaning.
I’m happy they did not discontinue one of my favourite Dr. Seuss books, The Sneetches and Other Short Stories. It’s one of these other short stories that we’ll be discussing next. Let’s take a look.
“Too Many Daves” by Dr. Seuss – Part I
“Too Many Daves” is my absolute favourite Dr. Seuss story. However, I have to be very careful how I present it. I don’t want to break any copyright laws, and I don’t want to bore you with analysis. So, let’s keep it light. Now, remember, I did say mostly. The story opens with:
Did I ever tell you that Mrs. McCave Had twenty-three sons, and she named them all Dave?
Well, no, Dr. Seuss, you never did tell me that, and frankly, it’s a lot to take in in the first sentence of the story. Who is this Mrs. McCave, and where does she come from? Why does she have so many kids, and why are they all boys? And most importantly, why is she completely lacking in imagination?
We don’t have the answers to all of these questions, but we can imagine some of them. McCave sounds like a name that originated in Scotland. Perhaps she has so many kids because she was trying to have a daughter, but it never happened. There are only two reasons I can think of why all her sons are called Dave. First, it was a trendy name where she lived, so she kept using it repeatedly (but that would be foolish). Second, her oldest son, Dave, tore all the pages out of her Baby Names book as a toddler except for the one page with his name (even more foolish). No! I got nothing!
“Too Many Daves” by Dr. Seuss – Part II
The following few lines of the story tell us about Mrs. McCave’s most significant problem with having twenty-three sons named Dave. When she calls Dave, all twenty-three of them come running. Now, who would’ve guessed it? So food’s not a problem, where they all sleep isn’t a problem, only that they all come running when she calls their name. That was inevitable, but she could have avoided it very simply. DON’T GIVE ALL YOUR KIDS THE SAME NAME!
“Too Many Daves” by Dr. Seuss – Part III
Next, Mrs. McCave muses about all the names she could have given to her sons. There are a few that stand out for me as approaching the definition of child abuse. Have you ever known any kids in high school named “Soggy Muff” or “Biffalo Buff”? They sound like they could be twins, but they probably would have gone through high school as the butt of many jokes because of their names. Kids can be cruel! Or, how about the name “Weepy Weed” or, speaking of “butt”, how about “Oliver Boliver Butt”? Those are names just crying out for attention.
I think the optimum number of Daves is one—no more, no less. However, twenty-three young men with the same name, Dave, is the less of two evils considering the alternatives their mother was considering in retrospect. Let’s move on to something a little darker.
Mother Goose
So, who is Mother Goose, and what is her relationship to Dr. Seuss? As it happens, not much. They’re not even of the same species. They both wrote children’s stories, but mostly, they just made a good rhyme for the title of this essay.
Mother Goose is the figurehead or symbol for a collection of nursery rhymes written or accumulated in the 1600s. The word “nursery” seems to indicate that they were for very young children, although most of the Goose’s nursery rhymes would scare the pants off of the youngsters. Let’s look at one that somewhat resembles Dr. Seuss’s “Too Many Daves”. I don’t have to be careful about copyright here because the story is in the public domain. So, I will write it out in full.
“There Was an Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe”
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn't know what to do. She gave them some broth without any bread; Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.
This old woman, whose name is unknown, has a different parenting method. She lives in a shoe?! It must be one of those big shoes that basketball players wear. The rhyme doesn’t say how many children are “so many”, but I guess it wouldn’t have to be very many to fill up a shoe. However, “She didn’t know what to do” kind of amazes me. She should have considered that before: “She had so many children.”
Mrs. McCave was almost into psychological and emotional abuse by the names she thought she should have called her sons. Still, this old woman was into physical abuse. She makes it a habit of starving her kids and then beating them. Her solution to the problem is to give them some soup only and then beat them and put them to bed. But what else can you do when you live in a shoe?
The Influencers of Our Children
Well, there you have it: a said-to-be racist who wrote children’s books and a maternal waterfowl who wrote about child abuse and other horrors in nursery rhymes.
And Now For Your Listening Enjoyment
Here’s Canada’s own Bruce McCulloch from Kids in the Hall singing “The Daves I Know”. This video is a comedy skit, not a hit song, but it’s good for a laugh.
