Clara Beranger and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories: Difference between pages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Difference between pages)
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
OrphanBot (talk | contribs)
654,820 edits
Removing image with no source information. Such images that are older than seven days may be deleted at any time.
 
No edit summary
 
Line 1: Line 1:
[[Image:Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories cover.png|thumb|150px|right|The original 1958 cover.]]
{{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]] -->
| name = Clara S. Beranger
| image =
| imagesize = 150px
| caption ={{deletable image-caption}}
| birthdate = {{birth date|1886|01|14}}
| birthplace = [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| deathdate = {{death date and age|1956|09|10|1886|01|14|mf=y}}
| deathplace = [[Hollywood|California]], [[California]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| occupation = [[Screenwriter]]<br />
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| spouse = Albert Berwanger (? – ?)<br>[[William C. DeMille]] (1929 – 1955) ''his death''
| children = 1
| website =
}}


'''''Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories''''' is a [[picture book]] collection by [[Dr. Seuss|Theodor Geisel]], published under his more commonly-known [[pen name|pseudonym]] of [[Dr. Seuss]]. It was first released by [[Random House]] Books on April 12, 1958, and is written in Seuss's trademark style, using a type of [[meter (poetry)|meter]] called [[anapestic tetrameter]]. Though it contains three short stories, it is mostly known for its first story, "Yertle the Turtle", in which the titular Yertle, king of the pond, stand on his subjects in an attempt to reach higher than the moon—until the bottom turtle burps and he falls into the mud, ending his rule. The story, among Seuss's most notable, is widely recognized as condemning [[fascism]] and absolute power; the despotic ruler Yertle was intended to parallel the [[dictator]] [[Adolf Hitler]], and has also been compared to [[Saddam Hussein]].
'''Clara Berenger''' ([[January 14]] [[1886]] &ndash; [[September 10]][[1956]]) was an American screenwriter of the silent film era and a member of the original faculty of the [[USC School of Cinematic Arts]].


Though the book included "burp", a word then considered to be vulgar, it was a success upon publication, and has since sold over a million copies. In 2001, it was listed at 125 on the ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' list of the best-selling children's books of all time.
==Biography==
Born '''Clara Strouse''' in [[Baltimore, Maryland]] to Benjamin and Fannie (Kahn) Strouse. Benjamin and his brothers had emigrated from Germany and opened a dry-goods store in Indiana.<ref name="Secret">DeMille. 1998.</ref>


==Plot overview==
After graduating from [[Goucher College]] with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1907,<ref name="whowho">Who Was Who in America. 1976.</ref> Clara went into journalism, writing for various popular magazines and devoting time to study the stage. She married Albert Berwanger with whom she had a daughter, Frances Berwanger in 1909. When she began to write, Frances would change her name to Beranger.
===“Yertle the Turtle”===
The titular story revolves around a Yertle the [[Turtle]], the [[monarch|king]] of the pond. Unsatisfied with the stone that serves as his [[throne]], he commands the other turtles to stack themselves beneath him so that he can see further and expand his kingdom. However, the turtle at the bottom of the pile, named Mack, asks Yertle for a respite. Ignoring his request, Yertle commands more and more turtles to add to his throne, until he notices the moon rising above him as the night approaches. Furious that something "dares to be higher than Yertle the King", he decides to call for even more turtles in an attempt rise above it. However, before he can give the command, Mack burps, shaking the stack of turtles and tossing Yertle off into the mud, leaving him "King of the Mud" and freeing the others.<ref name="yertle">{{cite book |title=Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories |author=Dr. Seuss |authorlink=Dr. Seuss |date=1958-04-12 |publisher=[[Random House]] |oclc=255164 }}</ref>


===Freelance===
===“Gertrude McFuzz”===
The second story recounts the tale of the"girl-bird" Gertrude McFuzz, who has a small, plain tail and envies Lolla-Lee-Lou, who has two tail [[feather]]s. Gertrude's uncle tells her where she can find berries that will make her tail grow, and she eats the entire vine, causing her tail to grow to an enormous size. However, the added weight prevents her from flying, and she is forced to pluck out her tail feathers. Though she has only one feather left—as before—she now has "enough, because now she is smarter."<ref name="yertle"/>
Using the pseudonym of Charles S. Beranger, her first screen employment was as a freelancer, writing for the [[Motion Picture Patents Company|Edison]], [[Vitagraph Studios|Vitagraph]] and [[Kalem Company|Kalem]] companies, to whom she furnished many originals as well as continuities. Her success attracted some attention and she was appointed as a staff writer for the [[20th Century Fox#Fox Film Corporation|Fox Corporation]]. She wrote several scripts for the popular child star [[Baby Marie Osborne]] as well as a much-praised adaptation of ''A Tale of Two Cities''. Beranger also wrote ''The Interloper'' for Kitty Gordon, ''The Bluffer'' for June Elvidge and ''The Mirror'' for Marjorie Rambeau, though many of these films are considered lost.<ref name="lowrey">Lowrey. 1920.</ref> With [[Forrest Halsey]], Beranger wrote the stage play, ''[[His Chinese Wife]]'', which received good reviews and became one of the successes of the 1919–1920 season.<ref name="lowrey"/>


