Not Necessarily Your Childhood Heroes: A Different Take on Lessons from Dr. Seuss by Heather Stapleton
- Heather Stapleton
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
I have read Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax more times than any grown adult should admit. Over the years, I’ve developed an untraditional take on the story - one that might surprise you. I don’t see the Lorax as the celebrated good guy everyone loves, nor do I think the Onceler is a cartoonishly villainous bad guy. To me, they’re more complicated.
Recently, I’ve been thinking about these two highly flawed characters alongside Horton from Horton Hears a Who. The contrasts have been fascinating.
In The Lorax, both the Lorax and the Onceler are passionate yet ultimately ineffective.
The Lorax is deeply protective of the environment, but his abrasive, bossy demeanor alienates others, preventing meaningful change. He ultimately abandons the problem, leaving through a hole in the smog, failing to secure the forest’s future.
Similarly, the Onceler demonstrates ambition and ingenuity and provides for his family, but his passion is self-serving, with little regard for environmental preservation. Even after a change of heart, he is paralyzed by worry, hoarding the last trufula seed rather than taking action, passing both the seed and the consequences of his choices to the next generation. His shame is evident as he recounts the story, showing only his arms and occasionally his eyes.
By contrast, Horton exemplifies proactive responsibility. In Horton Hears a Who, he responds to his own worry with patient, persistent action, using respectful language and advocacy to engage others.
The Lorax and Onceler communicate confrontationally, which diminishes their ability to persuade. In The Lorax, the word “please” is largely absent. The only instance of “please” in The Lorax occurs when the Onceler dismissively says, “Shut up if you please.”
Horton, however, deliberately uses “please” as part of his advocacy, saying things like “Speak up please” and “So please, as a favor to me, try not to disturb them.” This polite language reflects his recognition that persuasion requires engagement, empathy, and cooperation, enabling him to rally others and take meaningful action to protect the Whos.
Unlike the Lorax, who repeatedly claims to “speak for the trees” and positions himself as in charge, Horton empowers and supports rather than asserts authority. He persistently seeks to understand the Whos. He reassures them and encourages their agency, saying, “Don’t give up! I believe in you all!” In contrast, the Lorax sends his charges off with no real help, offering only vaguely dire warnings of an uncertain future.
Horton acts on his concern through perseverance, diplomacy, and tangible effort, ultimately succeeding in protecting the Whos and earning genuine pride in his accomplishments.
This comparison underscores a key distinction: the Lorax and the Onceler fail to translate concern into effective advocacy, while Horton demonstrates that respectful, persistent advocacy combined with action can achieve meaningful, responsible impact.
Heather Stapleton, a proud Floridian in Indian River County, holds degrees in Environmental Studies, Political Science, and French from Indiana University. She served in the Peace Corps for three years. Formerly, she she was Executive Director of the Vero Beach Heritage Center and Indian River Citrus Museum, was the education director at the Environmental Learning Center, and now coordinates community engagement at One Lagoon for the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program.
She’s also a talented actor, singer, and a beloved local performer known for her spirited readings of The Lorax to wide-eyed groups of children along the Treasure Coast. She also formed and leads an environmental stewardship group for her local church and organizes group tours to our local recycling facility.
Heather is often a prominently featured speaker at area lectures and presentations about the Indian River Lagoon, its challenges, and the crucial role the estuary plays in our local environment and the lives of every resident and visitor to the region.