From: erikm@microsoft.com (Erik Madsen)
Subject: The Cat In the Hat
Date: 17 Aug 92 23:19:40 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corporation


  _The Cat in the Hat_
  by Dr. Seuss, 61 pages.  Beginner Books, $3.95
 
  The Cat in the Hat is a hard-hitting novel of prose and poetry
  in which the author re-examines the dynamic rhyming schemes and
  bold imagery of some of his earlier works, most notably _Green
  Eggs and Ham_, _If I Ran the Zoo_, and _Why Can't I Shower With
  Mommy?_  In this novel, Theodore Geisel, writing under the
  pseudonym Dr. Seuss, pays homage to the great Dr. Sigmund Freud
  in a nightmarish fantasy of a renegade feline helping two young
  children understand their own frustrated sexuality.
 
  The story opens with two youngsters, a brother and a sister,
  abandoned by their mother, staring mournfully through the
  window of their single-family dwelling.  In the foreground, a
  large tree/phallic symbol dances wildly in the wind, taunting
  the children and encouraging them to succumb to the sexual
  yearnings they undoubtedly feel for each other.  Even to the
  most unlearned reader, the blatant references to the
  incestuous relationship the two share set the tone for Seuss's
  probing examination of the satisfaction of primitive needs.
  The Cat proceeds to charm the wary youths into engaging in
  what he so innocently refers to as "tricks."  At this point,
  the fish, an obvious Christ figure who represents the
  prevailing Christian morality, attempts to warn the children,
  and thus, in effect, warns all of humanity of the dangers
  associated with the unleashing of the primal urges.  In
  response to this, the cat proceeds to balance the aquatic
  naysayer on the end of his umbrella, essentially saying,
  "Down with morality; down with God!"
 
  After poohpoohing the righteous rantings of the waterlogged
  Christ figure, the Cat begins to juggle several icons of
  Western culture, most notably two books, representing the Old
  and New Testaments, and a saucer of lactal fluid, an ironic
  reference to maternal loss the two children experienced when
  their mother abandoned them "for the afternoon."  Our heroic
  Id adds to this bold gesture a rake and a toy man, and thus
  completes the Oedipal triangle.
 
  Later in the novel, Seuss introduces the proverbial Pandora's
  box, a large red crate out of which the Id releases Thing One,
  or Freud's concept of Ego, the division of the psyche that
  serves as the conscious mediator between the person and
  reality, and Thing Two, the Superego which functions to reward
  and punish through a system of moral attitudes, conscience,
  and guilt.  Referring to this box, the Cat says, "Now look at
  this trick.  Take a look!"  In this, Dr. Seuss uses the
  children as a brilliant metaphor for the reader, and asks the
  reader to re-examine his own inner self.

    The children, unable to control the Id, Ego, and Superego
  allow these creatures to run free and mess up the house, or
  more symbolically, control their lives.  This rampage
  continues until the fish, or Christ symbol, warns that the
  mother is returning to reinstate the Oedipal triangle that
  existed before her abandonment of the children.  At this
  point, Seuss introduces a many-armed cleaning device which
  represents the psychoanalytic couch, which proceeds to put
  the two youngsters' lives back in order.
 
  With powerful simplicity, clarity, and drama, Seuss reduces
  Freud's concepts on the dynamics of the human psyche to an
  easily understood gesture.  Mr. Seuss' poetry and choice of
  words is equally impressive and serves as a splendid
  counterpart to his bold symbolism.  In all, his writing style
  is quick and fluid, making _The Cat in the Hat_ impossible to
  put down.  While this novel is 61 pages in length, and one
  can read it in five minutes or less, it is not until after
  multiple readings that the genius of this modern day master
  becomes apparent.

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