The genius of 'Horton Hatches the Egg'
One of Dr. Seuss' best books was ahead of its time and lacks the stereotypes that infect others
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Bennett Cerf, a founder of Random House, once said he had published great writers like William Faulkner but only one genius: Theodor Geisel, or Dr. Seuss. It’s easy to see what he meant.Seuss never won a Nobel Prize, as Faulkner did. Nor did he receive a Caldecott Medal, though he won two Honor Book awards and a Pulitzer Prize, a special citation for “his contribution over nearly half a century to the education and enjoyment of America’s children and their parents.”
But Seuss may have done more than any author to instill a love of reading in American children in the second half of the 20th century.
No less remarkably, he did it by writing good books, not the sort of commercial dross that publishers tend to rationalize with, “At least it gets children reading.”
Some of the Seuss books have elements that have aged poorly. They include his first, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, published in 1937, which reflects racial and ethnic stereotypes common in its era. Seuss’ outdated words and pictures led his estate to make the controversial decision to remove that book and five others from the market in 2021.
But most of his more than 60 books remain in print, translated into dozens of languages, and with good reason.
The influence of Lewis Carroll
They typically have whimsical pictures and a brief text with strong rhymes as simple as: “One fish / two fish / red fish / blue fish.” Dr. Seuss taught generations of children to love poetry, some of it influenced by the nonsense words of Lewis Carroll in “The Jabberwocky.”
One of his least-appreciated virtues is that some of his books were as far ahead of their time as others were behind in their stereotypes.
A good example is Horton Hatches the Egg, a fanciful narrative poem about a gentle elephant who agrees to sit on the nest of a self-absorbed bird named Mayzie when she goes on vacation.
First published in 1940, Horton Hatches the Egg blazed trails in several ways, including in its enlightened depiction of sex roles.
Horton is a male or bull elephant, who reappears in the sequel Horton Hears A Who!. But Seuss drew him with long eyelashes and a curly trunk that might cause you to take him for a female of the species.
Seuss’ hero is also a great nurturer, a trait seldom seen in male characters of the era. He refuses to leave the nest during thunder and lightning:
“And then came the Winter … the snow and the sleet!
“And icicles hung
“from his trunk and his feet.”
Still Horton guards the egg because:
“I meant what I said,
“and I said what I meant.
“An elephant’s faithful,
“one hundred per cent!”
The egg, when it hatches, reveals an elephant bird, a creature that melds Mayzie’s and Horton’s features.
More than a morality tale
Critics often describe Horton Hatches the Egg, rightly, as a morality tale about the importance of loyalty and persistence. But it’s also a story about every child’s desire to be “good” even when he or she is afraid, uncomfortable, or uncertain about what to do.
Horton struggles not just with external forces but with his inner longing to escape the taunts of friends:
“Old Horton the Elephant
thinks he’s a bird!”
And because the egg he guards eventually produces the elephant bird that goes home happily with him instead of Mayzie, some people see the book as a poignant adoption story, too.
Seuss uses his signature meter, anapestic tetrameter — which resembles the gallop of a horse — to give his tale an exciting momentum although Horton stays in one spot for much of the tale. Action-filled pictures add to the drama and enrich our knowledge of Horton’s character, especially after gun-toting hunters vow to sell him to a circus.
One illustration shows Horton sitting regally on his tree branch, wearing an imperturbable expression, with his forelegs crossed. He leaves no doubt that if the hunters are going to cart him away, they’re taking the nest, too.
Geisel uses only two colors in the book, an orange-red and a blue-green. This restraint is striking by today’s standards, which favor explosive colors bleeding off every page.
Children didn’t need razzle-dazzle effects in 1940, and they don’t need them now. What they need is what they get from Horton Hatches the Egg: a great story with characters who have a color all their own.
@janiceharayda is an award-winning critic and journalist who has been the book columnist for Glamour, the book editor of a large newspaper, and a vice president of the National Book Critics Circle.
It's so great to see you hear, Jan! Yay! This is a lovely and thoughtful look at this book. It's always been one of my favorites of his for, as you said, Horton's gentle, persistence. That it feels like a timeless read even though it was written over 80 years ago definitely speaks to Seuss' genius and skill. I visited the Dr. Seuss Museum in Springfield MA this April for an upcoming book project and it is as magical, whimsical, and moving as any of his stories. Worth a trip for sure! :)