===The Famous Players-Lasky===
===“The Big Brag”===
The third and final story tells of a rabbit and a bear, who both boast that they are the "best of the beasts", because of the range of their hearing and smelling abilities, respectively. However, they are humbled by a worm who claims he can see all around the world—right back to his own hill, where he sees the rabbit and bear, whom he calls "the two biggest fools that have ever been seen".<ref name="yertle"/>
In 1921, Clara took Frances, then twelve, and migrated to Hollywood to write for motion pictures,<ref name="Secret">DeMille. 1998.</ref> where she signed a long contract with [[Cecil B. DeMille]]'s [[Famous Players-Lasky]]; the outfit with whom she is most associated. She wrote or contributed to more than 24 DeMille productions, and produced both ''Come Out of the Kitchen'' and ''Girls'' for [[Marguerite Clark]]; ''Sadie Love'' and ''Wanted a Husband'' for [[Billie Burke]]; ''Judy of Rogues Harbor'' for [[Mary Miles Minter]]; ''The Fear Market'' for [[Alice Brady]]; ''The Cost'' for [[Violet Heming]]; ''Half an Hour'' for [[Dorothy Dalton]]; ''Civilian Clothes'' for [[Thomas Meighan]], ''Notoriety'' for [[Bebe Daniels]] and the long-lasting classic ''[[Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920 film)|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide]]'' for [[John Barrymore]].<ref name="lowrey"/>


[[Image:Dr. Seuss, political cartoon, 1942-03-20.png|thumb|300px|right|Similar turtles were used in an [[editorial cartoon]] published in ''[[PM (newspaper)|PM]]'' on March 20, 1942.]]
From an interview with Louella Parson in 1922: <blockquote>I will be out in California when Mr. DeMille begins operations. Under my old contract I furnished eight continuities a year; now that I work only for William DeMille I only write four. That gives me an opportunity to see my work through from the story to the screen. It makes it possible for me to go over my script scene by scene with the producer, so he can make the picture with almost no changes. In the old days I had to keep my nose to the grindstone continually so as to finish the eight pictures in time for the different directors for whom I was writing."<ref name="loella">Parsons. 1922.</ref></blockquote>
==Publication history==
A stack of turtles drawn similarly to those featured in "Yertle the Turtle" first appeared on March 20, 1942, in a cartoon for the [[New York, New York|New York]] newspaper ''[[PM (newspaper)|PM]]'', where Seuss worked as an [[editorial cartoonist]]. The illustration shows two stacks of turtles forming the letter "V" on top of a large turtle labelled "Dawdling Producers", with a caption reading "You Can't Build A Substantial V Out of Turtles!"<ref>{{cite book |last=Minear |first=Richard |title=Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel |accessdate=2008-05-12 |edition= |date= |year=1999 |publisher=[[The New Press]] |location=[[New York, New York|New York]] |isbn=9781565845657 |pages=244 |quote= }}</ref>


Seuss has stated that the titular character Yertle represented [[Adolf Hitler]], with Yertle's despotic rule of the pond and takeover of the surrounding area parallel to Hitler's [[Nazi Germany|regime in Germany]] and invasion of various parts of Europe.<ref name="sadler"/><ref name="gorney">{{cite news |author=Cynthia Gorney |title=Dr. Seuss at 75: Grinch, Cat in Hat, Wocket and Generations of Kids in His Pocket |work=[[The Washington Post]] |publisher=[[Katharine Weymouth]] |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] |date=1979-05-21 |accessdate=2008-05-12 |language= |quote=&nbsp;'I couldn't draw Hitler as a turtle&nbsp;... So I drew him as King&nbsp;... of the Pond&nbsp;... He wanted to be king as far as he could see. So he kept piling them up. He conquered Central Europe and France, and there it was.'&nbsp; }}</ref> In 2003, reporter [[John J. Miller]] also compared Yertle to former [[Iraq]]i [[President of Iraq|president]] [[Saddam Hussein]], saying that "[i]ts final lines apply as much to Saddam Hussein as they once did to the European fascists".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller200311210832.asp |last=Miller |first=John J. |authorlink=John J. Miller |work=[[National Review]] |publisher=Jack Fowler |date=2003-11-21 |accessdate=2008-07-25 |title=The Good "Dr." }}</ref>
===William DeMille===
In 1921 Beranger met her future husband William DeMille and work on the adaptation of ''[[Miss Lulu Bett]]'', the [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning play about a young woman who discovers that she’s married to a man who is already married. Not as famous today as Cecil, and though most of his silents have been lost, William is still considered one of the silents' most respected directors. ''Miss Lulu Bett'' shows a delicate touch in the telling of an impoverished spinster's misfortunes in a small town.<ref name="cripps">Cripps. 1997. </ref>


