Original artwork, not a still
The Lorax · 1971
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the book's turn from sorrow to instruction. After pages of felled trees, the Once-ler's confession lands on the reader: the fix is not coming from anyone else. The 'It's not.' on the end is pure Seuss bluntness. It has been used on school posters, campaign banners and Earth Day slogans for fifty years because it hands responsibility to whoever happens to be holding the book.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The LoraxShow the scene
Dr. Seuss's 1971 book frames the story as one the old Once-ler tells a young boy, who pays him fifteen cents, a nail and a snail shell to hear how the Lorax, who "speaks for the trees", was lifted away. The Once-ler chopped down the Truffula forest to make Thneeds until the last tree fell and the Lorax left a single stone marked with one word. At the end the Once-ler speaks these lines to the boy and hands over the last Truffula seed, asking him to plant a new forest. Seuss said the book came out of being angry about the dull ecology books he had read.
Sources (1)
- Wikipedia: The LoraxPlot, Overview and Background sectionsReference checked
Context reviewed
