A review of of "One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish"
In the story "One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish" by Dr. Seuss, a world renowned author, Dr. Seuss provides a poignant examination of the daily life of a fish. This is a literary masterpiece beloved by all ages and it will be enjoyed for many future generations to come. Within this review, I will provide an analysis of the various intricacies contained within the story as well as provide a critical review for the story that observes the themes of the book.
Already in the first few lines of the novel, we as the readers are introduced to the titular red and blue fish. First there is one and then a second one comes along, perhaps needing a friend. As if this weren't enough, a black and then a blue fish comes in. It seems as though these fish are having a party and have invited their fish friends along. As the reader can clearly see, there are quite a number of fish already. In case the reader does not notice, though, the author Dr. Seuss helpfully states "What a lot of fish there are".
This, of course, is the main problem with the story. There is clearly too much hand holding for the reader and too much information is provided that do not require analysis. For example, as I stated earlier the reader should be able to infer that there are several fish within the vicinity but Dr. Seuss decides that his reader is not intelligent enough to understand this and states it explicitly.
The second problem with this story is the descriptions done by the author. Dr. Seuss will state something within the story but then never provide any explanation for why this occurs or the various reasons why. To wit, Dr. Seuss said that some fish "Are sad, and some are glad, and some are very, very bad." Why do these fish experience these varied emotions? Unfortunately, the author does not tell us. Furthermore, he states that the fish are very bad but never says the reasons for their malice. What happened in their lifetime that caused them to be this way?
Dr. Seuss cleverly avoids these questions by simply telling the reader to "go ask [their] dad" This allows Dr. Seuss to remove any further questions by the reader. Dr. Seuss does not appear to be very knowledgeable within this subject and instead pushes away all questions to the side, allowing for the reader to focus more on the story than the questions that arise due to the intricate and, at times, confusing plot. This shows that he never truly had parental support and ergo required the application of marijuana to compensate for his lack of parental guidance in life.
Lastly, it appears as if there is a political message within the novel. Dr. Seuss states that some of the fish "are high". This obviously is a reference to the legalization of marijuana. Little does the reader know, but Dr. Seuss was actually a fervent and avid supporter of all forms of weed, as shown in this section of the book. By showing that "some are high", Dr. Seuss wants to expand on the issue of legalization. This book was written during the early 60's and Dr. Seuss is clearly one of the earliest supports of the new wave of drugs that occurred during this time period. In fact, Dr. Seuss initially became a doctor so he could administer medical marijuana to himself and friends. Unfortunately, he was unable to obtain his doctorate and thus is left content with writing short children's stories.
He continues to state that "some are low". These fish that are low is actually an allegory for the working class when analyzed further. The fish that are low cannot get marijuana and thus must continue to be undermined by the other higher fish. There are several hints of rebellion within the aspect of the novel. Because of the fact that some of fish cannot access the marijuana like the other fish, they continue to show opprobrium and obloquy and are in opposition to the high fish. This clearly demonstrates that some dissent is occurring within the fish society; clearly an allegory for mankind as a whole: The poor get poorer and the fish get fishier.
Dr. Seuss finally says that "Not one of them is like another". This is a blatant reference to capitalism and the laissez-fare economics popular during the time period. Because none of the fish are like the other, this shows the uniqueness of the fish and how they show individual free will and thought. Dr. Seuss is stating that the system must be subverted due to the fact that there is a widely known apathy for the economic system of the time period. Dr. Seuss does not want to discuss the topic any longer, however, because he tells the readers to go "ask [their] mother" about the topic. This shows that he had a poor and broken childhood where his mother left him when he was an adolescent. He was born in a torn apart family and does not want to be reminded of the subject at hand.
The reason for him having a troubled childhood is subtly suggested in the last lines of the story. He states that the boy has 11 fingers as opposed to the normal ten. Although it is not explicitly stated in the story, one cannot ignore the connections between the boy in the story and Dr. Seuss himself. Obviously Dr. Seuss was bullied as a child because of this extra digit on his hand and now he writes childhood stories to compensate for his lack of a childhood thereof.
As can be shown by my review, there are many different themes within the literary masterpiece "One fish, Two Fish, Red fish, Blue fish". I myself had to read the book several times before I could even begin to understand the intricacies and complexity of the novel. Overall, this is a good book for all ages but there might be too much information in the story for some people's tastes. Personally, I didn't mind but you may be different. Dr. Seuss is well known for providing extensive detail in his stories and does it in many of his other stories as well such as "green eggs and ham" and "The cat in the hat". This writing style isn't for everyone, but if you liked his previous novels then you'll love this one. Overall, I give this book 9 out of 10 blue fish, because blue fish represents democracy and red fish represents fascism as well as totalitarianism.