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The Cat In The Hat Analysis

1189 Words5 Pages
Seuss and Personalities Dr. Seuss is known in American Literature as a children’s author. His imagination based stories define his career as childish. However, his work The Cat in the Hat has a deeper meaning. Seuss’ story coincides with the ideas of Dr. Sigmund Freud, a well-known psychologist. The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss, is more than a simplistic children’s story. It is a representation of Dr. Sigmund Freud’s personality spectrum that represents the theme of learning to control one’s self, even when having fun. Perhaps, it seems true that the illustrations within The Cat in the Hat make it appeal to children. It may also be true that the pictures add to the plot and characterization of Sally, the narrator, the Fish and the Cat. For example, on page 19 there is a picture of the Cat balancing things such as the Fish, a rake, milk, books, and a cake, all while balancing on a ball. While a child may laugh at the humorous image, the image represents the external conflict of the danger to the Fish. The Cat, at this point in the story, is representative of the Freud’s Id, “the part of the personality that contains our primitive impulses” (NCTE). The Cat represents the child’s primitive impulse to play, or have fun, without self-control or thinking of the consequences that might follow. If the Cat continues with this balancing act and slips, the items may fall, causing the house to become a mess, but the dander to the Fish is more substantial. The Fish, who cannot defend
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