Though Seuss made a point of not beginning the writing of his stories with a [[moral]] in mind, stating that "kids can see a moral coming a mile off", he was not against writing about issues; he said "there's an inherent moral in any story" and remarked that he was "subversive as hell".<ref name="bunzel">{{cite journal | author =Peter Bunzel | date =1959-04-06 | title =The Wacky World of Dr. Seuss Delights the Child—and Adult—Readers of His Books | journal =[[Life (magazine)|Life]] | volume = | issue = | pages = | publisher =Time Inc. | location =[[Chicago]] | issn =0024-3019 | pmid = | doi = | bibcode = | oclc =1643958 | format = | accessdate = | quote =Most of Geisel's books point a moral, though he insists he never starts with one. 'Kids,' he says, 'can see a moral coming a mile off and they gag at it. But there's an inherent moral in any story.'&nbsp; }}</ref><ref name="cott">{{cite book |author=Jonathan Cott |title=Pipers at the Gates of Dawn: The Wisdom of Children's Literature |accessdate=2008-05-12 |format=Reprint |year=1983 |publisher=[[Random House]] |location=[[New York, New York|New York]] |isbn=9780394504643 |oclc= 8728388 |chapter=The Good Dr. Seuss |quote=&nbsp;'I qualified that,' Geisel explained, 'in order to avoid sounding too didactic or like a preacher on a platform. And I wanted ''other'' persons, like yourself, to say "surely" in their minds instead of my having to say it.'&nbsp; }}</ref> "Yertle the Turtle" has variously been described as "autocratic rule overturned",<ref name="lurie">{{cite journal | last =Lurie | first =Alison | authorlink =Alison Lurie | date =1990-12-20 |title =The Cabinet of Dr. Seuss | journal =[[The New York Review of Books]] | volume =37 | issue =20 | publisher =Rea S. Hederman | location =[[New York, New York|New York]] | issn =0028-7504 | url =http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-preview?article_id=3401 | accessdate =2008-05-12 |format=Reprint | quote =As in the classical folk tale, pride and prejudice are ridiculed, autocratic rule overturned. }}</ref> "a reaction against the [[fascism]] of World War II",<ref name="moje">{{cite journal | author =Elizabeth B. Moje | authorlink = | coauthors =Woan-Ru Shyu | year =1992 | month =May | title =Oh, the Places You've Taken Us: ''The Reading Teacher's'' Tribute to Dr. Seuss | journal =The Reading Teacher | volume =45 | issue =8 |publisher =International Reading Association | location = | issn =0034-0561 | oclc =1681346 |format = | accessdate = | quote = }}</ref> and "subversive of authoritarian rule".<ref name="lanes">{{cite book |author=Selma G. Lanes |title=Down the Rabbit Hole: Adventures and Misadventures in the Realm of Children's Literature |format=Reprint |accessdate=2008-05-13 |year=1971 |publisher=[[Atheneum Publishers]] |location=[[New York, New York|New York]] |oclc=138227 |chapter=Seuss for the Goose Is Seuss for the Gander |quote=Sometimes Seuss is simply subversive of authoritarian rule in general, whatever form it takes, as in ''Yertle the Turtle'' }}</ref>
William had other affairs including [[Lorna Moon]] who had borne him a son out of wedlock, and with another screenwriter, [[Olga Printzlau]]; but he genuinely fell in love with Clara who had tolerated it all.<ref name="edwards">Edwards. 1988.</ref> In June 1926, William to the surprise of his wife, announced that he wanted a divorce. Anna refused him and took their daughters, [[Agnes de Mille|Agnes]] and Margaret, to Europe for a long trip. When the family returned, William announced that he had given up Beranger and would try again with his wife, but this arrangement only lasted about a year.<ref name="Secret">DeMille. 1998.</ref> Anna never recovered from the divorce, and took the children to live in New York permanently.<ref name="agnes">Easton. 2000.</ref> William DeMille (50) and Clara Beranger (42) would be married in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]] on [[August 14]] [[1928]] in the drawing room aboard "The Chief", a transcontinental special train.<ref name="time">[[Time (magazine)|Time]]. August 27, 1928.</ref>
After marrying into the DeMille dynasty, Beranger would continue to write, including ''Craig's Wife'' (1928) for [[Irene Rich]] and ''This Mad World'' (1930) for [[Kay Johnson]]. William would lose everything in the Depression and unhappily rely on Beranger to support him, until Beranger asked Cecil DeMille to employ him to write scenarios.


