The Butter Battle Book Rhetorical Analysis

The Butter Battle book, on a surface glance, is a children's book; however, with rhetoric, the book has a deeper meaning. The book starts with Grandpa talking to his grandson about his disdain for the Zooks on the other side of the wall. These two sides disagree on how you should butter your toast. The grandpa was in charge of guarding the border and had a weapon. However, the other side has an even bigger weapon. This results in them going back and forth until they have the most powerful explosives. Ultimately, neither side uses these weapons. This story represents the Cold War between the U.S. and Russia. In The Butter Battle Book, author Dr. Seuss uses irony, allegory, and a humorous tone to push his point to a broader audience about the

The irony is shown through the easy prediction that the Yooks would be bested by the Zooks almost immediately after introducing a new weapon. More importantly, this accurately depicts the Cold War as an arms race to see who could make the most frightening weapon. Even though neither side had the intention of using them, it was a surprise at first that the Yooks were getting bested by the Zooks; however, toward the end, it was something known by the reader that when they were to bring their weapon, the Yooks would have one just as great. The element that keeps the overall calcification as a children's book is the humorous tone. Even though one could easily assume that this has the same elements as the Cold War, the book is still meant to reach

Seuss, is well known for his many esteemed children's books and the funny fictional vocabulary he makes. His tone is humorous throughout the story with rhymes and funny words like “Triple-Sling Jigger” and “Big-Boy Boomeroo”. Suess does not use proper grammar, adding a comedic effect to his book. This book has a lot of humorous parts like irony, silly grammar, and character dialogue. The final piece of rhetoric is allegory. An allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. While the story is a children's book, this piece has a much deeper political meaning. The Butter Battle shares many similarities to the Cold War. The Cold War was an arms race between the U.S. and Russia. Both sides wanted to intimidate the other by making bigger, scarier weapons. However, both sides did not intend to use these weapons. There was never an actual battle in the Cold War, hence the name of the “Cold” War. In the story, at the very end, everybody hides in bunkers, and both the Yooks and Zooks have their “Big Boy Boomeroo,” and they meet to see who was going to drop it first, saying, “Grandpa! I shouted. Be careful with your own words! Oh, and so do you! Who's going to drop it? Will you? . . ? Or will he? .