Smith 1

Emily Smith
T.S.
English Composition 1
Analysis: The Lorax
26 October, 2015
Unless
In a place where truffula trees once flourished and the animals lived freely without worry,
a man with the desire to change the world let his wants and needs come before anyone elses.
The Once-ler saw his actions during his youth as positive contributions to his town. This
nameless town soon adopted the name of Thneedville after his big idea, the thneed, became a
huge hit. The movie Dr. Seuss The Lorax shows just how much the Once-lers, and later Teds,
life decisions matter. The things one does in their lifetime will impact someone elses life, and
possibly the world.
The Once-ler traveled to the wild valley away from home in search for the perfect
material for his invention. He had finally found what he had been looking for: truffula trees. The
Once-ler thought of no one elses life other than his, not even the innocent animals of the forest.
He swung his axe and cut down the first tree. From this tree came the guardian of the forest,
the Lorax. The Lorax warned the Once-ler about what would happen if he continued to cut down
truffula trees, but the Once-ler didnt take his advice (Wilson 1). He never thought that cutting
down a few would ruin both his and the rest of the forests success.
After the Once-lers world had been stripped of all truffula trees, the people of
Thneedville slowly became in need of a new big idea. They needed air. Mr. OHare saw the issue
and took the chance to change the flawed world. As it seems, Mr. Once-ler was robbed of his

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power and shunned away for ruining the last of their natural environment. OHare took the reigns
and sold air to the helpless people of Thneedville. He must have came off as the temporary, or
maybe continuous, hero as the mayor and only seller of air. The only problem was that by
producing the air needed to survive, Aloysius OHare was polluting the air. Whether it was
actually intentional or not, it didnt matter once he got a taste of the fortune and fame. He was
now the most powerful man in Thneedville. It was too bad that not one person in town saw his
evil deeds.
They were not only oblivious, but the citizens of Thneedville enjoyed their treeless town.
Trees were viewed as dirty, meaningless, and useless. Little did they know that trees could solve
all of their environmental and economic problems. Once again, someone had good intentions to
begin with, yet their choices led to further destruction. OHare became greedy and hungry for
power like the Once-ler. Not one person in town saw how broken a society without trees was
until Ted Wiggins sought out the mystery of the truffula trees. Teds love for Audrey, a girl
desperate for a real, living tree, drove him on a quest that later showed him how distopic
Thneedville had become. It wasnt truly bright and happy like everyone had come to believe.
There is no stronger moment in Dr. Seuss The Lorax than when the Once-ler sees the
word Unless written in stone. He explains to Ted that unless someone like you cares a whole
awful lot, nothing is going to get better. Its not (vocalized in Dr. Seuss The Lorax). Before Ted,
the Once-ler and Aloysius OHare were the only characters in the story that were willing to make
a difference. Unfortunately, their actions gave them the benefits but ruined the world around
them. The quote applies, in the story, to environmental degradation caused by rampant
materialism, but can be applied universally as a warning against the grim future that will result
from inaction on important matters, while also shining a light on the capacity of passionate

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people to effect change, Ben Pobjie states in his article Cuteness All The Sweeter With Bite
which reviews the movie. Like Mr. Once-ler believed, Ted was the first character to clear the
slate and try to give back to society. Ted knew things werent alright in Thneedville and brought
it to the communitys attention.

Works Cited
Pobjie, Ben. Cuteness All the Sweeter with Bite. The Age [Melbourne, Australia] 27 Mar.
2015: 36. Academic OneFile. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
<https://go.galegroup.com.cod.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?id=GALE|
A407013484&v=2.1&u=cod_lrc&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=89836c3b797d6b03603
259473fb2ccdd>.
Wilson, April. Lorax Brings Dr. Seuss Tale to Life. UWIRE Text 13 Mar. 2012: 1.
Academic OneFile. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
<http://go.galegroup.com.cod.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?id=GALE|
A400301601&v=2.1&u=co_lrc&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid826a84e3856b4cb66614f3a936ab7452>.