a
story, poem, or picture that can be
interpreted to reveal a hidden
meaning, typically a moral or political
one.
The Sneetches' stars are a pretty in-yourface symbol. In Sneetchville, they
represent difference. In Humanville, they
represent discrimination.
Think back to all the times humans (and
maybe Sneetches, too) have
discriminated against people because
of the way they look.
One example we will point to: Jewish
people, who were made to wear stars
(yep, stars) to distinguish themselves
through various periods in history.
Because "The Sneetches" was first
published in 1961, during the Civil Rights
Movement, we're pretty sure Seuss had all
this discrimination jazz on his mind.
But there's a key difference between human
discrimination and Sneetch discrimination:
the Sneetches can pay to get their stars (or
get rid of them). When the Plain-Belly
Sneetches pay to get stars on their tummies,
they exclaim, "We're all just the same, now, you
snooty old smarties! / And now we can go to
your frankfurter parties" (Sneetches.46-47).
Skin color, religion, sexuality—these, on the
other hand, can't be bought and sold.
What does all this mean? Maybe the
prejudice isn't based on how the
Sneetches look, but on what they own.
Just as bad, to be sure, but it's an important
distinction. In a way, Seuss might be
warning us that these types of
prejudices—based on class—are just as
diabolical as others. Maybe more so since
they can be harder to spot.
The Star of David is a six-pointed star
made up of two triangles superimposed
over each other. In Judaism it is often
called the Magen David, which means the
"shield of David" in Hebrew
Symbolic Meanings of the Star of David
There are many ideas about the
symbolic meaning of the Star of David.
Some Kabbalists thought that the six points
represented God's absolute rule over the
universe in all six directions: north, south,
east, west, up and down. They also
believed that the triangles represented
humanity’s dual nature – good and evil –
and that the star could be used as
protection against evil spirits.
The structure of the star, with two
overlapping triangles, has also been
thought to represent the relationship
between God and the Jewish people.
The star that points up symbolizes God
and the star that points down represents
us here on earth.
Triangle facing up= Strength, stability
Triangle facing down= Unstable
Nazi concentration camp badges,
primarily triangles, were part of the system
of identification in Nazi camps. They were
used in the concentration camps in the Nazioccupied countries to identify the reason the
prisoners had been placed there.The
triangles were made of fabric and were sewn
on jackets and trousers of the prisoners.
These mandatory badges of shame had
specific meanings indicated by their color
and shape.
Such emblems helped guards assign
tasks to the detainees: for example, a
guard at a glance could see if someone
were a convicted criminal (green patch)
and thus likely of a "tough" temperament
suitable for kapo duty.
Someone with an "escape suspect" mark
usually would not be assigned to work squads
operating outside the camp fence. Someone
wearing an F could be called upon to help
translate guards' spoken instructions to a
trainload of new arrivals from France.
Some historical monuments quote the badgeimagery; the use of a triangle being a sort of
visual shorthand to symbolize all camp
victims. Also, the modern day use of a pink
triangle emblem to symbolize gay rights is a
response to the camp identification patches.
 Red
triangle—political prisoners: social
democrats, socialists, trade
unionists, Freemasons, communists,
and anarchists.
 Green triangle—
"professional criminals" (convicts, often
working in the camps as Kapos).
 Blue triangle—foreign forced
laborers, emigrants.
 Purple
triangle—Jehovah's Witnesses,
though a very small number of pacifists
(a person who believes that war and
violence are unjustifiable) and members
of other religious organizations were also
imprisoned under this classification.
 Pink triangle—sexual offenders,
mostly homosexual men but
rarely rapists, and pedophiles.
 Black
triangle—people who were deemed
"asocial elements" and "work shy" including
• Roma (Gypsies), who were later assigned a brown
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
triangle
The mentally ill
Alcoholics
Vagrants and beggars
Lesbians
Prostitutes
Some anarchists
Drug addicts
From 1938, Jews in the camps were
identified by a yellow star sewn onto their
prison uniforms, a perversion of the Jewish
Star of David symbol.
If a Jewish prisoner fell
under another category,
their badges would be
sewn with a yellow
triangle on the bottom,
and other color inverted
on top to make a star of
David
The Nazis required Jews to wear the yellow
Star of David not only in the camps but
throughout most of occupied Europe. This
set them apart from others during the
Third Reich
“High class” versus “Low class”, black versus white,
you could even go so far as to compare it to the
superiority Hitler and The Nazis felt over Jewish
people.
In the beginning, the Sneetches are separated, starbellies and plain-bellies. You see how the star-bellied
Sneetches believe they are the best Sneetches there
are, discriminating against the plain-bellied
Sneetches simply because of their appearance.
Sounds an awful lot like how minorities have been
treated in the past, and how some are being
treated today.
At first it appears that McBean plans on
genuinely helping the plain-bellied Sneetches
fit in. He charges them a small fee and gives them
a star on their bellies. Once all the Sneetches have
stars on their bellies, the original star-bellied
Sneetches no longer want the stars on their bellies.
Again, here comes McBean, offering a
“solution” to the original star-bellied
Sneetches. He charges them an even larger fee to
remove their stars. You later see that McBean
represents something more. You realize he is
using their ignorance and prejudice to exploit
them for his own financial gain
Sylvester McMonkey McBean
AKA “Hitler/Nazi-esqe”
- At first
wants to
help
- Offers a
“solution
”
- Egging
on
prejudic
e for
each
other for
personal
gain
The Sneetches
AKA “Jewish/People”
Stars are used to show
separation and discriminate
against each other
- Offers a
“help” to
Europe
after WWI
- Offers a “
final
solution”
to reason
for
Europe
demise
- Finds
prejudice
for each
other for
personal
gain
Lesson Learned
When McBean finally leaves, the Sneetches decide
it's best that they all just get along and forget about
who has stars on their bellies and who doesn't.
They decide "no kind of Sneetch is the best on the
beaches" (Sneetches.96).
Of course, half of the reason might be that they're
flat broke. Seuss might be hinting that only once
money is taken out of the equation can we truly
see each other for who we are. Maybe it's not
stars but dollar signs that the Sneetches are no
longer seeing.
Seuss might be hinting that only once
money is taken out of the equation can we
truly see each other for who we are
What would have happened if Hitler never
blamed the Jewish people for the
downfall of Germany after WWI?
They were ultimately his scapegoat for the
country’s turmoil, which lead to others
gaining trust in his political party.
For this challenge, you will be given a gray
triangle with a number on it.
The number on the triangle represents
how many students are in your English
class this semester.
The H represents being an honors student
The white triangle represents you being a
sophomore at WOHS.
Assume that as a sophomore, you are not allowed to
play on Varsity sports, go to prom or homecoming,
drive a car, or get a license (even provisional). You
cannot eat lunch outside, and you must each lunch on
the stage in the cafeteria. You can only sit with other
sophomores. You must ride the buses to and from
school. You can only talk to other sophomores. You can
only have a locker on the freshman hallway. You cannot
take AP level courses until your junior year.
Assume that the entire school also holds these
assumptions to be true.
Social Challenge: Wear the triangle all day.
-
-
How long will you wear the triangle patch?
Why will you take it off (peers? Not in
English anymore? Because you think this
social experiment is just silly? Will you even
put it on to begin with… just to see?)
I am not MAKING you wear it– but what
if it was the law? How would you react?