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LESSON: THE LORAX
Lesson Summary:
Find out what happens in this Dr. Seuss classic when the Once-ler begins chopping down Truffula Trees to make the wildly popular Thneeds! The results are rather grim – but could they have been avoided?
Concept: Scarcity
Definition: Scarcity is the condition of not being able to have all the goods and services that you want. Scarcity forces people to make choices.
Comprehension Questions
The Truffula Trees were scarce, valuable natural resources. What made them valuable and scarce?
The trees had beautiful soft, tufts that were like silk. They also had a sweet smell – “of fresh butterfly milk.” They could be used to produce products.
Why did the Once-ler chop down the first Truffula Tree?
He used the soft tuft to produce a scarce good – a “Thneed.”
What benefit did the Thneed have for consumers?
It was very useful as a shirt, a sock, a glove, and a hat. It also could be used for carpet, pillows, sheets, curtains, or covers for bicycle seats.
The Lorax did not think anyone would want to purchase a Thneed. Was he correct?
No! It was a scarce good and the Once-ler sold the first Thneed he made immediately – for $3.98. This was evidently a very good price, since he called all his entire family and asked them to join in the business.
What new capital resource did the Once-ler invent? How did this help his business?
He invented a Super-Axe-Hacker. It allowed the Once-ler to greatly increase his productivity. He was able to cut down more trees in less time. Increasing productivity - producing more goods and services with the same or fewer productive resources - helps our economy minimize the effects of scarcity.
Who was harmed as more and more Truffula Trees were chopped down and they became more scarce?
Brown Bar-ba-loots lost their food supply. The smog made the Swomee-Swans ill. The pollution gummed up the gills of the Humming-fish.
Was it wise of the Once-ler to chop down all the trees?
No! Not only did it harm other creatures, but it left no future for his company. There was “no more work to be done.” Consumers would no longer benefit from Thneeds that were no longer produced.
In the story, all the trees were chopped down. In the modern U.S. economy, why would this not happen?
In the United States (and many other countries), many forests are privately owned. Wood producers who own their forests, would rarely, if ever, chop down all their trees. There would be no future for the company! Producers replant trees as they cut them to ensure a future supply. There are also certain government regulations that prohibit certain kinds of tree cutting that would harm wild animals or threaten the health of the forests. On government-owned lands there are specific rules on how much wood can be cut.
What situation or condition would promote the cutting down of all trees or the overuse of natural resources?
Overuse of natural resources, such as trees, is a major problem in societies or situations where property rights are not clearly defined. Since no one owns the resources, people take advantage of the situation and use them first – before someone else uses them! Another example is over harvesting of fish in the oceans. Since no one owns the wild fish, fishermen often harvest as many as they can, which reduces the fish populations and increases the scarcity of wild fish.
When a good, service, or natural resource becomes more and more scarce, what happens to the price?
It goes up!
In the end, the Once-ler gave the boy the last seed and told him to treat the Truffula forest with care and “protect it from axes that hack.” Do you think this is good advice? Why or why not?
It is certainly good advice to be a good steward of one’s resources, but probably not the best advice to refrain entirely from cutting down the trees. In real life, a multitude of useful products come from trees.
Other Concepts: Productivity, Price, spillover costs
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