Philip Nel > Courses > English 680, Sec. B: Dr. Seuss (Spring 2007) > Book Reviews > Richard H. Minear's Dr. Seuss Goes to War

The Political Dr. Seuss: A Review of Richard H. Minear’s Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel

            Theodor Geisel, or Dr. Seuss, is best known to us today as the imaginative author of children’s books. In Richard H. Minear’s book, Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel, we are introduced to a different Seuss. Minear’s book catalogues and discusses the political cartoons that Seuss drew for the daily newspaper PM. Minear also articulates the political climate in which Seuss drew these cartoons as well as expands on Seuss’ own reasons for doing so. While Minear clearly has a deep respect for Seuss’ art, he does recognize that even a master is not perfect and raises important questions as to the nature and racism of some of  Seuss’ early work.

            PM was the daily newspaper for which Dr. Seuss published almost four hundred political cartoons. Minear details the left-wing slant of the newspaper using Michael Denning’s term for it as the “‘popular front tabloid’” (qtd. in Minear 14). PM refused any money from advertising, and at one point Minear suggests that enough of the newspapers funds came from President Roosevelt that it is possible many of the political issues raised were cues received from the White House (Minear 126). Minear discusses Ralph Ingersoll, the founder and editor of PM, and shows him to be a very left-wing, almost-crazed political activist while much of Dr. Seuss’ politics remain ambiguous. Minear explains that it is difficult to tell where Dr. Seuss stood on communism, though he seemed to be more moderate than the colleagues he worked with at PM. PM was a newspaper, according to Minear, that spent much of its energy during the war attempting to build morale at home. Seuss would depict Germans going through shortages too but also used his cartoons in an attempt to rally the American people to make sacrifices. Seuss often depicted Americans as people who supported the war effort as long as it did not impede their personal comfort. Regardless of this, however, Dr. Seuss managed to create hundreds of eloquent cartoons that covered a wide range of topics from critical of Hitler and Mussolini as well as on the home front.

            Before the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, Dr. Seuss was already busy at work for PM, criticizing much of American policy at home. His cartoons and Minear support the argument that he loathed so-called isolationists, groups of Americans (one of them named America First) who felt that the war abroad was known of America’s business. Minear discusses the consistency of some of the images and characters that Seuss chooses to depict the noninterventionists, for example, as an ostrich with his head buried in the sand. While Seuss criticized such notable and prominent figures as Charles S. Lindbergh, he never once caricatured or drew President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In contrast to this is another notable political figure that Seuss seemed to delight in depicting.

            Adolf Hitler, the Chancellor of Germany, figures more in Seuss’ cartoons than any other political figure. Minear discusses the characterizations which often seem predominately silly, showing Hitler as a nonchalant entity. Seuss often portrayed a marked difference between the German people and Hitler himself, the implication being that Hitler had duped the German people. Later on, as the war progressed and Hitler became greedier, the implications in Seuss’ cartoons show Hitler spreading himself too thin. Minear also briefly discusses the portrayal of Hitler in his book Yertle the Turtle. Dr. Seuss did not depict Hitler alone, however, and it is the variations in tone of the cartoons when other notable figures are depicted that Minear discusses.

            Minear suggests that Seuss’ depiction of Hitler maintains a maniacal air, Hitler attempts to control people and information; his depiction of Benito Mussolini, however, is strikingly different. Often depicted as weak, a nuisance or something that Hitler must dispose of, Mussolini, in Dr. Seuss’ cartoons, never has the same agency that Seuss attributes to Hitler. His navy is seen as useless in one cartoon and he is an annoying bug in another. Oddly, as Minear suggests, Seuss’ depiction of Pierre Laval, the French wartime premier, is as cruel as that of Hitler and Mussolini; Seuss often blamed Laval as much for the war as he blamed Hitler. Though Minear’s depiction and description of Seuss’ cartoons does not necessarily follow a chronological order, he does make clear the connections between events in American history and the cartoons that Seuss produced: more notably, the growing depiction of the Japanese especially after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

            Minear explores the implications and meaning of Seuss’ most racist cartoons and poses questions about their content. The Japanese tend to be depicted as buck-toothed, squinting evildoers with cruel-looking mustaches. Minear explains this reality in terms of its historical content but still recognizes that while Seuss could eloquently draw cartoons that criticized racism (against African Americans) or anti-Semitism, he seemed to be blind to his own racism when it came to the Japanese. Often depicted as bugs and pests, the Japanese are not only always physically smaller than their allied counterparts but also tend to be more animalistic. Minear recognizes the complexity of this issue, and does not merely ignore it as it would be easy for anyone who appreciates Seuss’ work to do.

            Minear’s book is a detailed and thorough exploration of the earlier work of Dr. Seuss for PM painted on a lightly historical backdrop. By articulating, explaining, and posing questions about Seuss’ work, Minear offers a handbook to Seuss’ cartoons that does not simply portray Seuss as an American hero. Minear recognizes and articulates the complexity, power, and talent of Seuss while still maintaining a perspective that allows for the more unpleasant aspects of his work to be examined. While Minear briefly mentions some of the criticism of Seuss’ cartoons, his discussion stays focused on the cartoons themselves with only a brief look in his conclusion at the other works of Seuss, especially his books written for children. Minear manages to deftly explain and depict the works of Seuss as well as their artistic and political value.