Deseret News | 'The Parables of Dr. Seuss'

'The Parables of Dr. Seuss'

By Joseph White
Associated Press

Published: Saturday, May 10, 2008 12:50 a.m. MDT

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When "Horton Hears a Who," is there a sermon to be heard?

What about "The Cat in the Hat" and "The Lorax"? Are those characters metaphors for Christ? And "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" — if you'll only follow the Great Commission.

No one has ever doubted the layers of meaning in the stories of Dr. Seuss. "The Lorax" has obvious lessons about the environment. "The Butter Battle Book" took direct aim at the Cold War arms race. "Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now!" was one way to demand the resignation of President Nixon.

So when Horton's world of Who-ville was "saved by the Smallest of All," Robert Short saw the savior of the Whos as a symbol for the Savior of all people. From "Green Eggs and Ham" to "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," Short has reinterpreted many of Theodor Seuss Geisel's stories as subtle messages of Christian doctrine in the new book, "The Parables of Dr. Seuss."

Questions remain, however, about whether the original author intended such an interpretation or Short, a retired Presbyterian minister, is just seeing the stories through the lens of his own life.

"I was amazed at what I found when I started looking at it — all this Christian imagery was very carefully factored into his stories," Short said in an interview from his home in Little Rock, Ark.

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"And that's what this book intends to do, is show how he has done this in a very carefully crafted way. It's there, and you could make an argument for it being intentionally there, because it's done with such great care."

Short has spent four decades drawing spiritual lessons from popular culture, starting with the 1965 best seller, "The Gospel According to Peanuts," the first of his eight books. The 75-year-old minister also does presentations that explore religious meanings in the popular comic strip Calvin and Hobbes and even in the last episode of the television comedy "Cheers," set in a Boston bar. Short has the congregation sing the "Cheers" theme song before beginning his talk.

"'Cheers' is very much like the church should be, in that friendship thrives in that kind of atmosphere," Short said. "It's a model for what the church ought to look like, with vast friendships and so on."

While it's safe to say that the creators of "Cheers" didn't intend for the show to become sermon or Sunday school material, Short feels differently about the Dr. Seuss stories. Although he confesses to knowing little about Geisel's spirituality, Short is convinced that the children's author was tucking hidden religious messages into places like Solla Sollew.

"He never did say, 'I'm going to do this, I'm going to incorporate my Christian faith into my stories,"' Short said. "And I think it's fine that he didn't do that, because it's up to us to draw the conclusion whether it's actually there or not."