Analysis of 'Oh, The Place You Will Go' by Dr. Seuss

'Oh, the Place You Will Go' is a book by Dr. Seuss that talks about a protagonist who has no name and who makes the decision to leave town and exploring the world. This protagonist travels through and discovers various landscapes and places, which represents how a reader can go out to explore life and see much about the world. The book uses pictures showing a vast and wide-open field with the kid as he runs through its middle (Geisel, 2010). This kid is faced with many options for going and doing anything. The aspect shows the open-mindedness of kids and how they possess high levels of creativity and room to absorb many different emotions and experiences the pictures show different paths that can be followed by the kid which is a representation of how kids grow into various types of people such as extroverts and introverts. The author uses bright colors to show the adventure and excitement of the child. This essay explores multiple themes or life lessons and some literary styles to communicate his ideas to the readers.

One of the main themes in the book is that of perseverance. The protagonist seems to have problems with where next to go or the path to follow but keeps on grinding the teeth concerning hardships and pushes on. To the kid, it matters not where to go next and for what reason, but after pushing on, they get rewarded by experiencing new forms of excitement. The kid trusts on the better things they expect to meet at the corner. The author says that the kid expects to find unique chocolate cakes or elephants on roller skates (Watts, 2016). What the reader means is that even when things seem not able to happen to the kid, they may start happening provided, they maintain their effort of going. As the kid goes from place to place, hoping to find a new form of excitement, there are many hardships on the way. The readers learn that whatever difficulties in life, better things are bound to come, provided they keep trying and moving on. There is no room for giving up as things may not just come easily.

The other theme includes that of making choices in life. According to Seuss, life is full of many decisions that require people to make the right decision. Just like switching on the TV that has so many channels to choose from, life is like that. The choices get complicated as the child goes on exploring the world. The process of decision making is among the challenges for one to learn from and can take one to joy, disappointment, and pain of life. The places one expects to go are the choices of their children. As the kid in the story meets new streets, they have to decide which way to follow (Geisel, 2010). The kid is not aware of which side of the road is bad or good, save, or insecure. The pictures used in the book have the kid in the field with many paths unable to know which one to follow. However, regardless of the decision-making challenge, the kid chooses, and after following, they meet new experiences and emotions. The readers need to learn that in life, many instances require making choices and decisions, and whatever the case, they should face the outcome with confidence.

The other theme is that of disappointment, and the author has just applied rhymes and rhythm to show that life may not be as smooth as one may expect. He says that life has hang-ups and bang-ups. When the author uses the phrase “DAdum dum DAdum,' he uses capitalization to emphasize the experiences in terms of reality and importance in life (Geisel, 2010). To him, things would go against the wishes of many, and they would fall with a slump. The rising again is quite challenging and not easy at all. This theme prepares the protagonist and the reader for the challenges that lie ahead so that they are ready to conquer them.

These themes and many others have been communicated using various literary styles, such as the rhymes above. Another technique used includes symbolism. Open spaces all through the book show the many choices life can give an individual requiring one to make a decision (Watts, 2016). Slumps show downfalls and challenges that cause disappointment in life. The ball symbolizes the wins while waiting shows expectations of life. The other style involves the use of allegory. The whole story uses a rainbow-colored allegory carrying the hidden meaning of the long journey of life. The author shows this to mean the careers, emotional experiences, life, and relationships that come along the way. The aspect shows the deep psychological waters and windy paths of life one expects to meet on the road.

From the analysis, the story by Seuss is one form of a colored rainbow allegory to show things one expects to meet on the way. Themes of perseverance, disappointment, and choice are used to show that life has challenges people should get used to. They should expect falls on the way and many decisions to make in life.

References

1. Geisel, T. S. (2010). Oh, the places you'll go!. Random House Books for Young Readers.
2. Watts, S. W. (2016). Oh, the places you'll go! My many colored serotonin (apologies to Dr. Seuss). American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 311(5), H1225-H1233.