The last lines of "Yertle the Turtle" read: "And turtles, of course&nbsp;... all the turtles are free / As turtles, and maybe, all creatures should be."<ref name="yertle"/> When questioned about why he wrote "maybe" rather than "surely", Seuss replied that he didn't want to sound "didactic or like a preacher on a platform", and that he wanted the reader "to say 'surely' in their minds instead of my having to say it."<ref name="cott"/>
===USC School of Cinematic Arts===
Baranger would retire from writing pictures in 1934, though she remained a frequent contributor to magazines such as [[Liberty (1924-1950)|Liberty]] and [[Good Housekeeping]], and writer of inspirational books. Beranger's largest impact would be as one of the original faculty of [[USC School of Cinematic Arts]] which had begun in 1929 as a collaboration between the [[University of Southern California]] and [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].<ref name="usc">USCCA HomePage.</ref> Also among the original faculty were actors [[Douglas Fairbanks]] and [[Mary Pickford]], directors [[D.W. Griffith]] and [[Ernst Lubitsch]], and producers [[Irving Thalberg]] and [[Darryl Zanuck]]. Cecil would endow the Drama Department, to which William would be appointed as Director, at last allowing him to exploit his education and skills as a teacher and director.<ref name="Secret">Demille. 1998.</ref>


The use of the word "[[burping|burp]]"—"plain little Mack did a plain little thing. ''He burped!"''—was also an issue before publication. According to Seuss, the publishers at [[Random House]], including the president, had to meet to decide whether or not they could use "burp" because "nobody had ever burped before on the pages of a children's book".<ref name="kanfer">{{cite journal |author=Stefan Kanfer | date =1991-10-07 | title =The Doctor Beloved by All | journal =[[Time]] | volume = | issue = | pages = | publisher = | location = | issn =0040-781X | format = | quote =&nbsp;'I used the word burp, and nobody had ever burped before on the pages of a children's book. It took a decision from the president of the publishing house before my vulgar turtle was permitted to do so.'&nbsp; }}</ref><ref name="sadler">{{cite interview |last= |first= |subject=Dr. Seuss |subjectlink=Dr. Seuss |last2= |first2= |subject2=Maurice Sendak |subjectlink2=Maurice Sendak |last3= |first3= |subject3= |subjectlink3= |last4= |subject4= |interviewer=Glenn Edward Sadler |cointerviewers= |title=Maurice Sendak and Dr. Seuss: A Conversation |type= |url= |format=Transcript |program= |callsign= |city= |date= |year=1989 |month=September/October |accessdate=2005-05-12 }}</ref> However, despite the publishers' initial worries, it eventually proved to be a hit—in 2001, ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' reported that it had sold over a million copies in the United States and was 125th on the list of all-time best-selling children's books.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA186995.html |title= All-Time Bestselling Children's Books |last=Hochman |first=Debbie Turvey |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |publisher=[[Reed Business]] |date=2001-12-17 |accessdate=2008-07-25 }}</ref>
Beranger was a large proponent of the idea that Hollywood had a responsibility to teach the next generation of artists, and would write a much-used text ''Writing for the Screen'' in 1950 and continue to lecture on screenwriting for the rest of her life. She suffered a heart attack and died in 1956.


