During our picture book lesson, we spent an entire day discussing Dr. Seuss and The Cat in the Hat. During our lesson, Dr. Robinson explained that Seuss saw himself as a mixture of the Cat in The Cat in the Hat and The Grinch, another one of Seuss's famous characters. After the lesson, I found it ironic that I discovered a clip featuring both of these particular characters.
The clip shows the Grinch and the cat crossing each others paths on a sunny day. The cat is enjoying a fine picnic when he realizes that his automobile is blocking the road that The Grinch is attempting to drive down. The Grinch bumps and bumps the cat's little car and demands for it to be moved immediately. The cat first tidies up his picnic and casually mentions that the Grinch has a green face. The Grinch is so offended by this remark that he solves his own problem. He angrily places his car in reverse and drives away.
Dr. Robinson mentioned in class last week that the cat in The Cat in the Hat is a con-man and at trickster hero. By viewing this video we are allowed the opportunity to see this con-man in action, and it becomes increasingly evident that this cat is, in fact, a trickster. The cat talks his way out of the entire situation, and it could be argued that the cat does not ever plan to move his automobile to allow the grinch to pass.
I must ponder on one final thought. I must wonder if this video represents the inner duel between cleverness and wickedness within Dr. Seuss. Does the video mean that the cleverness always overpowers the evil within Dr. Seuss?
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