Most people have heard of, or at least read a book written by, Theodore S. Geisel. He is far better known by his pseudonym, Dr. Seuss. Some people are aware that many of his books contained social or political commentary. For example, The Lorax espouses environmentalism, while Horton Hears a Who is a commentary on Hiroshima and American foreign policy. I have discovered that one of his other works, One fish two fish red fish blue fish, is, in fact, another piece of social commentary.
Seuss authored this book in 1960, at a time when the American prison system was steadily increasing in size while conditions worsened. The pages within this book illustrate, in dark and hopeless metaphors, the harsh reality inside those walls. One need only consider the terminology of the time, immortalized in the film The Shawshank Redemption, to understand that the "fish" and other creatures in the book represent prisoners. For those unfamiliar with the film, prisoners are constantly referred to as "fish" (see the footage yourself at 1:30 here). The film was set between the late 1940s and mid 1960s, contemporaneous with the time Seuss was authoring his seminal work on penal reform.
Beginning with the title itself, one quickly sees that this is not simply a children's book. "One fish two fish" denotes the common practice of housing either one or two inmates per cell. "Red fish blue fish" boils the entire prison population down into two categories: those who are angry about their sentence (red), and those who are sad (blue).
The treatise begins by with an argument that no matter where you may find yourself in the United States, prisons (here the term "funny things" is used sarcastically) can be found everywhere. The opening page also reiterates the basic concept of who makes up the incarcerated in America - that prison is full of cells containing either a lone prison or a pair of bunk-mates, who are universally either angry or sad (there is no other emotion, however, there is one additional color utilized on the next page.)
Here we see the third color introduced, which is black. This is associated with evil. Some prisoners are evil to the core, and thus are black inside. The blue on this page is used to once again reference sadness (note that the blue fish from the previous page has now closed his eyes - an allegory for a deep depression). Seuss remarks on the variety of ages found across prisoners (young and old). The "little star" is obviously referring to tattoos, which at the time were not nearly as pervasive as they are today. "Little car" refers to the commissary items that some of the wealthier inmates are able to afford, such as a radio or magazines. Seuss ends this page by remarking at the vast variety of prisoners who can be found.
Exploring emotion again, Seuss remarks not on inmate's attitudes towards their incarceration, but instead at their crime. Some have repented for it (sad), some have not (glad). Obviously, others continue to commit crimes even while in prison, and those people are "very, very bad". Seuss muses at the root cause of this behavior and refers readers to their "dad", who is almost certainly meant to signify Dr. Sigmund Freud, universally recognized as the "father" of psychoanalysis.
After a simple remark about the variations in physical size (there is surprisingly no deeper meaning to be found here), Seuss introduces a "yellow hat". Here he is remarking on the benefit that an obese inmate would enjoy if and when they are stabbed or otherwise assaulted. Fat is the color of yellow, and a hat protects the wearer's head from cold or rain - therefore the conclusion is that an overweight prisoner has an innate advantage over the slim convict, who is clearly not clothed with any such protective attire.
While at first glance a very thinly veiled metaphor for escape attempts, these running inmates also reflect the common "chain gangs" of the time, which can be observed in other prison films such as O Brother, Where Art Thou and the like. Again Seuss is dismayed at the variety of terrible ("funny", again used sarcastically) methods of punishment in the United States.
"Feet" in this instance refers to the number of years remaining on each different prisoner's sentence. The legal system is so vast and broad that it is impossible to discover the source of all these new inmates, who have been wandering the pathways of the judicial system for quite some time.
As Seuss observes the turnover in the prison population, he now beings to observe the drug use. Some prisoners turn to stimulants such as cocaine or amphetamines (and thus are "fast") while others turn to depressants such as opiates (and thus are "slow"). Many addicts are currently under the influence ("high") while others are suffering from withdraw ("low"). However, no two prisoner's situations are identical, and addiction takes many forms. Again readers are directed to consult external experts, with the "mother" in this case obviously referring to Eleanor Roosevelt, a proponent of universal healthcare.
To understand this page one must consider the alternative meaning of the term "finger" at the time of writing. At that point in the English language, this word was informally used to mean informant or spy. The number of fingers is only significant in that this character has more than others, thus giving him a desirable advantage.
Again, understanding the slang meaning of key words is imperative to understanding this page. "Bump" refers to the action of using drugs, specifically of injecting heroin via a syringe. To "ride the wump" is thus a metaphor for being under the influence of opiates. Most prisoners have the means and access to achieve only a modest level of intoxication. However, there are rare sources of greater quantities of narcotics (Mr. Wump and his seven-hump wump), and if one enjoys using drugs, then one must seek out these suppliers. The fancy attire of Mr. Wump is indicative of the lucrative results of drug distribution.
This page is a simple observation of the difficult conditions found within prisons - namely the inadequate size of the bedding provided to the inmates. Seuss is clearly expressing his disgust with the accommodations which leave the individual exposed and uncomfortable.
I hope you enjoyed my attempt at humor. There are still 20 more pages if you all liked it enough for me to continue! This post was my entry in Round # 22 of the Comedy Open Mic Challenge.
@fromage nominated me, and so now I nominate these two fine gents for the challenge:
@janton, you are already a pretty funny guy, you should have no problem with this!
@mepatriot, between all the poetry and infowars stuff, I know there's got to be sense of humor!
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