Understanding Critical

Lenses Through Storybooks

Objective: Understand how viewing a text through various critical lenses

(historic, feminist, marxist, race/ethnicity), can alter the interpretation. Make
claims which connect both the lens, as well as the message.

As we move through this activity, utilize the lens slide deck for helpful definitions
and questions.

Part 1 – The Giving Tree:

What claims can we make about this text based on a particular lens?

When the Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is analyzed through a Marxist lense it
reveals the boy's desires for wealth and money, emphasizing his selfishness
using the tree.

Part 2 – Choice Text:

● Read the text
Which text are you using?

The Lorax

Which lens(es) can you use in reading the text?

Marxist and Race/ethnicity

What claims can you make about this text based on a particular lens?

While analyzing The Lorax by Dr. Seuss in the Marxist lens it is apparent that
the Once-ler drove out the Lorax species with the intent of gaining wealth since
he made people pay him money to tell the story.

Select one of the claims above, and develop it in a short formal paragraph. You
can use the example from the slide deck as a model.
In The Lorax by Dr. Suess emphasized the critical lense, Marxist, by having the
Once-let be a greedy character who will do anything to make money. The
Once-ler is perceived throughout the story to be power hungry and concerned
about his socioeconomic status. When the Once-ler moved into the forest for
his thneed Business his drive for many and power caused for the destruction
among his environment. He caused the Lorax, the forest’s leader, to become
extremely angry and the Lorax warned the Once-ler many times, he didn’t
listen. Therefore before the Once-Ler’s eyes all of the friendly forest creatures
left and the forest went from beautiful greens and pinks to gross grays and
blacks because of his greed. Then once all the resources were used up in the
forest the Once-ler was left isolated by himself. The Once-ler's push for power
and money because of his greed ruined both the Once-ler and the forest.

Part 3 – Cross unit connections:

Think back to the last unit (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet). Which
critical lenses could we use to analyze the novel? What claims could we make?

The Hotel on Bitter and Sweet has the critical lense of race and ethnicity
because the story is fully based around Japanese Internment camps and Henry
getting seperated from Keiko specifically because Keiko was Japanese
challenging the ideas of stereotypes.