{{pquote|This Book is for<br/>The Bartletts of Norwich, Vt.<br/>and for<br/>The Sagmasters of Cincinnati, Ohio|Dedication, ''Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories''|<ref name="yertle"/>}}
==Filmography==
The book is dedicated to the Sagmaster family as a tribute to Joseph Sagmaster, who had introduced Seuss to his first wife, [[Helen Palmer Geisel|Helen Palmer]], when they were both attending [[Oxford University]]. Sagmaster is quoted as saying that bringing the two together was the "the happiest inspiration I've ever had".<ref name="kahn">{{cite journal | author = E. J. Kahn | date = 1960-12-17 | title = Children's Friend | journal = [[The New Yorker]] | pages = 47 | publisher =[[Advance Publications]] | accessdate = |issn=0028-792X | quote = In the judgement of Sagmaster&nbsp;... to whose family Dr. Seuss's "Yertle the Turtle" has been appreciatively dedicated, bringing the Geisels together was 'the happiest inspiration I've ever had.'&nbsp;}}</ref>
{{col-start}}
{{col-break}}
* ''Memories of His Youth'' (1913, scenario)
* ''The Master Mind'' (1914, scenario)
* ''Cameo Kirby'' (1914, uncredited)
* ''The Galley Slave'' (1915, scenario)
* ''Princess Romanoff'' (1915, scenario)
* ''From the Valley of the Missing'' (1915, scenario)
* ''[[Anna Karenina (1915 film)|Anna Karenina]]'' (1915, writer)
* ''Her Mother's Secret'' (1915/I, scenario, uncredited)
* ''Mary Moreland'' (1917)
* ''The Mirror'' (1917)
* ''The Slave Market'' (1917, scenario)
* ''The Greater Woman'' (1917, unconfirmed)
* ''The Dormant Power'' (1917, writer)
* ''The Debt'' (1917, writer)
* ''Motherhood'' (1917/I, writer)
* ''The Golden Wall'' (1918)
* ''The Interloper'' (1918)
* ''Appearance of Evil'' (1918, scenario)
* ''Winning Grandma'' (1918, scenario)
* ''The Way Out'' (1918, scenario)
* ''Milady o' the Beanstalk'' (1918, scenario)
* ''The Voice of Destiny'' (1918, screenplay)
* ''The Love Net'' (1918, writer)
* ''By Hook or Crook'' (1918, writer)
* ''The Beloved Blackmailer'' (1918, writer)
* ''Dolly Does Her Bit'' (1918, writer)
* ''The Grouch'' (1918/I, scenario)
* ''The Little Intruder'' (1919)
* ''The Hand Invisible'' (1919)
* ''Heart of Gold'' (1919)
* ''The Praise Agent'' (1919, scenario)
* ''Phil-for-Short'' (1919, scenario)
* ''Hit or Miss'' (1919, scenario)
* ''The Unveiling Hand'' (1919, scenario)
* ''The Bluffer'' (1919, screenplay)
* ''Dust of Desire'' (1919, story, writer)
* ''Wanted: A Husband'' (1919, writer)
* ''Sadie Love'' (1919, writer)
* ''Bringing Up Betty'' (1919, writer)
* ''The Firing Line'' (1919, writer)
* ''Girls'' (1919, writer)
* ''Come Out of the Kitchen'' (1919, writer)
{{col-break}}
* ''Half an Hour'' (1920)
* ''White Youth'' (1920, story)
* ''Flames of the Flesh'' (1920, story)
* ''Blackbirds'' (1920, writer)
* ''Civilian Clothes'' (1920, writer)
* ''The Cost'' (1920, writer)
* ''Judy of Rogue's Harbor'' (1920, writer)
* ''The Fear Market'' (1920, writer)
* ''[[Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920 film)|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]'' (1920/I)''
* ''[[Miss Lulu Bett]]'' (1921, adaptation)
* ''Exit the Vamp'' (1921, screenplay, story)
* ''The Gilded Lily'' (1921, story)
* ''The Wonderful Thing'' (1921, writer)
* ''A Heart to Let'' (1921, writer)
* ''Sheltered Daughters'' (1921, writer)
* ''Her Husband's Trademark'' (1922, story)
* ''Clarence'' (1922, writer)
* ''Nice People'' (1922, writer)
* ''Bought and Paid For'' (1922, writer)
* ''Grumpy'' (1923, adaptation, screenplay)
* ''The World's Applause'' (1923, screenplay, story)
* ''Don't Call It Love'' (1923, writer)
* ''The Marriage Maker'' (1923, writer)
* ''Only 38'' (1923, writer)
* ''The Bedroom Window'' (1924, screenplay, story)
* ''The Fast Set'' (1924, writer)
* ''Icebound'' (1924, writer)
* ''Locked Doors'' (1925, screenplay, story)
* ''New Brooms'' (1925, writer)
* ''Lost: A Wife'' (1925, writer)
* ''Men and Women'' (1925, writer)
* ''Don Juan's Three Nights'' (1926, writer)
* ''Nobody's Widow'' (1927, adaptation)
* ''The Forbidden Woman'' (1927, adaptation, screenplay)
* ''The Little Adventuress'' (1927, adaptation, screenplay)
* ''Almost Human'' (1927, screenplay, titles)
* ''Craig's Wife'' (1928, adaptation)
* ''The Idle Rich'' (1929, writer)
* ''This Mad World'' (1930, adaptation, screenplay)
* ''His Double Life'' (1933, adaptation)
* ''The Social Register'' (1934, writer)
{{col-end}}


