Seuss the butter battle book and the cold war essay bartleby. The butter battle book is full of references to the ussoviet cold war, from the building of the berlin wall to the deployment of more and more. Seuss the butter battle book and the cold war essay. Oct 08, 2008 the butter battle book condemned the cold war arms race, and at one point was removed from childrens sections of libraries for political reasons.
The butter battle book teaching children philosophy. Seuss forgotten antiwar book made him an enemy of the right. The butter battle book can now be found in every library in the country. The lesson plan uses the book the butter battle by dr. This book was published in 1984, and it was written as an allegory to the cold war. The butter battle book and the cold war english project by. Butter side up yooks democracy usa butter side down zooks communism ussr symbolism in the book. Seuss book, the butter battle book which is an allegory for the arms race. This book was written during the cold war era and reflects the concerns of the time, especially the perceived possibility that all life on earth could be destroyed in a nuclear war. This book was written during the cold war era and reflects the concerns of the time, especially the perceived possibility that humanity could be destroyed in a. During the cold war unit when i am teaching the arms race, i introduce the students to the dr. The butter battle also teaches the important lesson of respecting differences and how not respecting differences of ideas or cultures can lead to dismal outcomes, such as war. Seusss tale is an allegory for the nuclear arms race during world war ii and the cold war. No big shots where actually fired between the us and the soviet union.
The soviet union launched its first nuclear weapon in 1949, an event that started an arms race between the united states and the soviet union. The yooks and the zooks never knew if the other side ate their toast the opposite way but the suspicion led to a distrust between the two groups. Seuss forgotten antiwar book made him an enemy of the right the butter battle book spoke powerfully against the hacks behind the militaryindustrial complex and for that, was pilloried. The likelihood of a nuclear catastrophe is greater today than during the cold war, former defense secretary william perry recently warned reporters. Nov 18, 2018 the butter battle book is full of references to the ussoviet cold war, from the building of the berlin wall to the deployment of more and more kinds of advanced weaponry. The main characters are members of the yooks, who appear to represent the us and nato countries, while the antagonists, the zooks, appear to represent the soviet union. The butter battle book, often cited as one of the most banned childrens books, was published in 1984 while the cold war still raged on. The butter battle book discusses the arms race between the united states vs. This book was written during the cold war era and reflects the concerns of the time, especially the perceived possibility that humanity could be destroyed in a nuclear war. The butter battle book and the cold war essay sample.
It portrays this event as a parody by using two different armies fighting over the way to butter your bread. The butter battle book isnt really about buttering bread. The butter battle book is an allegory for the nuclear arms race and the state of mutually assured destruction mad that occurred during the cold war. The butter battle book is full of references to the ussoviet cold war, from the building of the berlin wall to the deployment of more and more kinds of advanced weaponry.
If you havent read it, theres a good chance youve seen it in a bookstore or library, and its bright orange and blue cover makes it look pleasant and innocuous enough. The butter battle book and the cold war the butter battle book, like the cold war, was an arms race. In the butter battle book the childrens author takes on the cold war. The butter battle book was a new york times notable book of the year.
Seuss satirized the cold war and the arms race through the use of the yooks and the zooks. The butter battle book is a pretty clear allegory for the cold war. The students explained what the cold war terms were, interpreted the butter battle book to draw parallels between the book and the cold war, and finally applied what they knew about the cold war to make the parallels to the book. One main similarity between the two is that the zooks represent the soviet union whom wish to run a communist government, and the yooks portrays the united states and the rest of the democratic nations. Butter battle assignment rubric grade of 2 your ending shows a creative ending to the book you show how the ending would be in dr. Seuss makes the battle out to be as simple as the way someone butters their bread. It is an antiwar story about the arms race, mad, and nuclear weapons. You can either watch the animated story online on youtube or read the story aloud. This lesson plan addresses the cold war in a unique way. The cold war and the butter battle book have many similarities and differences.
Seusss classic cautionary tale, introduces readers to the important lesson of respecting differences. May 29, 20 the butter battle book the butter battle book is a picture book written by dr. The butter battle book manages to distill the ridiculousness of the cold war and mutually assured destruction into terms a child could understand. This story thus lends itself to a discussion with children about the concept of war itself, the moral issues related to war and the outcomes of retaliatory acts. Seuss satirical lesson on nuclear armament and the. The two groups manufacture extremely similar weapons and are on opposite sides of a wall dividing the two. Written during and intended to reflect directly on the cold war, it tells the story of an arms race between the yooks and the zooks, whose villages are.