Lyrics
"The Daves I Know" Performed by Bruce McCulloch (1989) Written by Bruce McCulloch These are the Daves I know, I know These are the Daves I know These are the Daves I know, I know These are the Daves I know David Hoffman He works in my dad's store He's worked here for 12 years He'll probably work here for more These are the Daves I know, I know These are the Daves I know These are the Daves I know, I know These are the Daves I know Dave Gort I've known since I was six In grade eight he broke his leg So we got drunk and sick These are the Daves I know, I know These are the Daves I know These are the Daves I know, I know These are the Daves I know Some of them are Davids [Dave Gort: But most of us are Daves] They all have their own hands But they come from different moms These are the Daves I know, I know These are the Daves I know These are the Daves I know, I know These are the Daves I know Dave Jadiski Man, this cat can swing He weighs almost 50 pounds And he delivers my paper on time These are the Daves I know, I know These are the Daves I know These are the Daves I know, I know These are the Daves I know Dave Capisano I hardly know him ... [Bruce stands around, looking vaguely uncomfortable for the rest of the measure] These are the Daves I know, I know These are the Daves I know These are the Daves I know, I know These are the Daves I know [Next two measures sung by the Daves Bruce knows: ] We are the Daves he knows, he knows We are the Daves he knows We are the Daves he knows, he knows We are the Daves he knows Some of us them are Davids But most of us are Daves We all have our own hands But we come from different moms These are the Daves I know, I know [Daves: We are the Daves he knows, he knows] [All: These are the Daves]
The above essay is for entertainment and English language study only. For suggestions on how to use this post to improve your English reading and listening comprehension, click here.
Vocabulary
- controversial – adjective; causing or subject to dispute or debate; an idea that there is disagreement over
- agendas – pl. noun; a plan of action (hidden agenda; political agenda); different purpose than that which is obvious
- nonsensical – adjective; spoken or written words that have no meaning or make no sense; no meaning; nonsense
- illustrated – transitive verb (past); provided (a book, newspaper, etc.) with pictures; drawing to go with writing
- pen name – noun; a literary pseudonym; a name that is not your real name; used for professional purposes only, esp. writing
- if you will – phrase; or if you like this word or description better
- fuss – noun; nervous excitement or activity, esp. of an unnecessary kind; commotion; great interest for no apparent reason
- copyright – noun; the exclusive legal right granted for a specified period to an author, designer, etc.; the legal right to original material (songs, movies. etc.)
- analysis – noun; after all due consideration; in the end; examination of the details
- take in – transitive verb; understand; understand ( in this context)
- I got nothing! – phrase; I have no idea; said in frustration (in this context)
- inevitable – adjective; unavoidable; sure to happen; will happen for sure
- muses – intransitive verb, 3P; ponder, reflect, murmur meditatively; to think “what if”; I should have
- approaching – transitive verb; approximate to; be slightly less than; almost or nearly the same as
- butt – noun; an object of ridicule etc. (the butt of his jokes); a person that is made fun of for some reason
- optimum – noun; the most favourable condition; the best situation
- retrospect – noun; when looking back; with hindsight; thinking about the past and how things might have been done differently
- species – noun; a class of things having some common characteristics; the same kind of animal
- accumulated – transitive verb (past); acquired an increasing number or quantity; collected
- somewhat – adverb; to some extent; kind of like
Comprehension Questions
- According to this essay, do authors have agendas?
Yes or No - Was Dr. Seuss his real name?
Yes or No - How many copies of his books have been sold?
(a) 2, (b) 1,000, (c) 300,000, or (d) over 600,000 - How many languages have his books been translated into?
(a) more than 20, (b) more than 50, (c) all of the languages of the world, or (d) more than 100 - Why will some of Dr. Seuss’s books no longer be printed?
(a) the are to funny, (b) the words don’t make sense, (c) the pictures are racist, or (d) the printer ran out of coloured ink - How many sons does Mrs. McCave have?
(a) 21, (b) 23, (c) 25, or (d) 27 - How many daughters does Mrs. McCave have?
- According to this essay, how many Daves are the optimum number?
(a) zero, (b) one, (c) three, or (d) five (Please note that numbers less than 10 are written with numbers.) - Was Mother Goose really a goose?
- Does a copyright still apply to “There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe”?
Yes or No
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