==References==
==Adaptations==
Although ''Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories'' has not been directly adapted, several characters from the book have appeared in other media. Yertle is a character in the 1996–1997 television series ''[[The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss]]'', and in Stephen Flaherty's [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical ''[[Seussical]]'', Yertle serves as a [[judge]] and Gertrude McFuzz acts as Horton's love interest.
===Notes===
{{Reflist|2}}


==In popular culture==
===Bibliography===
*[[Red Hot Chili Peppers]], an American [[funk-rock]] band, adapted some verses of "Yertle the Turtle" into a song of the same name on their second LP ''[[Freaky Styley]]''.
{{refbegin}}
*In an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', [[Lisa Simpson]] remarks that "Yertle the Turtle" is the best book written on [[Turtles all the way down|turtle stacking]].
* {{cite book |author=Cripps, Thomas |title=Hollywood's High Noon: Moviemaking & Society Before Television |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |location=Baltimore |year=1997 |isbn=0-8018-5316-8}}
*In David Mamet's 1988 play ''[[Speed-the-Plow]]'', Fox calls Gould "Yertle the Turtle".
* {{cite book |author=De Mille, Richard |title=My secret mother: Lorna Moon |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |location=New York |year=1998 |pages= |isbn=0-374-21757-2 |oclc= |doi=}}
*In the television show ''[[Friends]]'', [[Ross Geller]] calls "Yertle the Turtle" a "classic".
* {{cite book |author=Easton, Carol |title=No Intermissions: The Life of Agnes de Mille |publisher=[[Da Capo Press]] |location=New York |year= |pages= |isbn=0-306-80975-3 |oclc= |doi=}}
* {{cite book |author=Edwards, Anne |title=The DeMilles, an American family |publisher=H.N. Abrams |location=New York |year=1988 |pages= |isbn=0-8109-1144-2 |oclc= |doi=}}
* {{cite book |author=Lowrey, Carolyn |title=The First One Hundred Noted Men and Women of the Screen|publisher=Moffat, Yard and company|location=New York |year=1920|isbn=1432633740}}
* {{cite book |author=Marquis |title=Who Was Who in America, 1951-1960|publisher=[[Marquis Who's Who]]|location= |year=1966 |pages= |isbn=083790238X |oclc= |doi=}}
* {{cite journal|title=Clara Beranger Comments on ''The World's Applause''|journal=The New York Telegraph|date=May 7th, 1922|first=Louella|last=Parson|coauthors=|volume=|issue=|pages=|id= |url=|format=|accessdate=2008-03-02 }}
* {{cite journal|title=Births, Deaths, Marriages|journal=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=August 27, 1928|first=|last=|coauthors=|volume=|issue=|pages=|id= |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,928925,00.html?promoid=googlep|format=|accessdate=2008-03-02 }}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.usc.edu/libraries/locations/cinema_tv/history/ |title=USC Cinematic Arts Library History |accessdate=2008-03-02 }}
{{refend}}


==Bibliography==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
*''You Can Be Happy''. NY:Samuel Curl (1946)
*''Writing for the Screen''. Dubuque, Iowa:Wm. C. Brown Company (1950)
*''Peace Begins at Home''. Lee's Summit, MO:Unity School of Christianity (1954)

==External links==
*{{imdb name|0073238}}

<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->

{{Persondata
|NAME= Beranger, Clara
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[Screenwriter]],
|DATE OF BIRTH= [[January 14]] [[1886]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH= &nbsp;[[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], [[United States|U.S.]]
|DATE OF DEATH= [[October 10]] [[1956]]
|PLACE OF DEATH= &nbsp;[[Hollywood, California|Hollywood]], [[California]], [[United States|U.S.]]
}}


{{Dr. Seuss}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beranger, Clara}}
[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:Women screenwriters]]
[[Category:American screenwriters]]


[[Category:Children's picture books]]
[[fr:Clara Beranger]]
[[Category:Books by Dr. Seuss]]
[[Category:Fictional dictators]]
[[Category:Fictional turtles]]
[[Category:Literature featuring anthropomorphic characters]]

Revision as of 22:34, 12 October 2008

The original 1958 cover.

Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories is a picture book collection by Theodor Geisel, published under his more commonly-known pseudonym of Dr. Seuss. It was first released by Random House Books on April 12, 1958, and is written in Seuss's trademark style, using a type of meter called anapestic tetrameter. Though it contains three short stories, it is mostly known for its first story, "Yertle the Turtle", in which the titular Yertle, king of the pond, stand on his subjects in an attempt to reach higher than the moon—until the bottom turtle burps and he falls into the mud, ending his rule. The story, among Seuss's most notable, is widely recognized as condemning fascism and absolute power; the despotic ruler Yertle was intended to parallel the dictator Adolf Hitler, and has also been compared to Saddam Hussein.

Though the book included "burp", a word then considered to be vulgar, it was a success upon publication, and has since sold over a million copies. In 2001, it was listed at 125 on the Publishers Weekly list of the best-selling children's books of all time.

Plot overview

“Yertle the Turtle”

The titular story revolves around a Yertle the Turtle, the king of the pond. Unsatisfied with the stone that serves as his throne, he commands the other turtles to stack themselves beneath him so that he can see further and expand his kingdom. However, the turtle at the bottom of the pile, named Mack, asks Yertle for a respite. Ignoring his request, Yertle commands more and more turtles to add to his throne, until he notices the moon rising above him as the night approaches. Furious that something "dares to be higher than Yertle the King", he decides to call for even more turtles in an attempt rise above it. However, before he can give the command, Mack burps, shaking the stack of turtles and tossing Yertle off into the mud, leaving him "King of the Mud" and freeing the others.[1]

“Gertrude McFuzz”

The second story recounts the tale of the"girl-bird" Gertrude McFuzz, who has a small, plain tail and envies Lolla-Lee-Lou, who has two tail feathers. Gertrude's uncle tells her where she can find berries that will make her tail grow, and she eats the entire vine, causing her tail to grow to an enormous size. However, the added weight prevents her from flying, and she is forced to pluck out her tail feathers. Though she has only one feather left—as before—she now has "enough, because now she is smarter."[1]

“The Big Brag”

The third and final story tells of a rabbit and a bear, who both boast that they are the "best of the beasts", because of the range of their hearing and smelling abilities, respectively. However, they are humbled by a worm who claims he can see all around the world—right back to his own hill, where he sees the rabbit and bear, whom he calls "the two biggest fools that have ever been seen".[1]

Similar turtles were used in an editorial cartoon published in PM on March 20, 1942.

Publication history

A stack of turtles drawn similarly to those featured in "Yertle the Turtle" first appeared on March 20, 1942, in a cartoon for the New York newspaper PM, where Seuss worked as an editorial cartoonist. The illustration shows two stacks of turtles forming the letter "V" on top of a large turtle labelled "Dawdling Producers", with a caption reading "You Can't Build A Substantial V Out of Turtles!"[2]

Seuss has stated that the titular character Yertle represented Adolf Hitler, with Yertle's despotic rule of the pond and takeover of the surrounding area parallel to Hitler's regime in Germany and invasion of various parts of Europe.[3][4] In 2003, reporter John J. Miller also compared Yertle to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, saying that "[i]ts final lines apply as much to Saddam Hussein as they once did to the European fascists".[5]

Though Seuss made a point of not beginning the writing of his stories with a moral in mind, stating that "kids can see a moral coming a mile off", he was not against writing about issues; he said "there's an inherent moral in any story" and remarked that he was "subversive as hell".[6][7] "Yertle the Turtle" has variously been described as "autocratic rule overturned",[8] "a reaction against the fascism of World War II",[9] and "subversive of authoritarian rule".[10]

The last lines of "Yertle the Turtle" read: "And turtles, of course ... all the turtles are free / As turtles, and maybe, all creatures should be."[1] When questioned about why he wrote "maybe" rather than "surely", Seuss replied that he didn't want to sound "didactic or like a preacher on a platform", and that he wanted the reader "to say 'surely' in their minds instead of my having to say it."[7]

The use of the word "burp"—"plain little Mack did a plain little thing. He burped!"—was also an issue before publication. According to Seuss, the publishers at Random House, including the president, had to meet to decide whether or not they could use "burp" because "nobody had ever burped before on the pages of a children's book".[11][3] However, despite the publishers' initial worries, it eventually proved to be a hit—in 2001, Publishers Weekly reported that it had sold over a million copies in the United States and was 125th on the list of all-time best-selling children's books.[12]

