The Butter Battle Book and the Cold War free essay sample

The Butter Battle Book The Butter Battle Book is a picture book written by Dr. Suess. This book was published in 1984, and it was written as an allegory to the Cold War. It is an anti-war story about the arms race, MAD, and nuclear weapons. This book was written in the Cold War era about the concerns of the time, and how all of life could be destroyed by nuclear war. The Cold War was the time after WWII that involved strong tensions between the Western Bloc and the United States. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union attempted to spread Communism, while the United States policy was to contain this spread (Containment). To increase tensions further, another fear was nuclear war. Countries feared that nuclear war would destroy their countries and possibly even the world. This book is about two different races that live on opposite sides of a brick wall. We will write a custom essay sample on The Butter Battle Book and the Cold War or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Yooks and the Zooks are fighting about what side they eat their bread on. The Yooks ate their bread with the butter side up, and the Zooks ate their bread with the butter side down. But one day a Zook by the name of Van Itch slung his sling shot at a Yooks Snickle-Berry-Switch. So the Yook that was on patrol went back to Cheif Yookeroo to get a improved weapon and a fancier suit to go with it. The next day he went back to the wall and Van Itch was there too. He had a better weapon and a better suit too. So Grandpa Yook went crying back to the Chief and again he got improved. The story keeps going in the same order until they come back to the wall with the same weapons and the same suit on Dr. Seuss incorporated many connections to the Cold War. The first connection was Grandpa and Van Itch. Grandpa is meant to represent the United States. Grandpa is a general, and since its a picture book, he stands in for the army. Grandpas strategy was also to use Containment, like the United States during this time. He never did anything but threaten to use the weapons, he stated: â€Å"In those days, of course, the Wall wasnt so high and I could look any Zook square in the eye. If he dared to come close I could give him a twitch. † Grandpa wasnt willing to go into Zook territory, he just wanted to set up a large base to keep them contained. This policy by Grandpa relates to the policy of the United States because his strategy intended to hold the Soviet Union to a certain geographical location. Van Itch on the other hand, is Grandpas enemy, he represents the Soviet Unions military and command, and he also has a fancy hat. Next there was chief Yookeroo. Yookeroo represents the president of the United States, presidents like Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, but more directly related to Reagan. Chief Yookeroo tended to simply watch the race from afar, what most presidents did. Using Chief Yookeroo, Dr. Seuss points to a particular danger when the leader isnt in the trenches. Chief Yookeroo also tends to benefit from the international tensions and pushes the nation into an opposing relationship. This shows us Seuss opinions, about the president at this time. The presidents it seems continuously create larger and larger weapons to defeat their enemies. Time and time again the Zooks and the Yooks bring weapons to the wall to â€Å"battle† each other, yet they never attack each other. Eventually the Zooks bring larger and better weapons several times in a row, making Grandpa Yook upset and discouraged. It is assumed that the Zooks gained better weapons because of spies, while it is never clear who the spy is, we can infer that there was a spy because on several occasions they show up with the same weapons. Spies were an important part of the Cold War, many people were accused of being spies for their beliefs and many people were supposedly. spies defecting to the Soviet Union, and the United States. The Utterly Sputters weapon, would sprinkle the Zooks as it flew over. It is inferred that Dr. Seuss was referring to the chemical or poison weapons that were created in the Cold War, like Agent Orange, which was used in the Vietnam War. Eventually they both create the Big-Boy Boomeroo. Which was a representation of the nuclear bomb. Both were destructive and both sides threatened to use them without actually doing so. People were also scared and being â€Å"herded† and told to go into bomb shelters. This boomeroo was so dangerous that the Chief holds the bomb with and extendable stick, while the Back Room Boys, the scientists who created it, peer around the door of their room to see it, showing how even they were frightened of it. In the book, there was also a wall that separated the Zooks and the Yooks. The wall starts off being tiny, something that Grandpa Yook can see over. However, by the end of the story, it towers above the young Yook and his grandpa. The wall can be interpreted in several ways. The first way separating the Yooks and the Zooks from a friendly relationship. But its mostly a symbol for the Berlin wall. The wall was built when the East Germans allied with the Soviet Union. The purpose of the wall was to keep out the fascists they believed were still in West Germany. The wall was finally torn down in 1990, marking peace and the end of the Cold War. The wall separated the East and West Germans like it separated the Zooks and the Yooks. Dr. Seuss clearly meant for this book to be an allegory for the Cold War. He managed to place some of his own opinions in this book. He managed to demonstrate the Cold War in simple and relative terms. Through interpretation, we manage to find all the clues Seuss leaves and his many allegories to the Cold War. The Cold War was a tense time filled with almost pointless hate, and needless envy. Seuss does a great job describing the Cold War in simple terms.