The Lorax
Who directed this short cartoon film?
Hawley Pratt, which was a famous and great director which was good at the animation such as the The Bugs Bunny Show.
Who was the writer for this fable and when was the story written?
This fable was excerpted from A Silent Spring, written by Rachel Carson in 1962.
For these two songs, which two individuals created the two songs respectively?
Big Yellow Taxi ---- Joni Mitchell in 1970
Earth Song ---- Michael Jackson which was a great, brilliant and memorable singer.
What did we create in the first and second ages?
God and money
What are the three words I often repeat before my speech?
Calm Blue Ocean
What kind of person do you think the Once-ler stood for?
I think he stood for those individuals who did not care about man and nature coexisting in harmony and there were only benefits in their eyes. So they might do anything beneficial to themselves even if the thing was really harmful to their surroundings.
After reading the Part 1, how was the views in this small town? Do you think it was a comfortable place to settle?
They were impressive and breathing-taking landscapes that really attracted me after reading. “Then foxes barked in the hills and deer silently crossed the fields, half hidden in the mists of the fall mornings.” The description of the animals surrounding the small town in autumn is my favorite. It is so vivid that I can even imagine the scene of the movements of those animals. This town is a ideal place for me to settle.
In Big Yellow Taxi, what does he want?
People stop destroying the environment.
Why money became the god in the third age?
It was all-powerful. You could use money to do anything.
What happened that I hadn't seen Hermie for years?
My mom explained to me that ten-year-old boys were too old to play with talking hermit crabs, or other imaginary friends. A few years later I went off to boarding school, and then to college. I never returned to Sarasota.
There were many examples of present global issues such as excessive deforestation and polluting rivers. So what is the theme of this animation in your opinion?
No matter what the Lorax was always said that “he speaks for the trees” or the Once-ler finally recognized the importance of the healthy development of ecosystem and gave the young a seed, they both revealed that the main message of this story is advocating environmental protection.
Turn to the Part 2, what happened to this town? Briefly describe that.
A strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change. Chickens, cattle and sheep all died of disease. Some farmers even caught diseases and died. Most of the plants had withered away. Rivers were polluted and fish died. There was no life here anymore.
For Earth Song, what theme did Michael Jackson want to say?
1.Calling for environmental protection
2.Opposing the war
3.Protecting animals
4.Longing for freedom
Why we created the deserts?
We made these deserts from the desire for more money and from despair at the lack of it.
Why is Hermie homeless?
His home has destroyed by humans. He can not find any home which is safe and clean.
In this short movie, there were many kinds of songs which sounded appealing and just had several lyrics respectively. So what’s the role of songs presenting in the film?
Firstly, they gave the movie a lot of emotional coloring because these songs were significantly suitable when describing the character’s emotion at a scene. Second, these songs highlighted the important scenes. This was very helpful for audiences to remember the major events and have a intense feeling to understand the theme of this animation.
What might cause this terrible situation? Can you guess?
In my imagination, there might be a industry factory just near this small town and those wastes produced was discharged into the rivers so the water resources of this town were polluted.
what ‘s the difference of emotional tone between Big Yellow Taxi and Earth Song?
For Big Yellow Taxi,the tone was more buoyant and amiable. Sometimes, there was also a feeling of irony for people’s behaviors.
But for Earth Song, a sad, solemn and passionate feeling was given by this song. The emotion could be direct felt from this song. It was powerful enough to infect people and make them aware of the sorrow of the earth.
Which sentence does the last sentence in paragraph 5 correspond to the one before it?
The money was mysterious, and we were in awe of it. If you had enough of it, it was said, you would be able to fly.
Why I do not want to take Herime home?
My wife is allergic to shellfish. There is no way that airport security would let Hermie through.
How you evaluate the behaviors of Lorax. Why he just talked to and argued with the Once-ler in order to protect the place he lived in and left in the end? Why didn't he do it any other more radical way?
From my point of view, he was just one person. But there were a lot of Once-lers which meant that the Lorax did not have the power to contend against those people destroyed the environment. In addition, I tend to believe that Lorax were more willing to advising the Once-ler. Lorax wanted Once-ler to understand his own faults he had done by himself. So at the end, Lorax left. To make the destroyer recognize the importance of protecting the environment, there should be some troubles around him.
In this story, the writer used many literacy skills, can you give an example and explain it?
“Some evil spell had settled on the community: mysterious maladies swept the flocks of chickens; the cattle and sheep sickened and died.”
In this sentence, the writer used personification and simile. He recorded the strange blight as evil and used the word, “settle” to describe it as a human. This described that something really terrible appeared in this beautiful small town and revealed that this disease would be in this town for a long time and cause many disasters.
What`s the differences and similarities between the Big Yellow Taxi and Earth Song ?
Similarities:They both urge people to protect the environment and not to do anything to destroy it.
Differences: Earth Song is more direct in its expression. Michael Jackson makes direct references to protecting the earth in his lyrics. Just look at the earth that is crying.
Big Yellow Taxi starts through one person's personal perspective. People put up new parking lots and new recreational areas. Farmers use pesticides. Through the loss of small things, the song calls on people not to wait for the loss and regret what they had before. It calls upon people to protect the environment.
What`s the meaning of the title?
The creatures on the planet destroyed the planet because of their greed and pursuit of fantasy.
What idea does the writer want to convey to the reader through Hermie`s story?
People's destruction of the environment has left these animals without a home. The author wants to appeal to people to protect the environment.