Original artwork, not a still
Oh, the Places You'll Go! · 1990
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
A verse that turns self-reliance into a rhyme a five-year-old can recite: you have a head and feet, so the steering is yours. It carries the book's blend of cheer and warning, and it is the quote that fills graduation cards, since the book sells in spikes every April to June. Fans love that Seuss wrote it near the end of his life.
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In context
Spoilers for Oh, the Places You'll Go!Show the scene
Oh, the Places You'll Go! was published by Random House on January 22, 1990, and was the last book Dr. Seuss saw published before his death on September 24, 1991, at the age of 87. Unlike his earlier stories it is told in the second person, to a reader who sets out from town and travels through odd, colourful landscapes, including a dreary spot called the Waiting Place. This verse comes near the start of that journey, as the narrator tells the reader that nobody but the reader decides the direction.
Sources (2)
- Oh, the Places You'll Go! (Wikipedia)Intro, Plot and ReceptionReference checked
- Dr. Seuss on WikiquoteOh, the Places You'll Go! (1990) sectionReference checked
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