Theodor Seuss Ted Geisel was born on 2nd March, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. He was an American writer, cartoonist, and illustrator of children's books. He graduated from Dartmouth College and did his post-graduate studies at Lincoln College, Oxford. He started working as an illustrator and humorist for Life, Vanity Fair, and other publications.
Almost 30 publishers rejected his first children's book. Finally, And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street was released in 1937. The Seven Lady Godivas (1939) was his first book for adults which failed miserably, and he started to write children's books once again. His writings have a unique kind of humour, playful use of words, and full of imaginary, alien characters.
His focus shifted towards politics during World War II. He became an editorial cartoonist at PM magazine in New York City in the early 1940s. He served in the U.S. Army as well. He wrote Your Job in Germany in 1945, which Frank Capra directed. It was later remade as Hitler Lives although Geisel was not credited for that. He continued to make films. He wrote an Oscar-winning documentary Design for Death and his first wife Helen Palmer in 1947. He was awarded Academy Award for his animated cartoon McBoing-Boing in 1950.
He continued to write whimsical rhymes and tried to convey morals through his whimsicality. The Cat in the Hat and How Grinch Stole Christmas - two of his most famous works were published in 1957. These were later adapted for television and movies. Geisel designed and produced several animated cartoons for television, and many of them were based on his books. He also won Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958 for Horton Hatches the Egg and in 1961 for And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. He won Emmy Awards for Halloween Is Grinch Night and The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat.
He conducted workshops for children at the La Jolla Museum of Art. In 1995, the University of California's library was named the Geisel Library in his honor. He died of cancer at the age of 87 on 24th September, 1991 at La Jolla, California.
Here are some of the famous quotes by Dr. Seuss.
They say I'm old-fashioned and live in the past, but sometimes I think progress progresses too fast!
The world is changing too fast. It's sometimes better to be traditional. Dr Seuss refers to the changing world scenario and how it puts pressure on the ecology and human beings. Anything too much is not good. He tries to focus on staying true to one's roots, and being a bit traditional becomes necessary.
Oh the things you can find, if you don't stay behind!
You should always keep moving forward because there are a lot of things in the world to discover. One should always face things on the front foot and move on in life. There are plenty of fantastic things to see.
Why fit in when you were born to stand out?
All of us are unique in our own way. We should not worry about fitting in and doing whatever everyone else is doing. Standing out is a symbol of strength. Not everyone dares to go against the tide. We are not meant to live the same life, do the same things; we are meant to stand out because we are one of a kind.
Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will be remembered.
Having an optimistic approach to life is very important. There is no better time than today to start doing the things that you'll be remembered for. Now is the time. One should put in his hundred percent effort every single day and make it worthwhile.
A person's a person, no matter how small.
Every individual is equal. Everybody is unique in their own way and everyone deserves the same respect irrespective of their size, gender, appearance, or residence.
Only you can control your future.
It would be best if you always remembered that you are the controller of your future. What you do today will determine how your future will be. The everyday actions and decisions you take later on build-up to create a future for you. What you do regularly reflects the kind of future you will have.
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in 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…
The brains in your head direct you to go where you want to go, but you need to decide the destination. Deciding the destination is the most important work to do. The brain can think and imagine; the body can work hard as long as you are determined and have a clear vision of your destination; it is all up to you. There are many choices and numerous paths, but one has to decide which path he wants to follow.
Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.
What has happened cannot be changed. We cannot reverse such occurrences, but we can at least be happy about it. Change is the best thing, whether it's for worse or better. One should always happily accept what life offers to them because, in the end, everything happens for a good reason. Sooner or later, we will become thankful for that episode of our lives.
Step with care and great tact, and remember life's a great balancing act.
Life is indeed a great balancing act, and one needs to choose his steps carefully and wisely. Taking a step is the most important act and taking it carefully is even a wise decision. One should not fear new challenges; rather, he should be well informed about his actions and its repercussions.
You're in pretty good shape for the shape you are in.
Here shape refers to one's physical, mental, emotional, and financial state. No matter what shape you are in, it is really good, and it will get even better. There is always a scope of improvement, but that doesn't mean you are in bad shape right now.
Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is You-er than You.
There is nobody more you than you. Nobody can play your role better than you. It's your life, and it is all up to you. You are the one who will think for yourself, take care of yourself, make yourself happy, and love yourself. You are the sailor of your life, and you are unique just the way you are.
So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!
It is very important to express your opinion. One should always say what he wants to say because every opinion matters. Your voice can make a huge difference. You should always express what you feel.
Think and wonder, wonder and think.
In this busy and chaotic world, one must manage time to just think. It's very important to clear one's mind at times and fill it with great thoughts. One should always wonder about his life and his actions. Wonder and thoughts are the fuel to our minds.
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
We can change the world only by taking actions to make it better; by giving in efforts. It's very easy not to care, but we should remember that nothing would have improved if some of the people didn't care to make it better. Many things need changing, but we should not fear that. We should take small steps to make it better and gradually this world will become a better abode.
Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
We never realize how important a moment is until it becomes past. We might ignore some moments and later realize how important it was. We can never live a moment twice. Once gone, it is gone forever. Therefore, we should enjoy each moment of our lives and make memories that we can cherish forever.
I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny, but we can have lots of good fun that is funny.
Not every day will be great and happy, but we should always know how to have fun no matter what the situation is. Life will not always go the way we plan, not everything will be pleasant and perfect, but we must make the most out of it. We should be prepared for hard times and know how to deal with them happily.
Kid, you'll move mountains!
You don't have to worry. A task might seem impossible at first, but it can be done with patience, hard work, and determination. One should not get threatened by the size of the task, taking small steps towards your goal can actually make it possible.
Everything stinks till it's finished.
Everything seems impossible and challenging in the beginning. Until and unless you finish a task it will appear very difficult to you. But nothing is mundane after you accomplish it. The journey might get boring, but it all turns out good in the end.
Now troubles are going to have troubles with me.
Our troubles are only troubles if we let them be. When we accept the challenges that life throws at us, when we handle our problems gracefully and do not let that affect our state of mind, the troubles will be afraid to touch us. It all exists in our minds. If we don't let our troubles trouble us, we will stay happy all along.
Just tell yourself, Duckie, you're really quite lucky!
Seuss talks about how important it is to be grateful for the things we have. We may be in ugly situations; we might face troubles, but we should always appreciate how lucky we are to be in a situation like this when compared to some of the predicaments you might have ended up in. We should always see the bright side and be thankful for the good things in life.
Image Attributions:
- Library of Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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