This Book is for
The Bartletts of Norwich, Vt.
and for
The Sagmasters of Cincinnati, Ohio

Dedication, Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, [1]

The book is dedicated to the Sagmaster family as a tribute to Joseph Sagmaster, who had introduced Seuss to his first wife, Helen Palmer, when they were both attending Oxford University. Sagmaster is quoted as saying that bringing the two together was the "the happiest inspiration I've ever had".[13]

Adaptations

Although Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories has not been directly adapted, several characters from the book have appeared in other media. Yertle is a character in the 1996–1997 television series The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, and in Stephen Flaherty's Broadway musical Seussical, Yertle serves as a judge and Gertrude McFuzz acts as Horton's love interest.

In popular culture

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Dr. Seuss (1958-04-12). Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. Random House. OCLC 255164.
  2. ^ Minear, Richard (1999). Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel. New York: The New Press. p. 244. ISBN 9781565845657. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ a b Dr. Seuss; Maurice Sendak (1989). "Maurice Sendak and Dr. Seuss: A Conversation" (Interview). Interviewed by Glenn Edward Sadler. {{cite interview}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |format= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |subjectlink3=, |city=, |program=, |callsign=, and |cointerviewers= (help); Unknown parameter |subjectlink2= ignored (|subject-link2= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Cynthia Gorney (1979-05-21). "Dr. Seuss at 75: Grinch, Cat in Hat, Wocket and Generations of Kids in His Pocket". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: Katharine Weymouth.  'I couldn't draw Hitler as a turtle ... So I drew him as King ... of the Pond ... He wanted to be king as far as he could see. So he kept piling them up. He conquered Central Europe and France, and there it was.'  {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. ^ Miller, John J. (2003-11-21). "The Good "Dr."". National Review. Jack Fowler. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  6. ^ Peter Bunzel (1959-04-06). "The Wacky World of Dr. Seuss Delights the Child—and Adult—Readers of His Books". Life. Chicago: Time Inc. ISSN 0024-3019. OCLC 1643958. Most of Geisel's books point a moral, though he insists he never starts with one. 'Kids,' he says, 'can see a moral coming a mile off and they gag at it. But there's an inherent moral in any story.' 
  7. ^ a b Jonathan Cott (1983). "The Good Dr. Seuss". Pipers at the Gates of Dawn: The Wisdom of Children's Literature. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780394504643. OCLC 8728388.  'I qualified that,' Geisel explained, 'in order to avoid sounding too didactic or like a preacher on a platform. And I wanted other persons, like yourself, to say "surely" in their minds instead of my having to say it.'  {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |format= requires |url= (help)
  8. ^ Lurie, Alison (1990-12-20). "The Cabinet of Dr. Seuss" (Reprint). The New York Review of Books. 37 (20). New York: Rea S. Hederman. ISSN 0028-7504. Retrieved 2008-05-12. As in the classical folk tale, pride and prejudice are ridiculed, autocratic rule overturned.
  9. ^ Elizabeth B. Moje (1992). "Oh, the Places You've Taken Us: The Reading Teacher's Tribute to Dr. Seuss". The Reading Teacher. 45 (8). International Reading Association. ISSN 0034-0561. OCLC 1681346. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  10. ^ Selma G. Lanes (1971). "Seuss for the Goose Is Seuss for the Gander". Down the Rabbit Hole: Adventures and Misadventures in the Realm of Children's Literature. New York: Atheneum Publishers. OCLC 138227. Sometimes Seuss is simply subversive of authoritarian rule in general, whatever form it takes, as in Yertle the Turtle {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |format= requires |url= (help)
  11. ^ Stefan Kanfer (1991-10-07). "The Doctor Beloved by All". Time. ISSN 0040-781X.  'I used the word burp, and nobody had ever burped before on the pages of a children's book. It took a decision from the president of the publishing house before my vulgar turtle was permitted to do so.' 
  12. ^ Hochman, Debbie Turvey (2001-12-17). "All-Time Bestselling Children's Books". Publishers Weekly. Reed Business. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  13. ^ E. J. Kahn (1960-12-17). "Children's Friend". The New Yorker. Advance Publications: 47. ISSN 0028-792X. In the judgement of Sagmaster ... to whose family Dr. Seuss's "Yertle the Turtle" has been appreciatively dedicated, bringing the Geisels together was 'the happiest inspiration I've ever had.' 
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Clara_Beranger&oldid=244862408"