Seusss metaphorical look at the cold war, titled the butter battle book here i read the butter battle book. The butter battle book alternate ending, a humor poetry. This seuss book parodies the cold war arms race through the fighting between the yooks and the zooks. Seuss in the butter battle book the childrens author takes on the cold war. But whats great about allegories is that theyre flexible and fuzzy. We were learning about nuclear weapons and the cold war in us history when the student teacher read the butter battle book by dr. The yooks and zooks share a love of buttered bread, but animosity brews between the two groups because they prefer to enjoy the tasty treat differently. The butter battle book the butter battle book is a picture book written by dr. Believe it or not, after all the craziness ive had to put up with for that class, im going to miss those moments when everything was okay. After completing the chart, write a paragraph about the book. Even from an early age i have loved dr seuss, and i find the animated versions of his work on the most part classics1966s how the grinch stole christmas is my favourite. The wall the iron curtain red ussr blue usa grandpa represents the us military vanitch represents the soviet military. The cold war and the butter battle book by alison cleary on prezi.
Seuss forgotten antiwar book made him an enemy of the. For each, explain how the symbolism used by seuss applies to the cold war answers will be uncovered during our upcoming study. Seuss have also been suggesting lately that the cold war is really about. The butterbattle book condemned the cold war arms race, and at one point was removed from childrens sections of libraries for political reasons. The butter battle book and the cold war literature circle the cold war was cold primarily because of the threat of nuclear weapons. Perhaps if more adults read this book back in the day it wouldnt have taken until the 90s for the cold war to end. Seuss retelling of the cold war in his butter battle book and his themes of war, international disputes, and ideological differences this was part of a new york law. The butter battle book, released by random house in the middle of ronald reagans transformative presidency, is about the cold war. Mar 14, 2011 the students explained what the cold war terms were, interpreted the butter battle book to draw parallels between the book and the cold war, and finally applied what they knew about the cold war to make the parallels to the book. The butter battle book and the cold war essay 1039 words. The butter battle book is about two groups of people, the yooks and the zooks, who fight over an extremely trivial matter, which side of the bread the groups eat their butter on.
The butter battle book symbolism, imagery, allegory. Eric schlosser, the awardwinning author of command and control, agrees. Shmoop guide to the cold war arms race in the butter battle book. The butter battle book and the cold war the cold war was cold primarily because of the threat of nuclear weapons. But if history and current events are any indication, the butter battle book is more relevant now than ever before. The butter battle book is a pretty clear allegory for the cold war arms race.
Perhaps if more adults read this book back in the day it wouldnt have taken until the 90s for the cold war to. The butter battle books story parallels to the cold war. The butter battle book the lesson part 1 teaching today. In it, geisel creates an imaginary world that parallels the arms race of the cold war, replete with. This is the page when both van itch and grandpa yook had the bitsy big boy boomeroo neclear bomb. The butter battle book puts a simplistic view in the real conflict of the cold war. Butter battle arms race wall street international magazine. Though both of them had this very powerful weapon, we do not know whether or not grandpa yook or van itch applied this to their defense for their country. Study 19 terms the butter battle book flashcards quizlet. Needless to say my very knowledgeable sixth graders proceeded to tell me how the butter battle book is actually a political story about the cold war. While you watch the butter battleon the flow chart below, write down the major steps taken by each side to escalate theconflict in the story.
The idea is they are to compare and contrast the two books. Seuss is an important figure in the lives of children everywhere. Dec 07, 2017 but that isnt why it is my favorite book. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. His stories are childrens classics that are fun to read and also tackle some real life issues. It is an anti war story about the arms race, mad, and nuclear weapons. Ralph bakshis the butter battle book is not an exception. The butter battle book, like the cold war, was an arms race. This is the only difference between the two groups. The butter battle book is one of the more overt and astute instances of geisels marriage of political and social sentiment with his childrens books. In reality the conflict was about the freedom of millions of people and the nuclear arms race. The cold war arms race in the butter battle book shmoop. Based on what you have viewed and read about the butter battle and the cold war.
185 1237 548 976 759 527 508 1078 1057 1174 1483 308 617 1368 938 1463 715 1087 1268 1124 738 555 198 59 871 343 787 330 335 532 1112 863