Comparing The Yooks And Zooks During The Cold War

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“The Butter Battle Book” by Dr. Seuss mirrors the Cold War fairly accurately in a simply worded, yet deep, children’s tale. One major theme exemplified is the difference in political ideology. Initially, one can see that the Yooks and the Zooks wear very distinct and very differently colored clothing. The Yooks sport blue shirts and pants, while the Zooks’ don entirely orange attire. This resembles blue for the United States and red of the Soviet Union. Both the Yooks and Zooks have different cultures revolving around the buttering of bread. One butters bread on top and the other butters bread on bottom, representing the views of capitalism and communism during the Cold War.

Each “party” believes their views make sense, while the group on the opposite side of the wall possesses horrendous beliefs leaving them at fault for everything. An example of this is when the Chief Yookeroo speaks with Grandpa following the breaking of his Snick-Berry Switch. “He said, ‘You’re not to …show more content…

It continued to grow in order to protect the Yooks from the Zooks, and the Zooks from the Yooks. During the Cold War, the Berlin Wall was built between West and East Berlin to keep the capitalists of NATO from uprooting the communist authorities. They also needed a way to stop their citizens from fleeing to the East side because they saw freedom was available. The Yooks and the Zooks could have looked at their situation in the same way. Their government officials, such as the Chief Yookeroo, didn’t want them to wonder about the other side of the wall. They didn’t want any of the young to think the opposing side could be better and leave. As a result, each group instilled in their youngest citizens the idea that the Yooks, or the Zooks, possessed unacceptable ideologies. Grandfather says to his grandson, “It’s high time that you knew of the terribly horrible thing that Zooks do”

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